Haiku project sparks creativity, expression during pandemic

Amidst a hectic time in the world, there’s an unsuspecting hero at UB — the haiku.

UB’s Humanities Institute has reconfigured their annual spring “Humanities to the Rescue” programming to a virtual Instagram haiku writing project to give the university and Buffalo communities an escape from self-isolation through poetry. Called “Haiku in the Age of Coronavirus,” the institute is inviting faculty, staff and students, as well as the general public, to compose haikus that capture their experiences, observations and feelings during this extraordinary time.

For those not familiar with haiku, it’s a three-line poem with a distinctive five-, seven- and five-syllable count.

“Now more than ever, we need artistic expression to help us better understand our shared moment of crisis,” say Christina Milletti, executive director of the Humanities Institute and associate professor of English. “I was thrilled when Kari Winter, professor of global gender and sexuality studies, and former Humanities Institute executive director, proposed the haiku project to us.”

Participants can post their entries to Instagram using the hashtag #ubhaikuproject. There, participants can also search the #ubhaikuproject hashtag to read other poems and view the images that shape the shared experiences of the Buffalo community.

“The voice of humanity is a voice that speaks in hope of an audience — a call that awaits a response in an essential duet,” Winter says. “We’re encouraging our communities to bear witness and give voice to their lives so that we can help each other not only survive this time of duress, but also bring memory and meaning into the new world we are suddenly sharing.”

The Humanities Institute is also planning to publish a bound volume of selected haiku to document this extraordinary moment in the community’s collective experience. Participants are encouraged to complete the online submission form to have their submitted works also considered for the future published volume.

For more information about writing a haiku and the #ubhaikuproject, visit the UB Humanities Institute website.