House of Haiku Recap for April 2025
A very special form of poetry has flexed some human’s brain muscles
Once upon a time, Honeygloom posted prompts for horror haikus. Then, as happens in life, time for that endeavor evaporated. Well, I miss those prompts, so one day I threw down the gauntlet to Substack for someone start up a new haiku prompt. Chris J. Franklin took up the gauntlet and posted several such prompts during April. Response has been good and will hopefully continue in May and onward.
What Is a Haiku?
Traditional haiku has three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second has seven syllables, and the third has five syllables. It shouldn’t rhyme, and two lines are related with the third line being almost a conclusion. More details here.
Of course, these days the haiku poetry form is a bit looser. It’s still quite challenging, which brings me to those brave souls who, drawn to the luring call of Chris’ prompt, gave their best efforts (and yes, all human written—I highly doubt any AI system could generate something comparable). And check out The Haiku Foundation and The Poetry Place for more information on how to write haiku.
Prompts in April
In planning this recap, I thought at first that I would select my favorites. Frankly, though, the responses have been so varied and enjoyable that such a selection would be impossible. So instead, I list the prompt posts:
HOUSE OF HAIKU PROMPT: PHANTOM
Never too late to add your own to each of these prompts, and “like” any that really appeal to you.
Final Note
A great thing on Substack is NOT earning money from it but the camaraderie that grows here. These haiku prompts are an example. People come together, post their three-line poems, read other contributions, and generally have a bit of fun. Hope you’ll join in.
Please check out my author website. And thanks for reading.
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My four books (so far) from Wordwooze Publishing (a fifth soon to be published):
The Greeting Card Girl’s Christmas – a sweet romance novel for the holiday season (ebook, paperback, and soon on audio).
Wind Down the Chimney and Other Eerie Tales – my first book of eerie short stories (ebook, paperback, audio).
The Stardust Alliance and More – my second book of eerie stories with a touch of Sci-Fi (ebook, paperback, audio).
The Wiccan Tales – a novel and a real Halloween treat (ebook, paperback, audio).
(All human written. I even designed the covers.)
See them all here:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Kobo | Thalia (German) ebook & print | Smashwords | Angus & Robertson: | Mondadori (Italian) | Vivlio (French/English) | Fable
Audio versions:
Wind Down the Chimney | The Stardust Alliance | The Wiccan Tales | The Greeting Card Girl's Christmas
It was an amazing first month, for sure... 😎👍