A Poetic Form for the Internet

Berglund Authority Level 3

by Jeffrey Barlow <barlowj@pacificu.edu>
Editor, Interface

Introduction:

As spring has truly started in Oregon, we wanted to do something a bit more lighthearted by way of an article for this issue. Poetry came naturally to mind, so we wish to nominate an appropriate or modal type of poetry for the Internet. Many possible archetypal poetic forms come to mind: Sometimes the Internet seems like a poorly translated Icelandic saga, pages and pages of strange gods and narrative confusion; at other times more like a Shakespeare or Browning sonnet: "How do I love thee? Let me count the clicks... "

But while we wish to emphasize that we are very much open to audience participation [1] we do have a type in mind: The Japanese haiku.

Probably few of us are totally unfamiliar with the haiku, but let us remind ourselves that it is most basically a 17-character poem written in Japanese in three lines (5-7-5). As Japanese characters are not syllables, international versions of the form are somewhat looser. [2] The most famous exponent of the haiku, its virtual inventor, is Basho Matsuo (1644-94). [3]

Probably every poet has at one time tried his or her hand at the form. Billy Collins, the noted contemporary poet, has a pleasant and very artful poem about reading a haiku, called "Japan." [4] One particular verse seems to capture the essence of reading many haiku:

It feels like eating
the same small, perfect grape
again and again.

Recently I asked a class of Pacific University students to write a haiku on the subject of the Internet for extra credit on a mid-term exam. Their poems were the inspiration for this piece, because they reveal so much about the impact of the Internet itself. All the poems are reprinted below. [5] A variety of themes which show students' relationship to the Internet emerge.

The submission closest to a true haiku, because it nicely incorporates the element of surprise seen in many, while being faithful to the topic, is this one by one of our Berglund student editors Andy Arsvold:

Just surfing along
Looking for random wisdom
Those cursed pop-ups!

Another one of our Berglund student editors, our video guy, Ben Bagley, contributed the following:

Electric culture
The world is one library
And I have the card.

Many others adopted Asian themes in clever ways. This example is by Nick Chapman:

My monitor lights
The room is filled with a glow
I am web monkey.

This one, by Jason Salzman, faithfully recreates the surfing experience of many students surfing in developing countries:

Point, click goes the mouse
Access to the world anytime
Darkness... No more power.

Many of the students' poems were faithful to the haiku, which should usually refer to nature, while also constructing the Internet experience:

Electric light
Drawing moths to data packets
Burning in knowledge.

Beth Hatchel

A good haiku should also give us a moment of recognition that we have shared an experience or a perception with the poet:

Speeding faster now
Wires, links and addresses
World outside faded.

Emily Hull

Or:

Turn on computer
Load up the Internet
Sound of the modem.

Aaron Cottam

A common theme that runs through many of the contributions is the dual nature of the Internet, both threat and promise:

Connected to all
Communication to share
Yet, spiders haunt webs.

William Ryan Crughan

Another common theme, also threatening, to a student at least, is the distraction from study the Internet presents:

My Internet glows
It seems very nice but is
A time-sucking pig.

Stephen Millett

Conclusion:

We think, as these examples and others printed below show, that the haiku is the perfect poetic form for the Internet. This is true for a number of reasons. First, it is brief, perfectly sized for the Internet span of attention--about as long as one can hold one's breath or read a haiku. It is a rather rigid poetic form but loose enough to encompass many themes appropriate to browsing. At their best, haiku should also contain elusive truths and surprising turns, very like the Internet itself.

Notes:

[1] If you wish to nominate an appropriate poetic type or style, send a poem in that form on the subject of the Internet to us; we promise to publish it in a future issue.

[2] And international it has become; A Google search "haiku" turns up 1,460.000 references on the Web. See:
http://www.google.com/search?q=haiku&sourceid=
mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Accessed 3/22/04
I also note that two native speakers of Japanese who wrote haiku for this assignment were not totally convinced that the form can be written in any language other than Japanese.

[3] For a very nice Haiku site with many poems by Basho see:
http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/
Accessed 3/22/04

[4] See it at:
http://www.contemporarypoetry.com/dialect/poetry/collinsjapan.htm
accessed 3/22/04

[5] See them all here.