Mastodawn

@NaraMoore @MarkBrigham @stevendbrewer @asakiyume

One attraction of the collaborative poem (renga, renku, etc.) is that it can be as methodical or as lose as the participants decide it should be. When the MWRA had its monthly meeting, we had a sheet listing the 24 links, starting with the hokku (always written by the host - preferably in advance), ending with the dageku and split into 4 groups of 6 links, representing the four seasons. We concentrated not only on linking the subject matter, but also shifting the focus ever so slightly so as to continue our walk through the seasons.

In the digital era, I've noted that it's difficult to sustain engagement for 24 links. Newer forms such as the "rengay," composed of 6 links of 3-2-3-3-2-3 lines for 2 people, or 3-2-3-2-3-2 for 3 people, might be more manageable. Thoughts?

https://haikupedia.org/article-haikupedia/rengay/

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Steven D. Brewer 🏳️‍⚧️

@extraspecialbitter @NaraMoore @MarkBrigham @asakiyume I'm easy. Personally, I rather like the ping-pong feeling of renga which "seeks to avoid thematic development". But I'm happy to play along, as long as I don't have to think too hard about it.

I'm not sure how amenable mastodon threads are to more structured work: if we want to do something more organized than just *ad hoc* participation, we might be better off to use a wiki or something. But setting that up is starting to sound like work.

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Extra Special Bitter 1d ago

@stevendbrewer @NaraMoore @MarkBrigham @asakiyume

There's definitely a trade-off between formality and spontaneity, and I agree that Mastodon threads seem a natural place for the latter but not the former. I'm fine with hit-and-run posting - which should be obvious to everyone - but I also welcome some parallel effort if there's any interest.