Write Collaborative Poems With Strangers Through the Global Haiku Project
Did you ever play that game where you write the first line of a story, then someone else writes the next one, and you pass the paper around in a circle, communally writing a story that, in the end, is probably totally different from what you imagined when you started it?
With the internet, you can play that same game without being limited to just a classroom of fifth graders. Baronfig, a company that makes notebooks, writing tools, and bags, has created The Global Haiku Project, which lets people around the world create haiku together.
Here’s how Baronfig describes the project:
“The haiku is a traditional Japanese poem that originated in the 16th century. The heart of a haiku attempts to capture a moment in time. There are many forms of haiku, the most popular version is taught to children around the world: three verses with a simple five, seven, five syllable count.
“This project was created by the team at Baronfig to celebrate human creativity and collaboration.”
(Haiku doesn’t have to follow the 5-7-5 rule, but when it comes to collaborating with strangers on the internet, it does help to have parameters.)
When you contribute to the Global Haiku Project, you start by sharing your first name. Then, you write the first line of your own, brand-new haiku.
After that, you’re given the first line of someone else’s haiku and asked to write a second line.
Finally, you add the third line to another poem that two people have already begun.
If you leave your email address, you’ll be emailed when your first two poems are completed.