THE HAIBUN GALLERY: January 15, 2026. Shloka Shankar - Guest Editor

editors on haikuKATHA: Shalini Pattabiraman, Vidya Shankar, Firdaus Parvez and Kala Ramesh

Lorraine Haig has stepped down from being a mentor for this forum. Triveni Haikai India and The Haibun Gallery are grateful for her exceptional feedback and responses over the last few years.

Guest Editor: Shloka Shanker

Featured Poet: Peter Jastermsky

A Thursday Feature January 15, 2026

Reader’s Choice

Peter Jastermsky

With me, it’s best to be brief. Like Hemingway, with bullet points.

Kafka cap

every sentence

a trial

— From the chapbook No Velcro Here (Yavanika Press, 2019)

Commentary:

This week, we’re looking at a haibun by Peter Jastermsky in which the prose comprises just a dozen words. The economy of language in this piece aligns with the title, the content of the prose, and the senryu that concludes it. As a journalist, Hemingway often referred to The Star’s copy style, which went on to inform much of his later work. These “rules” were sacrosanct and included such principles as: use short sentences, use short opening paragraphs, and eliminate every superfluous word. In an age of shrinking attention spans, every sentence does appear to be on trial—tasked with grabbing the reader and keeping them hooked.

Prompt:

Write a haibun where the prose is no longer than 20 words. Remember to keep it simple, brief, and open-ended.

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Oh! To be a minimalist :))

Thank you for being with us through this month!

_kala

The Haibun Gallery continues as is.

We will be having editors and prompts, and your sharing …