My quantum physics haiku (yes, really) made the EQUS competition shortlist

Posted on October 30, 2015October 30, 2015 by Stewart

I recently entered one of the mini-contests for the Quantum Shorts competition (where my story “How to Configure Your Quantum Disambiguator” is still in the flash fiction contest and eagerly awaiting your vote, if I haven’t said that five billion times already) with a haiku that was supposed to “describe the wonder of quantum physics in 17 syllables through haiku.”

Most people would probably look at that and say: Whaaaat?

For me, the reaction was closer to: YEEESSSSSSSS, ALL THE QUANTUM PHYSICS HAIKU

It’s like they sat down and tried to decide on a contest that would appeal as much to me as possible. Haiku? Check. Nerdy quantum physics references? Check.

So I gave it a go with the following three haiku (accompanied here by notes on the quantum stuff):

Haiku 1

tunneling effect—
dad finally understands
her situation

The quantum tunneling effect describes a “phenomenon where a particle tunnels through a barrier that it classically could not surmount.” (Quoth Wikipedia.)

This illustration by Jean-Christophe Benoist, which shows electrons “tunneling” through a solid barrier, serves as a good way of seeing what this actually means:
An electron wavepacket directed at a potential barrier. By Jean-Christophe Benoist.

Haiku 2

superposition . . .
the cat chases/does not chase
the tangle of string

This one is a nod to the famous Shcroedinger’s Cat thought experiment, which deals with quantum superposition (put simply, the way multiple contradictory quantum states all theoretically exist until someone observes them). The word “tangle” is a pun on entanglement, the word used to describe this state of superposition.

Haiku 3

wave function collapse—
the last cherry blossom lands
as she says I do

Wave function collapse is what happens when something in superposition “appears to reduce to a single eigenstate” when observed. Basically, to return to Schroedinger’s Cat, it’s what happens when you open the box and see that the cat is either alive or dead.

Yesterday they announced the winner, and while it isn’t me, haiku #3 above (“wave function collapse”) did land me on the “highly commended” shortlist.

I’m especially happy that this was the haiku they chose for it, since it was my favourite of the bunch.

New Resonance 9 haiku anthology now available for order

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Stewart

As I mentioned in a post last year, I was fortunate enough to be selected for inclusion in the latest volume of A New Resonance, the award-winning haiku anthology of new poets put out every year by Red Moon Press.

Fast-forward a few months, and I’ve now received my copies of the anthology. The poems are, as expected, wonderful and varied, making it easy to see why the New Resonance series is so well-received by poets.

20150610_185648 — Copies of *New Resonance 9* ready to go.

In addition to myself, the anthology features: Brad Bennett, Claire Everett, Kate S. Godsey, Cara Holman, P M F Johnson, Gregory Longenecker, Jonathan McKeown, Ben Moeller-Gaa, Beverly Acuff Momoi, Polona Oblak, Thomas Powell, Brendan Slater, William Sorlien, Michelle Tennison, Scott Terrill, and Julie Warther.

20150610_185705 — My place in the anthology—alphabetical order strikes again!

I received about 25 copies of the anthology as part of publication, and still have several available to order.

Price is $16 ($1 less than list price), and I’ll throw in free shipping to anywhere in the US, as well as a copy of the chapbook I created just for this occasion, titled Stray Cats. Shipping seems to take between a few days and a week, depending on where you are in the country. (It’s cost-prohibitive to ship books overseas, but if you live somewhere other than the US, e-mail me with your address and I can give you a quote for shipping costs.)

20150611_145611 — Hot off the presses—er, printer.

I will also happily sign the chapbook to you, and include an original poem on a topic of your choice.

Here’s the order form if you’d like to get a copy:

Order New Resonance 9

Thanks for your support!

Original Essay: “Fishing for Bashos: Interpretive Communities and Haiku in English” at Modern Haiku

Posted on March 19, 2015March 18, 2015 by Stewart

I’m very excited to announce the publication of this scholarly essay, which is based on a presentation I gave at Haiku North America last year.

In short, the essay tackles translation, Stanley Fish’s idea of Interpretive Communities, and

I had a blast doing the presentation and writing the essay. Who knew literary criticism could be so fun?! (Okay, ~~maybe~~ I’m just a nerd.)

What makes it doubly exciting is that the whole essay is available to read for free(!) on the Modern Haiku website as a PDF: Fishing for Bashos: Interpretive Communities and Haiku in English.

Give it a read, and I’d love to hear what anyone thinks about it, either here in the comments or via e-mail.

Original Poetry: “Night Shift” at Lakeside Circus

Posted on March 18, 2015March 18, 2015 by Stewart

I have a poem up today (actually, last Friday) at Lakeside Circus.

It’s about cockroaches, metaphor, synochdoche, and other strangenesses, and is at least partly inspired by all the time I spent eating at Denny’s and other late-night diners when I used to hang out at the local game store until way too late in high school and college.

Go give it a read and a comment here: http://lakesidecircus.com/2015/03/stewart-c-baker-presents-night-shift/

Now Available for Pre-order: New Resonance 9 (and a chapbook!)

Posted on December 30, 2014March 18, 2015 by Stewart

If you’re an avid reader of haiku, you may already be familiar with the “New Resonance” series of anthologies from Red Moon Press. If not, they’re well worth exploring: They’ve won at least seven Haiku Society of America’s Merit Book Awards, and the poets featured in their pages often go on to do great things in the haiku community.

(a previous year’s edition of the anthology)

I’m very proud to have been selected for inclusion in the ninth edition of the anthology along with sixteen other poets.

As part of the publication process, I receive 25 copies of the anthology in return for paying part of the publication costs (yes, fiction friends, Yog’s Law(!!!)—but haiku works a bit differently in this particular case).

I’ve taken the pre-order form down for now (thanks to my early buyers for your support!), but will place an order form up again when I receive my copies in June.

In other news, I’ve created a chapbook of my haiku and tanka, called Stray Cats, which isn’t available anywhere else. You can still order a copy of that (if you so desire) using the form below).

Thanks!

“Stray Cats” Chapbook

Original Fiction: The Robotic Poet Reads Bashō

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Stewart

I’m pleased to announce that Beyond Borderlands, a hybrid academic/creative arts magazine, has just published “The Robotic Poet Reads Bashō,” a story of haiku criticism, parallel worlds, Thoreau, and the nature of reality. (I wrote the thing. In case that wasn’t clear.)

Here’s a brief teaser:

The robotic poet (who refers to herself in the third person, for reasons which may become clear) has been reading translations of Bashō, and has discovered two things in his work:

First, that our understanding of reality is largely a consensus agreement.

Second, and more importantly, that poetry can serve as a gateway to an infinite number of realities.

It may be tempting to attribute these little epiphanies to the vagaries of translation—to differences in interpretation and idiosyncratic syntax choices. (The robotic poet’s children were of the opinion that we all saw a single reality, but children have not lived. Not fully. The robotic poet herself remains convinced there is more going on.)

Intrigued? Confused? You don’t even?

You can read the rest of the story at Beyond Borderlands here: “The Robotic Poet Reads Bashō”.

Reprinted and Original Haiku

Posted on June 24, 2014June 23, 2014 by Stewart

Reprinted and Original Haiku

by Stewart C Baker

fresh-raked coals
she takes her father’s will
out on her children

Originally appeared in A Hundred Gourds

freeway moon
the slow occlusion
of my evening

Unpublished

election day I cast my line into the river

Originally appeared in
Modern Haiku

sunny weather
she waits for her lover
to get over it

Unpublished

orchid tree
the drifting scent
of traffic

Originally appeared in Crysanthemum

after the funeral
identical cars
turning the corner

Unpublished

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Reprinted and Original Haiku

Posted on May 13, 2014May 19, 2014 by Stewart

Reprinted and Original Haiku

by Stewart C Baker

b’ak’tun
the end of the world
resets itself

Originally appeared in Heron’s Nest

a moment of peace…
her children’s distant
shouting

Originally appeared in Close to the Wind (HNA 2013 anthology)

sudden summer
a day spent arguing
with windmills

Unpublished

fireworks…
flashing from the roadside
the dead dog’s eyes

Originally appeared in Under the Basho

sidewalk café
the distant drone
of war-time

Unpublished

stitch in a stich
she sews his soul together
with a song

Unpublished

Reprinted and Original Haiku

Posted on April 29, 2014May 19, 2014 by Stewart

Reprinted and Original Haiku

by Stewart C Baker

hummingbird . . .
startled by your
absent laughter

Originally appeared in Northwest Passage

first birthday
he gets his brother’s
green eyes

Unpublished

boiling pot the rigid angles of the butter

Originally appeared in
Under the Basho

spring cleaning
dad throws out
his back

Originally appeared in Acorn

a duck’s legs churning
the toddler makes
engine noises

Unpublished

lamppost moon
her plane’s contrail
cuts the fog

Originally appeared in Northwest Passage