Hood Haiku, Volume One: Sidewalk Science is a collection of writings that combine the perspectives of a displaced child of the African diaspora living in urban America with the traditional Japanese haiku poetic form, defined by its 5-7-5 syllable structure. It was published in 2017 by Fist City Press with editing by Kevin Kosanovich and illustrations by Ty Carey. Carey’s illustrations on this page were originally designed as chapter headers but did not appear in the commercially released version of the book.

From the Hood Haiku press release:

“Language is constantly changing: evolving, devolving, merging, splitting, and intersecting within cultural settings. What is deemed acceptable or relevant speech within any given scenario is often the product of standards that allow for a constant sense of hierarchical control. Dictators of Semantic Rules versus the demographic regulated by those designated norms of speech.

But what happens when language is manipulated by the people to meet the needs of their demographic, claiming power through the very systems that traditionally restrict and regulate? Whether done on conscious or subconscious levels, combining intentional re-appropriation of meanings with regional accents and dialect produces unique variations of speak.

“A Renaissance Man Speaks: Music, Wax, Prose”

- Richmond Magazine (2017) -

Hood Haiku brings cutting edge wit, traditional form, and the urban experience into a unified package that is both reflective and expository in its creative scope. With the support of topic-relevant illustrations from RVA-based artist Ty Carey, Hood Haiku bridges the dialectic gap between sidewalk science and classic structure. It is Ice Cube vs. Yo Yo Ma, Wesley Snipes meets Jet Li, and the wind-blown litter of the inner city folded into a symphony of origami cranes.”