Politiku Project Proposal

A proposal to teach and facilitate a political haiku writing

workshop for active, retired and reserve men and women
serving in the military suffering from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder
What is Politiku?
 “Politiku” is inspired by haiku; a genre of Japanese poetry that
condenses a personal encounter with nature into seventeen syllables.

The seventeen syllables are subdivided into clusters of 5-7-5.

Traditional haiku relies on the “kigo,”
or “seasonal reference.”

Temple bells die out./ The fragrant A mountain village/ under the piled
blossoms remain./ A perfect up snow/ the sound of water.
evening! -Basho - Masaoka
Rather than condensing a personal
encounter with nature, “Politiku”
condenses a personal encounter with a
a trending news topic.
The “kigo” is therefore replaced
with a political reference.
Where is
Politiku?
 In 2009, I began cross
posting Politiku on Arianna
Huffington’s blog.
Politiku started on my
personal blog in 2008.
Being a Huffington
Post blogger means
Politiku posts are
widely read and
frequently syndicated
by other online
publications.
Online journals,
websites and
blogs have also
written about
Politiku.
Politiku writers and enthusiasts promote Politiku through
their Facebook & Twitter networks.
What does this
Have to do with
Vets suffering
from PTSD?
For some, processing
combat memories is an
emotionally overwhelming,
isolating and even
debilitating experience.
 How Politiku Will Serve
US Military Veterans Suffering from PTSD

Encourage vets to take emotional ownership of their personal narratives

Publication opportunities should they want their words circulated

Provide a fast, accessible and immediate sense of project completion

Train them to communicate war experiences in a non-active, reflective and

sometimes humorous way

Empower vets to confront and address media exaggerations & inaccuracies

Enable vets to rebuild impaired communication skills through daily practice

Rebuild focus, short term memory and writing skills in a supportive

environment
 Politiku Workshop Will be
Structured as a Military Unit

Group will be no larger than eighteen and

will consistently work together

A short but intensive training period to

familiarize with haiku and poetry written by
active and inactive military

Topics will be assigned spontaneously and

with tight deadlines
 Featured Politiku Contributors

Workshop facilitator will work with board of advisors, relevant

government and civilian PR department/firms and pre-
existing media outlets to select topical contributors to feature
in published selections.

To respect the privacy of all workshop participants, any direct

interactions between featured Politiku contributors and
workshop participants will require signed statement of
confidentiality.
 Privacy and Politiku
Because PTSD is a medical condition, the
privacy of all workshop participants, will be
protected by the facilitators.

Workshop participants will have

opportunities to publish anonymously

Individual workshop participants will retain

personal copyrights to all work produced in
the workshop.