Haiku workshop #6 results

Hey everyone!

The 6th haiku workshop is officially over, and it's time to take a look at the results. It's been more than half a year since the game came out, time sure flies by! Thanks for sticking by, and as always, congrats for creating something and putting it out there!

Now, the theme this time was "EVE", in an attempt to counterbalance last workshop's grim mood. Did it succeed? Let's find out!

Ok! Let's see:

• Look at how diverse this batch is! I think it's the first time that the poems all feel so different from one another. We have gambling, a post-battle landscape, mysterious wilderness, a family, passing time, and seclusion. It's awesome how you guys explored so many different things with the same words!

• Of course, that doesn't mean there are no similarities. For instance, most poems start with the idea of waking up, which fits very well with the theme of eve. And evidently, you all couldn't pass up on the chance to include a lot or roaring, including on things that normally don't roar, like places, or mute eves (and since eves don't roar, mute eves roar even less). Takes me back to the infamous first, "mad roaring snail" workshop. Anyway, funny how when this verb is available, it's almost always widely used, I wonder why it's so attractive.

• Concerning the theme "eve", it has been interestingly widely tied to the idea of "shield" and shielding. There seems to be a connection there. Maybe "eve" evokes time and/or the sun setting, which can be seen as reminders of the universe's scale and impassiveness, guardians of the natural order of some sort towering over us humans?

• In one instance is the relation reversed and it's a girl who's described as "the shield of eve". In another, the eve "shields a place of change". Both meanings elude me, but I find the images powerful. I guess that's a bit what poetry is about?

• That is of course overly subjective, but I feel like as time passes, the entries feel a bit less random/funny and a bit more, well, mastered? Like, more evocative, with strong images and a sense of cohesiveness. I don't mean to say it's better, but I kinda feel like I can track some sort of progress. Do you feel like you're happier about your productions than at the beginning? I'd be interested to know!

• There's a slight drop in participation, which is to be expected as we're 6 months in, however I'm glad you people are still sticking by! We'll see how the next ones will fare. The workshops might not go on forever, but by then I'll have new things to show you. Hope you'll be there and like what you see!

Alright, let's wrap this up. Thank you once again for being here and participating in these small events, spreading the joy of writing stuff! See you at the end of the month for the next workshop.

Till next time! MarechalBanane