A cherry basket full of 1940s typeface letters and numbers purchased at the 74th Foire Nationale a la Brocante et aux Jambons at Chatou, near Paris.
I am in awe of Liz and Dana, the delightful hosts of Poetry Thursday. Never a dull moment over at their new website, which is chock-a-block with poetry links and fascinating and informative columns. But I read this week's prompt twice to grasp the strange concept. I am a writer who works with words, speaks a second language every day (albeit appallingly) and studies a third. So to look up a word in the dictionary, but ignore its definition? Sorry ladies, but that's simply not in my DNA. Your curious prompt inspired this haiku:
Find a new word but
don't try to understand it?
Frankly that's absurd!
Hilarious, because I felt the same way and cheated! HA HA HA!
Posted by: giggles | 18 March 2007 at 14:56
Fun haiku! But actually, I had a great time trying to figure out the likely meaning of words from a knowledge of Latin, Greek etc. I came remarkably close on some of them (of course I wanted to look them up later, when I had written my poem, to see how close I came)
Posted by: Catherine | 17 March 2007 at 10:56
I am giggling!!!!! Love the letters.
XO
Kristen
Posted by: Kristen Robisnon | 16 March 2007 at 21:00
LOL!
I really liked that. I speak six Indian languages and two foriegn ones. Hence I relate to your haiku!
Posted by: gautami | 16 March 2007 at 14:04
To thine own self be true - well done, Tara~
Posted by: tinker | 16 March 2007 at 06:22
I knew you were a "must know" kind of girl too!
Posted by: wendy | 16 March 2007 at 05:12
tara, your haiku was perfect! And so was rel's response! Good job, people.
Posted by: pepek | 16 March 2007 at 02:00
Tara,
I read this earlier but I was at work and truly even if I could have I was chuckling at your haiku too much to be able to comment.
"Absurd "she said. Absurd indeed!;-)
I had the hardest time following this week's prompt myself. Only when Diane said, "you can't do it" did I force myself to blindly put my finger on a word while covering the definition with the remainder of my hand, and writing it down and then pondering interminally. What I finally penned had little to do with the word gongoozler, I think. The words just came into my head without invite and i put them down and said there, that's all you get tonight.
rel
P.S.
Absurd, absurd to
Write a word
Without the definition.
To pen a poem
With mean' unknown
Is akin to perdition!
Posted by: rel | 16 March 2007 at 01:22
I'm glad I wasn't alone on PT's theme. LOL
Posted by: Tammy | 15 March 2007 at 22:00
I'm still giggling reading and re-reading your fun haiku!
After your last post about typefaces on 3/7, I retrieved my handful out of the plastic bag they've been stored in for the past 2 years and put them on display. Thank you for your inspiration! :)
Posted by: Willow Grace | 15 March 2007 at 21:30
I know- I really had trouble just grasping this idea, let alone having to do it! I like your little haiku very much, Tara- so succinct! :)
Posted by: Regina Clare Jane | 15 March 2007 at 20:57
Haha! Your haiku made me laugh! I often play a game with students where I make them try to bluff each other with fake word definitions for words they don't know, but we always include the real definition too!
Posted by: Kamsin | 15 March 2007 at 20:12
You must have done multiple posts in one spurt. I swear I was just here.
I bet you were tres excited when you found those typeface letters!! I know how you do love them! They are extremely cool.
I love your haiku. You need to create a coffee table book of it.
Posted by: holli | 15 March 2007 at 18:14
True. Very absurd.
You couldn't resist the blocks, eh!!! I couldn't either.
xox
Posted by: Colette | 15 March 2007 at 18:02
Great photo. They would come to good use for any interior designer.
Posted by: Beaman | 15 March 2007 at 14:59