by Rowan Johnson
SOU Class of 2025, Creative Writing

Archie Rand and John Yau, G from The Alphabet Paintings, 1987-94, acrylic on gold lamé. Courtesy of  the artists

Norman Bluhm and John Yau, Sam Spade Haiku #1, 1988, acrylic, ink, and pastel on paper, courtesy of the estate of Norman Bluhm

Haikus as we know them today are a combination of different Japanese poetic traditions and collaboration. The sparse seventeen-syllable structure was a reaction against the elaborate poetry of the 17th century. Early on, the haiku was a collaborative form where poets would write every other line. To create a sense of structure, a haiku originally required three different sections (not necessarily lines), a syllable structure of 5-7-5, a mention of a season, and a “cutting” word. A cutting word is hard to translate into English as our language doesn’t use them, but it is essentially a suffix used in Japanese grammar that immediately follows a modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. In English haikus, the 5-7-5 syllable structure tends to be the only restraint for its easy association with iambic pentameter. Echoing the early and experimental roots of haikus, Norman Bluhm and John Yau collaborated on a piece titled Sam Spade Haiku #1. The recognizable three-line structure makes the 6-7-8 syllable structure surprising and playful. Learn more about haikus with the video below, and find Sam Spade Haiku #1 in the Heiter Gallery of the Schneider Museum of Art.

https://youtu.be/Zf6no-y7GV4

J.J.R. Tolkien, First Edition of "The Hobbit", cloth binding over boards, courtesy of private collection

Best known for his novel The Hobbit and its sequel the Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien is considered foundational to the modern fantasy genre. In her essay “The Literary Power of Hobbits: How JRR Tolkien Shaped Modern Fantasy”, Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger argues that he not only shaped modern fantasy, he created it. Prior to its publication, fantasy was often found in a short story format and heavily associated with folklore. “The Hobbit, while based on folkloric concepts like elves, dragons, and the classic hero's journey, was also engaged in what Tolkien called a “second world”. This world differs from ours and follows a different set of rules, ideals, societal structures, and cultural practices. Thanks to his background as a linguist and English language and literature professor, he even housed his invented language within the book. All of these things have become goalposts in the modern fantasy genre. Learn more about Tolkien and his impact on literature with the link below, and find a first-edition copy of The Hobbit signed by J.R.R. Tolkien in the Entry Gallery of the Schneider Museum of Art.

https://lithub.com/the-literary-power-of-hobbits-how-jrr-tolkien-shaped-modern-fantasy/