JUSTIN BOHARDT

We're All Gaijin on Mars

A Collection of Minimalist Poetry

 

The capturing of nature's essence in seventeen precisely arranged syllables is moved from its classical roots and into the future as the nature of the stars, space exploration, alien contact, and the future of humanity beyond Earth is examined in over one hundred minimalist poems. 

We're All Gaijin on Mars is a collection of over one hundred Japanese-style minimalist poems set primarily in science fiction and fantasy settings. This first volume of Justin Bohardt's collected poetry contains works almost exclusively composed in the haiku format, although it also includes senryu, tanka, and haibun, as well as some free verse.

 

Most people are at least familiar with the idea of the haiku, if not its specific structure, but a few notes for the uninitiated follow. The haiku is a style of poetry originating in Japan featuring a three line structure in a 5-7-5 syllabic format. In the classical context, specific words known as kigo were used to reference what season the haiku was occurring in, and two thoughts were juxtaposed in the verse, leading to an “a-ha” moment (as the editor of Scifaikuest, Teri Santitoro, calls it).

 

Classical haiku also tend to contain distinct observation or revelations about the natural world or nature itself. There is a similar form of poetry, senryu, that focuses on human nature and are often more humorous or cynical compared to the haiku. I have included a few in this collection, but most of the following poems deal with nature as it exists in an extraterrestrial capacity.