Alright, thanks for your entries everyone! It's been fun reading these. A lot of them remind me that there is a big group of people here who all have a common bond - a lot of these haikus wouldn't make any sense to non-PJ fans, so it's nice to know we're all on the same page in a lot of ways.
I'll be going through these over the next couple of days, and will contact the winners on the weekend and post them here. Good luck!! :-h
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
This definitely awakened a little spark in me during a tumultuous time. Thank you PJ Soul for the delightful diversion!
10/31/93 Berkeley (Baba!) • 10/1/94 Bridge School • 9/16/96 Seattle (In My Tree!) • 10/19/96 & 10/20/96 B. School (Alt Corduroy & Alt Porch!) • 10/25/03 B. School • 6/1/03 Mtnview (Crazy Mary! You Are!) • 11/29/13 Portland (All Those Yesterdays! Even Flow!) • 10/25/14 Bridge School (Rain! Fuckin Up! TOTD!) • 5/13/22 Oakland (had to leave early, but W.M.A.! Immortality!) • 5/13/24 Sacramento (Light Years! Picture in a Frame!) • 5/25/24 Bottle Rock (Last Kiss! Maybe It’s Time w/Bradley Cooper!)
I hope they decide To play Cold Confession live. Time to make a sign!
Bravo - couldn't agree more!
Hadn't checked in for a couple days... Damn, I missed the deadline, hope one of my early entries make the top 20 at least! It has been great fun! Some talented people in these parts! Thanks so much, PJ_Soul!
Post edited by jlaustin on
2013 Wrigley, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
2014 Cincy, Detroit, Moline, & Milwaukee
2015 Central Park
2016 Lexington, Ottawa, Toronto 1 & 2, Boston 1 & 2, Chicago 1 & 2 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2018 Seattle 1 & 2, Missoula, Chicago 1
Up late and wanting to share a haiku memory. When I was a college student at Cal Berkeley, I worked at an office supply store. Wavy Gravy came in one day and I guess we must have chatted about poetry (I was writing a ton at the time). He took the paper bag that I gave him for his items and wrote the following haiku on it about Jerry:
The fat man checks out Hinges fall off heaven's door Come on in says Bill
I should have framed it and never let it go. I don't know what happened to it. The Bill is Bill Graham. I loved that poem.
10/31/93 Berkeley (Baba!) • 10/1/94 Bridge School • 9/16/96 Seattle (In My Tree!) • 10/19/96 & 10/20/96 B. School (Alt Corduroy & Alt Porch!) • 10/25/03 B. School • 6/1/03 Mtnview (Crazy Mary! You Are!) • 11/29/13 Portland (All Those Yesterdays! Even Flow!) • 10/25/14 Bridge School (Rain! Fuckin Up! TOTD!) • 5/13/22 Oakland (had to leave early, but W.M.A.! Immortality!) • 5/13/24 Sacramento (Light Years! Picture in a Frame!) • 5/25/24 Bottle Rock (Last Kiss! Maybe It’s Time w/Bradley Cooper!)
Up late and wanting to share a haiku memory. When I was a college student at Cal Berkeley, I worked at an office supply store. Wavy Gravy came in one day and I guess we must have chatted about poetry (I was writing a ton at the time). He took the paper bag that I gave him for his items and wrote the following haiku on it about Jerry:
The fat man checks out Hinges fall off heaven's door Come on in says Bill
I should have framed it and never let it go. I don't know what happened to it. The Bill is Bill Graham. I loved that poem.
What a great story! Thanks for sharing!
2013 Wrigley, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
2014 Cincy, Detroit, Moline, & Milwaukee
2015 Central Park
2016 Lexington, Ottawa, Toronto 1 & 2, Boston 1 & 2, Chicago 1 & 2 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2018 Seattle 1 & 2, Missoula, Chicago 1
FYI all, I have chosen the winners and have contacted them - just waiting to hear back from one to settle up where the prizes go, and then I'll post the winners as well as my reasons for choosing their poems. Thanks again to all who entered!! Everyone always says shit like this, but it really WAS super hard to pick the top three!
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
FYI all, I have chosen the winners and have contacted them - just waiting to hear back from one to settle up where the prizes go, and then I'll post the winners as well as my reasons for choosing their poems. Thanks again to all who entered!! Everyone always says shit like this, but it really WAS super hard to pick the top three!
This thread was a great place to vent during a difficult time. I was forced to compress my thoughts & feelings into 17 syllables. I can only do that when it is poetry or other writing exercises with rules. So my ADD had to compose itself and I was able to get to the emotion that was at the core of that day's pain. It was also fun to banter with other haiku'er's and write a couple that were just fun. But some days, I would just come to this thread and vent and it made me feel a little better. Reading other people's haiku's got me out of myself for awhile and I'm just a sucker for any sort of writing contest. I'm gonna miss this thread.
Well first of all, it's great to hear that this thread brought something positive for people. That is awesome, and the whole reason for the contest, so I'm grateful that it worked! :x
And here we are, the winners! I included the detailed reasoning behind my choices here - it's all just from my own perspective of course. No doubt everyone hss a different idea when interpretting the poems (including the winners maybe!), but the wonderful thing about poetry is that it is wide open to interpretation. I hope my interpretations explain why i made the choices i did.
1st PLACE WINNER IS.....
aurynsdad!!!! (Red LB prize!) With:
--- Rolled down the grass hill Before the show and was sure Life couldn't be better ---
This one is fantastic to me. It's visceral but so simple at the same time, which is exactly what I think the ideal Haiku should be, and that's the factor that finally nudged this one into first place when I was having trouble choosing between the three.
Rolling down the grass hill feels like a metaphor that I don't want to verbalize so that we can just imagine it one by one (though I know this experience is a real one for the poet). The cadence of the poem is what hooks me. The lack of punctuation is so well used - If you say it out loud in one breath it slips out like a smooth, rolling thought (appropriately). The lack of a story setup for this one moment makes it appealing to me. The very specific, real, personal memory seems like a symbol for the collective PJ experience. The way the poem sounds and flows makes it easy to imagine rolling down that hill and, ultimately, feeling that way we do on show night as well as the way our memories become emotion. And yes, I read couldn't as one syllable here, in case anyone's wondering - the flow of the poem allowed it; I actually found it to be a slick move, using that apostrophe to his advantage, lol. It played towards the poems success as one that should be recited out loud in a prescribed way. Neato.
So way to go aurynsdad. Congrats!
SECOND PLACE!!!!
njnancy (Vitalogy package prize)!!! With:
--- So needed, yet rare. Pearl Jam seeks that muted voice Begging to be heard ---
I love this one. For me it speaks to the ineffable feeling that PJ brings - That personal and collective connection so many experience with this music, and yes, I do think how PJ affects people is rare. Those feelings that aren't necessarily spoken, but felt through the music, lyrics, the experience, especially during those times that would otherwise seem isolating. Also, I think about how we connect so closely with lyrics; sometimes it can feel like their songs speak for us when we can't seem to speak ourselves at first. And that PJ "seeks" on our behalf is a cool, complicated concept that I really enjoyed.
THIRD PLACE!!!!:
topkicker (4 holiday singles prize)!!!!! With:
--- Invisible chains, lyrical spikes break each link. We stand together ---
This poem is awesome to me because it so well expresses that 'PJ crowd connection' that happens at a show. Unfortunately, people seem so separated from one another at times that it's almost like they are chained apart. That idea of "chained apart", seeming like a contradiction, really struck me. And then the music breaks whatever it is that keeps us chained apart day to day, and being unchained actually chains us closer together in a positive spirit. Very cool.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
Up late and wanting to share a haiku memory. When I was a college student at Cal Berkeley, I worked at an office supply store. Wavy Gravy came in one day and I guess we must have chatted about poetry (I was writing a ton at the time). He took the paper bag that I gave him for his items and wrote the following haiku on it about Jerry:
The fat man checks out Hinges fall off heaven's door Come on in says Bill
I should have framed it and never let it go. I don't know what happened to it. The Bill is Bill Graham. I loved that poem.
What a great story! Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome.
10/31/93 Berkeley (Baba!) • 10/1/94 Bridge School • 9/16/96 Seattle (In My Tree!) • 10/19/96 & 10/20/96 B. School (Alt Corduroy & Alt Porch!) • 10/25/03 B. School • 6/1/03 Mtnview (Crazy Mary! You Are!) • 11/29/13 Portland (All Those Yesterdays! Even Flow!) • 10/25/14 Bridge School (Rain! Fuckin Up! TOTD!) • 5/13/22 Oakland (had to leave early, but W.M.A.! Immortality!) • 5/13/24 Sacramento (Light Years! Picture in a Frame!) • 5/25/24 Bottle Rock (Last Kiss! Maybe It’s Time w/Bradley Cooper!)
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,604
Thank you PJ Soul! Congrats to the other winners! This was so much fun.
10/31/93 Berkeley (Baba!) • 10/1/94 Bridge School • 9/16/96 Seattle (In My Tree!) • 10/19/96 & 10/20/96 B. School (Alt Corduroy & Alt Porch!) • 10/25/03 B. School • 6/1/03 Mtnview (Crazy Mary! You Are!) • 11/29/13 Portland (All Those Yesterdays! Even Flow!) • 10/25/14 Bridge School (Rain! Fuckin Up! TOTD!) • 5/13/22 Oakland (had to leave early, but W.M.A.! Immortality!) • 5/13/24 Sacramento (Light Years! Picture in a Frame!) • 5/25/24 Bottle Rock (Last Kiss! Maybe It’s Time w/Bradley Cooper!)
This thread was a great place to vent during a difficult time. I was forced to compress my thoughts & feelings into 17 syllables. I can only do that when it is poetry or other writing exercises with rules. So my ADD had to compose itself and I was able to get to the emotion that was at the core of that day's pain. It was also fun to banter with other haiku'er's and write a couple that were just fun. But some days, I would just come to this thread and vent and it made me feel a little better. Reading other people's haiku's got me out of myself for awhile and I'm just a sucker for any sort of writing contest. I'm gonna miss this thread.
I totally share njnancy's sentiments here. Congrats to the other winners and thanks to everyone for sharing their own thoughts and feelings. My utmost gratitude goes to PJ_Soul for creating this opportunity for celebrating our favorite band.
Comments
McCready, Matt Cameron,
Stone Gossard... Pearl Jam
Wild sounds from my stereo.
Life changed forever.
lyrical spikes break each link.
We stand together.
tomorrow may never come.
Go see Pearl Jam live.
I'll be going through these over the next couple of days, and will contact the winners on the weekend and post them here. Good luck!! :-h
it's now may 15
the contest has closed my peeps
HIGH FIVE-SEVEN-FIVE
2010 WATCH IT GO TO FIRE!!
Wow that was a lot of fun
P J soul thank you
2010: 5/20 NY, 5/21 NY ... 2011: 6/21 EV NY, 9/3 WI, 9/4 WI ... 2012: 9/2 PA, 9/22 GA ... 2013: 10/18 NY, 10/19 NY, 10/21 PA, 10/22 PA, 10/27 MD
2015: 9/23 NY, 9/26 NY ... 2016: 4/28 PA, 4/29 PA, 5/1 NY, 5/2 NY, 6/11 TN, 8/7 MA, 11/4 TOTD PA, 11/5 TOTD PA ... 2018: 8/10 WA
2022: 9/14 NJ ... 2024: 5/28 WA, 9/7 PA, 9/9 PA ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s7
Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone
Gossard, Matt Cam'ren
:-B
2010 WATCH IT GO TO FIRE!!
Hadn't checked in for a couple days... Damn, I missed the deadline, hope one of my early entries make the top 20 at least! It has been great fun! Some talented people in these parts! Thanks so much, PJ_Soul!
2014 Cincy, Detroit, Moline, & Milwaukee
2015 Central Park
2016 Lexington, Ottawa, Toronto 1 & 2, Boston 1 & 2, Chicago 1 & 2
2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2018 Seattle 1 & 2, Missoula, Chicago 1
The fat man checks out
Hinges fall off heaven's door
Come on in says Bill
I should have framed it and never let it go. I don't know what happened to it. The Bill is Bill Graham. I loved that poem.
2014 Cincy, Detroit, Moline, & Milwaukee
2015 Central Park
2016 Lexington, Ottawa, Toronto 1 & 2, Boston 1 & 2, Chicago 1 & 2
2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2018 Seattle 1 & 2, Missoula, Chicago 1
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
And here we are, the winners! I included the detailed reasoning behind my choices here - it's all just from my own perspective of course. No doubt everyone hss a different idea when interpretting the poems (including the winners maybe!), but the wonderful thing about poetry is that it is wide open to interpretation. I hope my interpretations explain why i made the choices i did.
1st PLACE WINNER IS.....
aurynsdad!!!! (Red LB prize!) With:
---
Rolled down the grass hill
Before the show and was sure
Life couldn't be better
---
This one is fantastic to me. It's visceral but so simple at the same time, which is exactly what I think the ideal Haiku should be, and that's the factor that finally nudged this one into first place when I was having trouble choosing between the three.
Rolling down the grass hill feels like a metaphor that I don't want to verbalize so that we can just imagine it one by one (though I know this experience is a real one for the poet). The cadence of the poem is what hooks me. The lack of punctuation is so well used - If you say it out loud in one breath it slips out like a smooth, rolling thought (appropriately). The lack of a story setup for this one moment makes it appealing to me. The very specific, real, personal memory seems like a symbol for the collective PJ experience. The way the poem sounds and flows makes it easy to imagine rolling down that hill and, ultimately, feeling that way we do on show night as well as the way our memories become emotion. And yes, I read couldn't as one syllable here, in case anyone's wondering - the flow of the poem allowed it; I actually found it to be a slick move, using that apostrophe to his advantage, lol. It played towards the poems success as one that should be recited out loud in a prescribed way. Neato.
So way to go aurynsdad. Congrats!
SECOND PLACE!!!!
njnancy (Vitalogy package prize)!!! With:
---
So needed, yet rare.
Pearl Jam seeks that muted voice
Begging to be heard
---
I love this one. For me it speaks to the ineffable feeling that PJ brings - That personal and collective connection so many experience with this music, and yes, I do think how PJ affects people is rare. Those feelings that aren't necessarily spoken, but felt through the music, lyrics, the experience, especially during those times that would otherwise seem isolating. Also, I think about how we connect so closely with lyrics; sometimes it can feel like their songs speak for us when we can't seem to speak ourselves at first. And that PJ "seeks" on our behalf is a cool, complicated concept that I really enjoyed.
THIRD PLACE!!!!:
topkicker (4 holiday singles prize)!!!!! With:
---
Invisible chains,
lyrical spikes break each link.
We stand together
---
This poem is awesome to me because it so well expresses that 'PJ crowd connection' that happens at a show. Unfortunately, people seem so separated from one another at times that it's almost like they are chained apart. That idea of "chained apart", seeming like a contradiction, really struck me. And then the music breaks whatever it is that keeps us chained apart day to day, and being unchained actually chains us closer together in a positive spirit. Very cool.
~X( #-o
Vedder, McCready,
Ament, Gossard, Cameron,
Matt, Jack,Dave… Pearl Jam
2010 WATCH IT GO TO FIRE!!