The reason I think its amazing is that I was fully engrossed in it while reading it at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston waiting for the rain to die down. Two years later, I still chuckle at the thought of one of the haikus. Its a completely silly book but any haiku with David Cross in it is A-OK in my universe. Whatever your thoughts may be on hipsterdom, it's still an enjoyable read. I always say I should have bought the damn book. Such a short read that you can read it at the bookstore.
I was perusing my library when I ran across "Hipster Hiaku". It seemed like it would be a lovely time-capsule from when being a millennial meant being a young adult.
Being a hipster then meant certain markers of style and taste, establishing an in-group with its preferences, but only light clique-i-ness instead of any particular real hostility to outsiders. This celebration was light and fun, only fun snarky.
The hiaku form made for a brief read; only the lightest perusal in the regular rotation and it was done. Yet, it was not too light, there was still just enough to have a full experience.
Like the cultural reign of the hipster, "Hipster Hiaku" was light, it was fun, and then it was done.
"I don’t blog daily Such foolish consistency Says 'I have no life'”
Of course, the truth is I would totally blog daily if I wasn't such a procrastinator!
A stylish and humorous take down of hipsterdom, circa 2006, is the collection of tongue in cheek haiku by Siobahn Adcock, which also seems to be among the first hipster books to be published based on a blog, a tradition which seems to be the norm these days. Adcock's casual poetry is like a self-deprecating time capsule of pop culture references, name dropping a lot of familiar stuff, websites, bands, authors, shops, all that stuff. Of course, it is all pretty dated, as well, but that seems to be the fate of hipster studies- things barely last a year before being abandoned.
The stereotypes remain, though, and Adcock's work is a nice reflection of this juxtaposition between the sincere and the ironic that exemplifies the culture, with an insider's understanding of the ridiculous nature of the genre. I certainly got a lot more of the references now than when I first read it back in '07.
"You know you’ve arrived When you are mentioned in the Wikipedia"
Remember a time when we might still call it "The" Wikipedia?
I keep hoping that one of these novelty-haiku books will actually get haiku right. I keep being disappointed. That said, some of them have been funny while still being senryu. This is not one of them. Poking fun at emo kids while your collection has an overarching sense of existential angst makes me think that, perhaps, an important point was missed somewhere.
“He is midtown, but Loves to call stuff 'sick' and 'tight'. Bless his little heart.”
and
“Only three labels, Merge, Sub Pop, and Matador, deserve your money”
are pretty typical selections. If 150 pages of the same appeals to you, by all means go for it. **
I read this book in Berkley in a bookstore down the street from La Note (fabulous breakfast place). My friend liked it and so I let ze buy it as they only had the one copy and it isn't one that I would reread on a regular basis. Though it may be a good bathroom book ;)
oh my i do love a haiku, and this book is chock full of silly and funny ones. i tend to leave this on the coffee table for people to pick up and page through. a great gift from my dear friend Scottie.
It's exactly what you expect. Some cute, some clever, some worthy of a scoff and an eyeroll. It's nice to tote around, and it's a fun game to play with friends when killing time at a bar. My only tip: don't spend more than $5 on it.
Sure, it's a novelty, but it has to be taken with a grain of salt. These poems poke fun at the culture of self-important hipsters, and the results are pretty hilarious.
Good haiku tells the whole story. Surprisingly, there were some truly wonderful haiku in this book. I wasn't expecting that from a book I read while looking for a laugh.