Under The Sun

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Courtesy of Florida State Archives

TV shows like CSI: Miami broadcast slick images of South Florida. But a group of young local artists want to show a more authentic side to Miami’s culture. And they’re doing it seventeen syllables at a time.

WLRN Miami Herald reporter Laura Isensee has the story of a book of Haiku that may not follow every convention of the Japanese poetry form, but is certainly true to Miami.

Consider this true story from Elena Santayana:
“Either my jeans shrank
or this rice and beans diet
is stretching my ass.”

Many of the poems, published in the book Hialeah Haikus by the Foryoucansee collective, started out as jokes. But they also touch on Cuban nostalgia, race, and Miami attitude. The writers say it’s a chance for them to take back some of the stereotypes of Miami and describe the city for themselves.

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry consisting of 17 syllables in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.
Feel free to write your own Haiku about the place where you live in the comments section below!