My writing was recently featured in a Haiku anthology. My poem contained exactly seven words. From the seven words, the author of the anthology wrote three pages about why it was such a good Haiku based on the writings of the classic Haiku poet, Issa.
When I wrote the Haiku, I knew it was funny because people in the Southern California Haiku Study Group laughed out loud. We were looking at classic Issa Haiku poems, their topics and structure. A light switch clicked in my mind and out flowed seven gorgeous words that described a mind-bending experience.
Yesterday, when the workshop met again, my friend and published poet Mary, commented about the poem for ten or fifteen minutes. She talked about how important editing and structure are.
Mary pointed out that although I wrote the Haiku quickly, I’ve learned to edit in my mind for the twenty-plus years that I have been writing.
Workshops are great to learn about the way people think about words. I’ve seen writers discuss five words, with each person interpreting the words with completely different meanings.
Writers are an odd bunch, we work for years, decades and even our lives, looking at words from every direction until we finally reach perfection.
If you are looking for writer who can write, quickly and succinctly, it’s a good idea to find one who not only understands copy writing but poetry, especially Haiku.
If you are looking for an editor who understand cars, technology and writing I’m your poet.
During his life, Issa wrote 10,000 poems, I’ve been responsible for over 15,000 articles. However, Issa did have a sense of humor about his words:
“words
are a waste of time…
poppies”Kobayashi Issa