Some Amazing reviews

A couple of Cleveland poets who write poetry toward the speculative direction in the geography of poetry have recently gotten reviews from Diane Severson in Amazing Stories.

Cleveland's haiku master Joshua Gage's new chapbook, Inhuman: Haiku from the Zombie Apocalypse (OR Inhuman: Zombie Haiku in Four Acts) (just out from The Poet’s Haven, as No. 18 in the Poet’s Haven Author Series) was reviewed in the most recent issue.  Diane writes:
"This is a volume to enjoy as a brief diversion on a stormy night and also to pull out each October in preparation for Hallowe’en."

At six dollars for a copy, it's a bargain for any poetry fans with an interest in haiku, or in horror.  And it's not too early to start thinking of gifts to give your friends and family for World Zombie day!

And Mary Turzillo's book Lovers and Killers (which has been mentioned here before) also rated a good review from Diane in the April Amazing: 
"I really like Mary Turzillo’s writing style. It’s less formal than many poets in her syntax and word choices, which makes it easy to read.  It’s a book that could be ripped through, it’s so easy to read, but its many-layered nature benefits from a bit more leisure."

Ten bad poems for every good one.

Kathleen Flenniken says, "ten bad poems for every good one."

Sounds right.

What's Your Day Job?

On NPR, David Orr points out that, since (mostly) poetry doesn't pay the bills, poets have day jobs. 

"No man but a blockhead," Samuel Johnson famously observed, "ever wrote, except for money." This is tough news for poets, since the writing they do is often less immediately profitable than a second-grader's math homework (the kid gets a cookie or a hug; the poet gets a rejection letter from The Kenyon Review). Poetry itself is tremendously valuable, of course, but that value is often realized many years after a poem's composition, and sometimes long after the end of its author's life.
In the meantime, everyone has to eat. So unless you win the lottery, being a poet means finding a job that can support the writing of poems.

From banker (T.S. Eliot) to undertaker (Thomas Lynch), working at a job has in one way or another influenced their poetry, for some quite obviously, and for others more subtly.

• David Orr, "From Dissections To Depositions, Poets' Second Jobs."

"Day Jobs of the Poets"
from Incidental Comics:
words and pictures by
Grant Snider

Few Dollar Man

and now, here's the winning poem:
Best Cleveland Poem 2013

Dianne Borsenik reads
photo by Tim Misny

Few Dollar Man

Dianne Borsenik

my Cleveland, I don’t mind him

being a blue collar, few dollar man

don’t need him all prettified,

gentrified, riverwalked,

starched, pressed and lean

I like his urban sprawl

his sports bars,

sports cars,

Ford trucks,

Great Lakes brew

and bratwurst,

his rib fests and bare chests

he can put on a suit and tie

if the occasion calls for it

he cleans up real nice

he’s no “playhouse square”

he’s a comfortable fit

I like his long hair, level stare,

acting like he doesn’t care,

blue jeans and boots swagger,

his never-say-die attitude,

his rock and roll hammer

I dig the punk, pensive,
ponytailed poet in him

I like it when he shows his

ethnic roots

and I don’t mind his often gruff speech,

his questionable grammar

don’t mind his broken english,

city slang

or down-home twang,

his sometimes breach

of political tact

and cultural fact

we have an understanding

I don’t mind his tough sidewalks,

his callused highways,

the clumsy fumble of his

tumbledown neighborhoods

don’t mind the times his rough

streetlighting catches at my clothes

in the heavy dark

when he’s running his transit

through my hair

at least he’s reaching out for me,

wants to feel me close against him

I don’t mind the stubble

on his troubled street corners,

cold Lake Erie steaming his breath,

his bleary neon eyes,

his wasted wallpaper billboards

too many nights of revel

after long days spent

in steelwork,

car shops,

west side markets

and east side offices,

orange-barreled highway construction,

Clinic halls

and University malls

working,

giving all he’s got,

just making a living

I trust him; I know he has my back,

I know he’s looking out for me

my Cleveland, I don’t mind him

being a blue collar, few dollar man.

Best Cleveland Poem

Ray McNiece opens the show, accompanied by Al Moses on guitar
(photo by Geoffrey A. Landis)

On Sunday night ten poets read at the Willoughby Brewing Company to compete for the Best Cleveland Poem Contest, with an evening of poetry (and a little music) MC'd by Cleveland's indefatigable Irish-Slovenian poet Ray McNiece.
The finalist poems for the Best Cleveland Poem were:

• "A Clevelander in Paradise" by Katie Daley
• "Arriving in Cleveland from the East Coast" by Jack McGuane
• "Dreams and Iron Ore" by Geoffrey Landis
• "Shimmer" by Mary A. Turzillo
• "Spring Tease" by Catherine Criswell
• "Hunger" by Theresa Gottl
• "Few Dollar Man" by Dianne Borsenik
• "Cicada Song" by Jeffrey Bowen
• "Waiting For the Muse in Lakeview Cemetery" by John Donoghue
• "Cleveland Poem" by Martin Snyder

And super congrats to poet (and publisher) Dianne Borsenik, who knocked the socks off from the celebrity judges and takes the title of "Best Cleveland Poet" reading her poem "Few Dollar Man."

Dianne Borsenik blew away the judges, and the audience
photo by Tim Misny

Runner-up honors went to Katie Daley for "A Clevelander in Paradise," with Martin Snyder right behind her with "Cleveland Poem" and Mary A. Turzillo in fourth place with "Shimmer."  Great job to all!

Ray McNiece writes: 

It was really wonderful evening, thanks to the judges,  Mike Polk, comedian; Mike McIntyre from the Plain Dealer; Elisa Amigo from Fox 8; and Russ Borski from CSU, and to Celina Colombo and Sarah Johnson LaBarbera for helping to organize, and of course to our sponsor Tim "I'll make them rhyme" Misney... special thanks to Al Moses for backing me up on Love Song for Cleveland.

Publisher Seeks Guest Judge Applications For Summer Contest

Burning River Press & Blog is currently seeking applications far and wide for 2 guest judges for it's annual summer open...

More information can be found at their site, http://www.burningriver.info

So, what's poetry and why should readers read it? How to Read Poetry 101

Over at tor.com, fantasy poet Amal El-Mohtar gives a reader's guide: How to Read Poetry 101

1. How to Read Poetry 101: Whys and Wherefores 

 "Over the next four weeks I want to transform you from a sheepish non-reader of poetry into a curious appreciator of it."

The interesting part, though, is that she invited readers to read a sample poem ("Moral" by Alicia Cole, from Goblin Fruit) and then leave their opinions.  An interesting discussion showing just how different people read different things from a poem I don't think I've seen this deep a discussion of a single poem for quite a while!

Ohio Poetry Day Contests open for submissions!

The third Friday of every October is Ohio Poetry Day, and every year the Ohio Poetry Day Association sponsors a series of Ohio Poetry Day Contests, with prizes from five dollars to sixty dollars.  This year there are thirty-two contests, ranging from "Deadly Sins," sponsored by Pig Iron Literary and Artworks of Youngstown,  to the Crème de la Crème contest, open only to previous winners, sponsored by OPD itself.


Closing Date: May 31, 2013 (postmark)
Eligibility for all contests consists of payment of a single $10.00 fee sent with the poems and entry blank, which is required of all entrants. All poems must be mailed with fee at one time in one envelope. If more than two poems, mail flat in a 9x12 envelope. All poems should be mailed to Bill Reyer, Contest Chairman, Department of English, Heidelberg University, 310 East Market St., Tiffin, OH 44883.
Entries must be original, unpublished in any form and must never have won a state or national contest prize of over $10, or be submitted for publication elsewhere. Poems must be in English, typed, photocopied or computer generated; single spaced (except between stanzas); on one side of 8 1/2 x 11 white paper. No artwork except for contest #2.
All poems must be titled, and title should not be the same as contest/theme title. Two clear copies of each poem must be sent, both containing number and name of contest in the upper left corner, and the second copy only containing in the upper right corner the name and address of the contestant. Ohio only contests should add "Ohio native" after out of state address if relevant. Address labels or rubber stamps may be used.
Poems should be separated into first (judges') and second (ID) copies and stacked in numerical order with judges' copies on top. Only one poem may be sent to any contest (except #s 26 and 29), and no poem may be entered in more than one contest. No poems or artwork will be returned, so keep copies of your work. Entrants retain all rights to their work, except that money winning poems and art will be published in a copyrighted Best of 2012 book which will appear at Poetry Day and be for sale at and after that date. Any entries in contravention of these rules will be disqualified and fee forfeited. Awards will be made at the Ohio Poetry Day weekend, October 18 & 19, at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio.
Winners lists will be made available in late summer if #10 SASE is sent with poems. No other prior notification will be made. Those not present at Poetry Day will have awards mailed to them. Include a self-addressed, stamped postcard if you wish verification of your entry packet. You may photocopy these rules.

The list of contests is here.

Sh!tty poetry month!

I'm almost embarassed to admit it, but Chizine, in honor of April being national poetry month, is holding "sh!tty poetry month" on their Chiaroscuro: Treatments of Light and Shade in Words page, and have invited all the poets they know to send them the poems that they're too embarrassed to publish.  They just posted the final week (at least, I hope it's the final week!), and OMG, some of these are pretty awful.  Makes you feel pretty good, to see how awful other peoples' poems can get.
So, you want to see awful poetry, check out:

• Introduction: April is Sh!tty poetry month
• Sh!tty poetry, week 1
• Sh!tty poetry, week 2 
• Sh!tty poetry, week 3
• Sh!tty poetry, week 4 

I'm even more embarassed to admit I have a poem (it's in week 3)... but not as embarrassed as I'm going to be if I  discover somebody ever read it.

• Check their Facebook page

Bruce Weigl is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for poetry

Lorain poet Bruce Weigl is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his book The Abundance of Nothing.

Congrats to Bruce!

• Bio for the Cleveland Arts Prize
• "Apparition of the Exile” (from Archaeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems)

The book of cats: "On Velvet Feet"

On Velvet Feet, available from Poet's Haven

Our cat
sprawls on the rug
like ink scrawled on parchment
composing a poem I'm too human to read.
 --Joshua Gage

There's just something about poets and cats.
Sure, there are the odd poets that love their dogs (and write about them), but from ol' possum Tommy Eliot through to Marge Piercy and on, there's been something about the mystique of the feline--simultaneously a purring ball of fur sleeping in a patch of sunshine, and a sleek and efficient predator hunting in the night shadows--that brings out the poet.
Well, for cat lovers, Poet's Haven has just published a mini-book of cat poems, featuring a number of Cleveland poets: check out "On Velvet Feet" edited by Vertigo X. Xavier (part of the "Poet's Haven Digest" series).
OK, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that yes, I have a handful of haiku here. Still, this is a great little book, small in size, but well worth the minor price of $6.00-- go buy copies for all your poetry-loving and cat-loving friends!

Thick-whiskered Buddha,

rolling belly of the world,

your mantra is purr.

--"Cat on a Zafu"

Melissa Studdard 

"Tyrael"
Photo by Geoffrey A. Landis

Academic poetry, versus slam poetry, versus underground poetry

Azriel, over at the Writing Knights roundtable blog, comments on the difference in feel between what he calls "academic" poetry, versus "slam" poetry, versus a third category, "underground" poetry-- and then is challenged to define what he means by the categories.

"What are "slam," "academic," and "underground" poems...how are you defining these terms? I'm going to make the argument that there are some craft techniques that are universal to all of these styles of poetry, or make all of these styles of poetry stronger or weaker through their use or lack thereof."

Ah, I love categorizing things. It's a game you can just keep on playing.

Of these, slam poetry is the easiest one to nail down-- it's the poetry you get in a poetry slam.  A slam poem isn't really about the poem in itself-- it's all about the performance.  And, more to the point: a slam poem has to get its reaction immediately. It's not one where, hours later, you wake up in the middle of the night realizing you can't stop thinking about that one image, or working through some train of thought the poem had kicked off.  A slam poem kicks you in the gut fast.

"Academic" poems (I think he means what I would call "page" poems-- poems that are meant to be read on the page, not necessarily performed), can work slow.  They can layer on imagery, can take multiple readings.  Many page poems, of course, read very well-- the rhythm and poetry of language can work in readings as well as on the page.

"Underground" poems, I guess, are the ones that don't fit either category-- the true underground poems are edgy, want to make you think or react or feel, want to break rules just for the sake of getting a rise. 

Which, I suppose is as good a segue as any to mention that the Lake Effect poetry team, Cleveland's own slam performers, will be doing their Lake Effect Poetry 2013 GRAND SLAM, the final competition to see who will comprise Cleveland's National Poetry Slam team this year, on Saturday, May 11th at 7:00 PM at 4700 Prospect Ave, Cleveland, OH 44103. There will be a $5 entry fee at the door to attend the Grand Slam. Half of the money collected at the door will go towards getting our team to NPS, the other half will go to the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland.

You want to see slam-- here's the place to find it!

Poets who will be competing in the GRAND SLAM are:
AKeemjamall Rollins
Redd
Eris Zion Venia
Caira Lee
Azriel Johnson
Skylark Bruce
Arianna Cheree
FREE
Christine Howey
Joshua Gage

• Check out the event's facebook page

Poetry is like Deep Thoughts

Kathleen Rooney, in the New York Times Magazine, says that modern poetry-- the kind her students like, anyway--is like Jack Handey's "Deep Thoughts":
"And Now, Deep Thoughts About ‘Deep Thoughts’"

I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.  
--Jack Handey

DeepThoughtsByJackHandey.com

Starting out poets versus "wow" poets: what's the difference?

The Found Poetry Review blog "from the editor's desk" has a nice chart showing the difference between "starting out" poet, an "on my way" poet, and"wow."

"Found" poetry, experimental poetry, traditional poetry-- this is a good summary of what editors (and readers!) want.

Support your Local Writer

Karen Sandstrom says: support your local writer (artist, bookstore).

Hessler Street Fair is looking for poets! {UPDATED]

The Hessler Street Fair is coming, and that means the Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest is looking for entries! 

 From the Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest page:

Poetry Contest

2013 Poetry at the Hessler Street Fair

Celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the Hessler Street Fair!!!

2013 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest & Book

• 1st Place Winning Poet receives $100
• 2nd Place Winning Poet receives $50
• 3rd Place Winning Poet receives $25

Mac’s Backs on Coventry road will host the Poetry reading of entries for the 2013  Hessler Street Fair Poetry contest.

—————–

The rules for 2013 – Newly edited 2/21/2013

• Submit up to 5 original poems. Only selected poems will be included. Each poem must have your name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone number and e-mail address.
• Open to ages 14 and up.
• Shorter poems of one page or less will be favored.
• Poets published in the book may purchase one copy of the Hessler 2013 Poetry and Prose Annual from the Hessler Street Fair Booth at Hessler Rd. & Hessler Ct. during the days of the 2013 Fair for half price. Full price will be charged for additional copies at the Fair Booth or at Mac’s Backs paperbacks, 1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights, OH - 216-321-2665
• Emailed entries are strongly preferred. Email entry deadline is April 19th, 2013.
• Entries delivered via U. S. mail deadline is April 19th, 2013 . Poets whose work has been accepted for publication will be notified via e-mail. Book will be released in early May.
• A qualifying round of readings will be held at Mac’s Backs -Books on Coventry on May 8th, 2013 at 7pm. About 20 minutes after all poets have read, the winners will be announced and prizes will be handed out. If you have won in the last three years you can submit to the book but will not be eligible to win a prize. To receive a prize you must read on the designated day during the Hessler Street Fair.

Poetry has always been an integral part of the Hessler Street Fair, sometimes having its own stage on the street and sometimes combining with music on the main stage, but always doing something new. This year we continue to provide space for local poets to speak. Check back for the schedule of events.

The Top Three winners will be given the opportunity to read from the stage at the Hessler Street Fair, simulcast on live radio and the web, during the Fair. Poetry read on air must not include any words designated to be obscene language as stated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
U.S. Mail (no hand delivery please):
Poetry Contest
2011 Hessler Street Fair Committee
11326 Hessler Road, Cleveland OH 44106
hesslerstreetpoetry@gmail.com

• check out their facebook page here

Mac’s Backs ~ Books on Coventry
Celebrating 34 Years 1978-2012
1820 Coventry Rd.
Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
www.macsbacks.com

————————————–

2012 contest winners:

-->

• 1st place: B M Stroud
• (video here)
• 2nd place: Carla Thompson
• 3rd place: Nancy Nixon

2011 contest winners: On Wednesday May 11, 2011 the Hessler Street Fair Poetry finalists read their entries at Mac’s Backs on Coventry. The judges selected the following winners.

• 1st Place – Vladimir Swirynsky for “Already The Sky on Bent Knees”
• (video here or here)
• 2nd Place – Shelley Chernin for “Rise and Shine”
• (video)
• 3rd Place – Andrew Line for “Catalyst (In Memoriam)”
• (poem here)
• Honorable Mention – T.M. Gottl for “On the Feast of Snow and Shadow”
• Honorable Mention – Michael Bernstein for “what it does”

The Hessler Street Fair Committee would like to thank this year’s judges:

• Jill Riga
• Mary Turzillo
• Geoffrey A. Landis

Special thanks to Joshua Gage for putting the 2011 Hessler Street Fair Anthology together and conducting the reading. Our sincere appreciation is extended to Suzanne DeGaetano at Mac’s Backs for hosting the reading and her ongoing support of the Hessler Street Fair, and to the Hessler Street Fair, for their long-running support of poetry.

the 2011 winners

 

reading on the main stage at the Hessler fair 

Update (May 9 2013):

Congrats to the winners! 

• First place, "Bird's Nest," AKeemjamal Rollins
• Second place, "Wine of the Lost Child of the Lost Child of the Sixties," Batya Weinbaum
• Third place, "The Mermaids of Lake Erie," Marie Vibbert

 and

•  Honorable mention: "The Bison Speaks," Jacob King

We're looking forward to your performance on the main stage at the fair on Sunday!

When that Aprill, with his showers sweet, the drought of March has pierced to the root...

It's April!

"April showers bring May flowers."  Or, as Geoffrey Chaucer says:

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
 Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
 Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open eye-
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages)


(Around here, I'd say it's more like "April, with his showers frigid...")

It's also National poetry month.  What to do?  Well, try this:

• 30 ways to celebrate national poetry month.

Billy C reads at Kent U, and other Wick-ed Stuff

It's April, and the poetry news is coming fast and furious.
Here's the latest issue of the newsletter from the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State:

Poetry Reading: Billy Collins Former U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins, will visit Kent State as part of the Wick Poetry Center’s annual U.S. Poet Laureate Reading in celebration of National Poetry Month. The event will take place on Thursday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Kent Student Center. The U.S. Poet Laureate Series is a collaboration between the Wick Poetry Center and the Kent State University Library with sponsorship from the Honors College, Department of History, and Department of English. Billy Collins, U.S.Poet Laureate (2001-2003), is the author of several books of poetry, including Ballistics; Nine Horses; Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems; The Art of Drowning, which was a finalist for the Lenore Marhall Poetry Prize; Questions About Angels, which was selected for the National Poetry Series; and most recently horoscopes for the dead. Collins’ new and selected collection of poems (2003-2013), Shouting Over the Machinery of Time, will be available March 2013. His poetry has appeared in anthologies, textbooks, and a variety of periodicals, such as Poetry, American Poetry Review, and The New Yorker. Collins has edited Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry, an anthology of contemporary poems for use in schools. Collins’ other honors and awards include fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. The 12th Annual Performance of Giving Voice This year's Giving Voice will take place on Wednesday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Kent Student Center. Giving Voice features local students (grades 3-12), senior citizens, veterans, and medical care providers and patients from area hospitals, performing original poetry. All material is created in Wick outreach programs, including workshops led by Kent State University undergraduates enrolled in the service-learning course “Teaching Poetry in the Schools.” Robin Scheuerman, senior Speech-Language Pathology major and Wick intern, is one of the students in the course this spring. When asked about her experience in the class, she was eager to talk about her students: "I have had the wonderful opportunity this semester to teach poetry to 7th graders at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Akron, and also to 3rd graders at Walls Elementary School in Kent. The creativity and excitement shown by the students have been inspiring to me in my own writing and life. I am very much looking forward to Giving Voice, when the students will have the opportunity to share their hard work and wonderful poetry with family, friends, and the community."

The Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize Submissions are now open for the first book contest. This prize is offered annually to a poet who has not previously published a full-length collection of poems. Michael Mlekoday was the 2012 winner, chosen by Dorianne Laux, for his manuscript The Dead Eat Everything. The 2013 winner will receive $2,500 and will give a reading at Kent State in 2014 with prize judge, Mark Doty. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2013. Click here to enter your manuscript to the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize. National Teen Writing Contest To celebrate National Poetry Month, the Wick Poetry Center is hosting a teen writing contest for High School students throughout the nation. The entry fee is $5 per submission. The winning poet and the poet's school will receive $500. The Wick Poetry Center will bring the winning poet & guest to Kent State University in September 2013 to read during our yearly event, Celebrating Our Own. The second place winner and their school will receive $250.  Click here to submit a poem to the contest, which will run from February 15 through April 30, 2013.

Poets William Pitt Root and Pamela Uschuk visit KSU campus By Daniel Dorman, Undergraduate Intern The evening of William Pitt Root and Pamela Uschuk's reading had a pleasantly intimate atmosphere. Felt through their welcoming presence and bolstered by their obvious love and friendship with poet and professor Maj Ragain, the poets settled into the Wick event with ease and comfort. After an inviting and gracious introduction by David Hassler, Maj read an embracing piece about Bill and Pam, the friendship they share, and their poetry. He smoothly entered the audience into the immensity of Bill and Pam's poems. Bill and Pam both showed their appreciation for being welcomed through their excitement and by reading for their dear friend. Before she began to read, Pam said in the spirit of the evening, "Afterwards, let's go roll in the snow together!" As Maj said of the couple: "They meet every day." It seems to me that they meet poetry every day, as well. During dinner the poets decided to change the usual poetry reading scheme. Rather than divide their time in half, the poets took turns reading one or two pieces at a time. The back and forth interactions of the poems and the wide worlds they formed together made for an intriguing and stimulating event. The poets read selections from a number of their titles, including "White Boots," "Reasons for Going It on Foot," "Crazy Love" and "Wild in the Plaza of Memory." The reading drove through the evening a sense of love for poetry, fellow poets and time spent together. Even as the night came to a close, Bill and Pam remained, conversing with students, faculty and poets alike. Want to keep up with news from the Wick?   Sign up for the newsletter or just follow them on Facebook

Cat Paws

 

 Inky paw prints presumably left by a curious kitty on a 15th century manuscript.

 

Why Do We Hate Certain Words?

 

To Anyone Who’s Ever Written a Poem or Even Is Just Thinking about Trying It Soon: A list of DOs and DON’Ts

 

 Participating publishers will give you a free book of poetry for every book of poetry purchased via their Web sites.

Haiku-bot writes "haiku" at NYT

Ok, everybody, repeat after me: just because it's written in seventeen syllables 5-7-5 doesn't make it a haiku.
But, the New York Times "senior software architect" Jacob Harris just wrote a software bot that trolls through the NYT, and extracts 5-7-5 syllable fragments-- "The New York Times has built a haiku bot," as Justin Ellis phrases it.

• Check it out: haiku.nytimes.com
• James Harris discusses the program

OK, you know my fascination with auto-poetry.  Few of these really rate as actual haiku. Still, here's one:

The buzzing of a
thousand bees in the tiny
curled pearl of an ear.

--well, that one's unfair.  It's from the book review of Kate Atkinson's novel Life After Life, and the part that the haiku-bot found and chose to extract for the haiku is a section that is quoting a passage from the novel.  So, as a novelist, Atkinson has quite a poetic ear.  Bravo, but no kudos for Mr. haiku-bot.

So, no, not really haiku.  Even the author, Harris, admits as much:
"...That's a lot harder to teach an algorithm, though, so we just count syllables like most amateur haiku aficionados do."

A few might be called relatively pretty decent senryu, though:

People often do
 what they have to do to make
 their story sound right.

or,  more sinister:

 It's hard to find your 

bearings in the middle of

 a cataclysm.

or even insightful:

Slowly, he began

 to believe those things that he

 used to say in jest.

I guess the haiku-bot a bit better at writing senryu than haiku.

But, looks like robots are starting to take over the business of writing poetry for us, and pretty soon we'll be out of a job.  I guess all that's left for us humans is to watch youtoobs and check out teh lolcats.  So, with that thought: have a happy National Poetry month, everybody!

• discussion at mashable