Fun with Legal Writing … and Anchovies (with a main dish of haiku)

Almost every good legal writer will say, “good legal writing is simply good writing.”

David Giacalone, in his 12/29/07, f/ka post, you tell ‘em – hold the anchovies, teaches about writing haiku (and writing generally) by comparing 3 haiku/senryu, from the tantalizing to the gristly. Try to see and feel (and even smell) the differences:

I found these all at and copied them from David’s post:

*********************
first date–
the little pile
of anchovies.

……………… by Roberta Beary – from The Unworn Necklace (Snapshots Press, 2007); Frogpond (Winter 2007), 1st Place, Haiku Society of America’s 2006 Gerald Brady Senryu Contest

Davids words: “In the hands of a lesser poet — or one who was simply not willing to take the time to invoke “the first-date anchovy experience” with a sensory image rather than a mere explanatory phrase — we could have wound up with an epigrammatic “insight,” a wry-ku bon mot such as:”

i know the rule:
no first-date
anchovies

“Or, perhaps a palpably inferior, regretful “sigh-ku,” like:”

no goodnight kiss –
why did I have anchovies
on our first date?

The whole anchovy-post can be found here. If you don’t laugh, or at least smile, there’s no hope for you.

Happy First Weekend of 2008 – oy!