Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays with Story
February 26, 2016
NY Times Haiku
By Jacob Harris
Whimsy is not a quality we usually associate with computer programs. We tend to think of software in terms of the function it fulfills. For example, a spreadsheet helps us do our work. A game of Tetris provides a means of procrastination. Social media reconnects us with our high school nemeses. But what about computer code that serves no inherent purpose in itself?
be had here, in flares of spice
This is a Tumblr blog of haikus found within The New York Times. Most of us first encountered haikus in a grade school, when we were taught that they are three-line poems with five syllables on the first line, seven on the second and five on the third. According to the Haiku Society of America, that is not an ironclad rule. A proper haiku should also contain a word that indicates the season, or “kigo,” as well as a juxtaposition of verbal imagery, known as “kireji.” That’s a lot harder to teach an algorithm, though, so we just count syllables like most amateur haiku aficionados do.
How does our algorithm work? It periodically checks the New York Times home page for newly published articles. Then it scans each sentence looking for potential haikus by using an electronic dictionary containing syllable counts. We started with a basic rhyming lexicon, but over time we’ve added syllable counts for words like “Rihanna” or “terroir” to keep pace with the broad vocabulary of The Times.
Read the full post here http://haiku.nytimes.com/about.
Middle School Novelists
Richard Hamel is a Madison School teacher who sponsors a writing program for middle school students. Students across the district are writing novels through the NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) website (They wrote drafts last November, then revised through subsequent months). They will have a culminating workshop at the public library downtown in April to celebrate their accomplishment and to connect them to local writers. They are looking for writing volunteers for the workshop.
Are you interested? You can contact me and I’ll get you Richard’s contact info.
Greg Spry, TWS alum. At long last, Beyond the Horizon (https://bit.ly/bthhome) is finally in print along with the second edition of book Beyond…read more https://www.beyondthehorizonbook.com/Blog.aspx?id=63
Fifth Tuesday coming . . .
When: March 29th.
Place: Ella’s Deli, 2902 East Washington Avenue. This will be an order-off-the menu event. If you’d like to see what Ella serves, call up the deli’s website and you will find the menu there.
Writing challenge: Write a story, essay, or poem using this as your writing prompt: “I’m a curious person. No, I’m a nosy person. No, I’m a snoop, and it’s finally gotten me into trouble.”
Do not, repeat, do not use the prompt as the first sentences of your mini-masterpiece.
Max length: 500 words.
Jerry Peterson will assemble the stories, essays, and poems into a package, so he needs your piece on or before March 24.
Patrick Tomlinson will be with us at Fifth Tuesday to talk about his experiences getting published.
Who’s up next . . .
March 1: Lisa McDougal (chapter 48, Tebow Family Secret), Pat Edwards (poems), Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapter, novel), Eva Mays (chapter 2, Dhuoda), Hannah Marshall (poem), Randy Slagel (short story, part 2 rewrite, “Watered-Down Witch”), and Jerry Peterson (chapter 27-30, Killing Ham).
March 8: ?
March 15: Lisa McDougal (chapter 49, Tebow Family Secret), Kashmira Sheth & Amit Trivedi (chapter, novel), Hannah Marshall (poem), Kashmira Sheth (???), Judith McNeil (???), and Millie Mader (???).
Tuesdays with Story 
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