Category Archives: Lowku

Life in 5, 7, 5

For far too long the limerick has stood alone as a means of poetically capturing comically lowbrow ideas. For centuries it has been a friendless, manically mugging ghost-clown haunting the edges of an austere poets’ feast, laughing raucously while winking and attempting to nudge the living guests–making itself even more unwanted by reminding poets that their art form isn’t always as highbrow as they’d like to think it is. However, today this unwelcome party of one stands alone no more. Today we bring you…lowku.

What the fuck is lowku, you ask? Lowku is something we’ve created to be the antithesis of haiku, and by created I mean that at some point during the 17th century the Japanese put a great deal of thought into developing an artistic form through which they could succinctly express the sublime, and we just metaphorically punched them in the nuts and stole their art form. It’s also a game (and limerick’s new BFF, obviously).

The game and aim are simple. Twice a month we’ll display an image of one of life’s more lowbrow moments, and your mission will be to carefully select words that add up to 17 syllables and string them together in 5,7,5 form in order to describe said image or tell its story. The winners will be whomever we feel like naming the winners (or whomever sends the most enjoyable bribes. I have a penchant for single malts and very dark ales, just saying), and we will announce them at the start of the following round. At that point a new image will be posted to ignite the next bout of genius. Lather, rinse, repeat.

In celebration of the demise of her campaign, here’s today’s image. Ready, set, lowku. Continue reading →