Should poets be worried? The New York Times has built a “haiku bot” that creates haikus from stories on the home page. If your haiku knowledge is a bit rusty, it’s a non-rhyming poem of three lines, the first five syllables long, the second seven and the third five.
Each of the New York Times haikus has a link to the original story. I’d say most of them don’t work, but judge for yourself. Here are some examples:
“For reasons he is
not sure of, he also adds
scallions at the end.”
“It says, ‘We’re accused
of something and we’re doing
something about it.”
“His wife was his world
and his mother was his world
and his family.”
Which leads me to this one, written in the traditional way:
Poets quake in fear!
Whirring, clanking fill the air.
Bot poetry rules!
As you can see, poets don't have much to fear from me, either!
(If you want to write something other than poetry,such as a novel or a non-fiction book or a screenplay, you'll find friendly, supportive and practical guidance in my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey. You can get it from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)
