Hialeah Haikus ... Chew on that idea for a moment. And before you commit harakiri at the thought of the pairing, just focus on the words, short and purposefully constructed to elicit a strong visceral reaction. Isn't that the essence of a haiku? You know, it makes sense in a Hialeah kind of way.
Even so, the title is about as unlikely a name for any book ever presented at Books & Books, and that's a long history. But as you'll hear when the authors, Alex Fumero and Marco Ramirez, speak at the Gables bookstore this Wednesday night, it's pure Miami:
I hate Abuela.
Why she gotta call my girl,
"La Tira-flecha."
As you might guess, Hialeah Haikus was born by accident, with writers-actors Fumero and Ramirez playing around in character. "Most of it started in jest with Marco and I sending funny text messages to each other," Fumero says. "But when we invited some of our friends who were strong writers to participate, they started producing poems that weren't so farcical."
Even some of the haikus that elicit a laugh or two are steeped in deeper truths:
ITT said no.
Cordon Bleu said no (for now).
Gonna be a cop.
For more, follow their twitter feed. They may even write a haiku, just for you.
Right away, the collaborators recognized they had stumbled onto something of note and decided to print up a book. They sold out the first 300 in about a month and the next 1,000 soon after. It was a runaway hit, at least by Miami literary standards.
The Books & Books event marks the official release of the second edition, which the authors guarantee will be typo-free. The founder of the University of Wynwood, P. Scott Cunningham, will serve as moderator and he's slated to ask a bunch of poignant questions, which Fumero promises will be answered poorly.
Hialeah Haikus. Wednesday, August 4. Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. The spitting starts at 8 p.m., and it's free. Call 305-442-4408 or visit booksandbooks.com. You can also buy the book online at artesmiami.org.
