Haiku

Lies cannot silence the persistent voice of truth. Shame has its own force.

Why? Because every hotel stay should be poetic. Name: http://www.hotelhaiku.com What it is: A niche website with hotel photos and reviews written in the traditional haiku format of 17 syllables in three lines of five, seven and five. What's hot: Expect the unexpected. My hotel haiku exploration led me to beds in luxe concrete sewer pipes in Tepoztlan, Mexico, and contemporary cottages on a breathtaking mountain ridge in Leti, India. From the brains behind Holiday Pad - I love that the Web group is growing and is adding a "glamping" site called http://www.camp-bling.com . What's not: The word notel is confusing and not necessary.

For poetry month, we offer some haiku on Philadelphia, written by participants in the Great Expectations forums: On SEPTA Curbside dilemma: The sign says "NOT IN SERVICE. " Please may I get on? I am underground There is a man in a booth Where are the tokens? I have two quarters Brother, can you spare a dime? I need a transfer. It's been half an hour Try to have a little faith Look! - Here come three now! Philadelphia - "The City That Loves You Back!"

As the recent Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema roundly demonstrated, the short film is alive and kicking. A means by which new and/or financially limited directors can get their vision out there, and a medium that allows for an intensity and incisiveness that feature-length work rarely accommodates, the short film can be many things: a calling card, an experiment, a slice of life, an epiphany. The 1993 Bucks County Independent Film Tour, a program of 12 shorts - a mix of animation, documentary, narrative and avant-garde - is a fairly strong collection representing a gamut of stylistic and aesthetic possibilities.

With the character Bigger Thomas, he created doom, an enraged, misunderstood black man who smothers a white woman to death in the chilling classic, Native Son. But he also has created hope: As my anger ebbs, The spring stars grow bright again And the wind returns. He wrote of youthful pain and coming of age under the threatening eye of Jim Crow in his moving autobiography, Black Boy. But he's also written of youthful innocence: A little girl stares, Dewy eyes round with wonder, At morning glories.

The Camden area's literary community will celebrate next week the release of a book of previously unpublished poems by Nick Virgilio, a pioneer of contemporary haiku and a lifelong city resident. Compiled and published by former New York Times war correspondent Rick Black, the book features new works selected from collections at the Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers-Camden, where nearly 20,000 haiku and correspondence of the late poet reside. "Nick's poems just hit home for me in meaningful ways," Black, who reported on the first Gulf War, said in a statement.

They are two world-class poets from Camden who now share the same final resting place, overlooking a picturesque lake in a Camden cemetery. They are the members of Camden's own dead poets society: Walt Whitman, who spent his last years in Camden and was buried in Harleigh Cemetery in 1892; and Nick Virgilio, a master of haiku poetry who lived most of his life in a Camden rowhouse, until his death in January at age 60. Virgilio's body, first...

Which is the governing element? The words or the music? Strauss found an opera in that question; Michael Korn found a choral program in it last night when the Philadelphia Singers performed pieces by Copland, Persichetti and Menotti at the Church of the Holy Trinity. Each of the works Korn conducted was, in a way, atypical of the composers in that each was written to a kind of language that directed the musical setting. Menotti's madrigal-like text in The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticor demanded neo-Renaissance music in often modern dress.

The Inquirer asked readers about the types of community service they plan to do this year. Here are some of their answers: I plan to volunteer to be a poll worker for the very important primary and presidential elections. A number of years ago I was mulling over a famous quote about service: "If not me, who? If not now, when?" So when I was recruited, I said I would be an election board worker. I was given training on what to do and how to set up the machines. In New Jersey, the polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Including setup time and close-down time, that makes for a long 15-hour day with only one hour for a meal break.

I think Jay Cutler just threw another interception. Really. He's been spectacular this season. Spectacularly bad. He's thrown 17 picks and 14 touchdowns, not exactly Pro Bowl numbers. But his statistics in the fourth quarter, while not good, are better than you-know-who's in green. Nevertheless, are the Bears and their 18th-ranked offense just what the Eagles need tonight? And do you think Asante Samuel will have more picks than tackles? I think Asante Samuel will have more flights to the moon than tackles.

The Camden area's literary community will celebrate next week the release of a book of previously unpublished poems by Nick Virgilio, a pioneer of contemporary haiku and a lifelong city resident. Compiled and published by former New York Times war correspondent Rick Black, the book features new works selected from collections at the Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers-Camden, where nearly 20,000 haiku and correspondence of the late poet reside. "Nick's poems just hit home for me in meaningful ways," Black, who reported on the first Gulf War, said in a statement.

Why? Because every hotel stay should be poetic. Name: http://www.hotelhaiku.com What it is: A niche website with hotel photos and reviews written in the traditional haiku format of 17 syllables in three lines of five, seven and five. What's hot: Expect the unexpected. My hotel haiku exploration led me to beds in luxe concrete sewer pipes in Tepoztlan, Mexico, and contemporary cottages on a breathtaking mountain ridge in Leti, India. From the brains behind Holiday Pad - I love that the Web group is growing and is adding a "glamping" site called http://www.camp-bling.com . What's not: The word notel is confusing and not necessary.

Saturday My kid's got talent Girls and boys ages 6 to 14 can try out from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday for Beauty and the Beast at the Center for the Creative Arts, 410 Upper Snuff Mill Row, Yorklyn, Del. Parents should stay for the first half hour, actors for the full rehearsal. Children's Theater at CCArts, directed by Lara Michelle and Sue Sodomin, offers young actors the opportunity to perform. Actors should be able to read and register in advance. Placements will be announced at the second meeting.

You've probably noticed that it's reunion and revival time at the movies. The trend continues in "Grown Ups," a movie that doesn't quite stretch back to the persistently celebrated 1980s, but almost - stars Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider headlined the "Saturday Night Live" cast of 1990. Minus Chris Farley, replaced here by roly-poly doppelganger Kevin James. Sandler plays the ringleader of old rec league youth team that reunites for the funeral of its inspirational coach, who taught the kids to work hard, to never quit.

I think Jay Cutler just threw another interception. Really. He's been spectacular this season. Spectacularly bad. He's thrown 17 picks and 14 touchdowns, not exactly Pro Bowl numbers. But his statistics in the fourth quarter, while not good, are better than you-know-who's in green. Nevertheless, are the Bears and their 18th-ranked offense just what the Eagles need tonight? And do you think Asante Samuel will have more picks than tackles? I think Asante Samuel will have more flights to the moon than tackles.

The Inquirer asked readers about the types of community service they plan to do this year. Here are some of their answers: I plan to volunteer to be a poll worker for the very important primary and presidential elections. A number of years ago I was mulling over a famous quote about service: "If not me, who? If not now, when?" So when I was recruited, I said I would be an election board worker. I was given training on what to do and how to set up the machines. In New Jersey, the polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Including setup time and close-down time, that makes for a long 15-hour day with only one hour for a meal break.

For poetry month, we offer some haiku on Philadelphia, written by participants in the Great Expectations forums: On SEPTA Curbside dilemma: The sign says "NOT IN SERVICE. " Please may I get on? I am underground There is a man in a booth Where are the tokens? I have two quarters Brother, can you spare a dime? I need a transfer. It's been half an hour Try to have a little faith Look! - Here come three now! Philadelphia - "The City That Loves You Back!"

Just about everyone who knew Nick Virgilio, the fabled Camden haiku poet, has a story about him. Many have taken on an air of lore as they were swapped among parishioners at Sacred Heart Church and recounted to news reporters. But the greatest testament to Virgilio's spirit, character and ability might be the evidence that the people who called him a friend refuse to let his legacy die even now, a decade after his death. "Nick said once he knew he was going to die," said Henry Braun, a friend and fellow haiku writer.

Students call him the Marple Newtown guru - a 24-year veteran English teacher who enjoys chatting more than lecturing and believes a seven-word poem can be just as good as a 30-page paper. "I never stand up at the board and say, 'Haiku is blah, blah, blah,' and count syllables. That's not what it's about," said Tom Williams. Instead, Williams tells his students to "hurry up and write. " "That's how they learn," Williams said, "by writing - and writing a lot. . . . I once had a student who wrote 104 poems in one day. Now, that's a lot. And many of them were good.

With the character Bigger Thomas, he created doom, an enraged, misunderstood black man who smothers a white woman to death in the chilling classic, Native Son. But he also has created hope: As my anger ebbs, The spring stars grow bright again And the wind returns. He wrote of youthful pain and coming of age under the threatening eye of Jim Crow in his moving autobiography, Black Boy. But he's also written of youthful innocence: A little girl stares, Dewy eyes round with wonder, At morning glories.