Poetic Form

Zombie Haiku

By: Ryan Mecum

Mecum, Ryan. 2008. Zombie Haiku. Cincinnati, OH: HOW Books.

ISBN: 9781600610707

Ryan Mecum takes the poetic form of haiku to a whole new level in his book titled Zombie Haiku. The story starts off with Chris Lynch finding the journal of a zombie he has just killed and who has just bitten him. The book then flashes back and retells the story of how the zombie Chris killed came to be a zombie and how he arrived at the airport. Mecum uses haiku poetry to tell this gruesome tale. The book finishes with Chris Lynch turning into a zombie as a result of this bite.

Great amounts of sense imagery and descriptive language are used throughout the entire book. Some of these poems were so descriptive in their gore that I myself had a bit of a stomach ache when I finished the book. Some examples of this imagery entails very detailed descriptions of eating other people and craving their brains from the point of view of the zombie. The book definitely leaves an emotional impact by leaving the reader completely grossed out, yet I was intrigued how much detail Mecum gives with haiku poetry.

Haiku poetry is the least favorite type of poetry found among young adults. Mecum has taken a very popular subject matter and told a unique story that young adults, particularly boys, will really enjoy. While reading the book I often got so caught up in the story that I forgot I was reading haiku poetry. The topic of zombies is very interesting among young adults. Zombie Haiku would greatly increase a student's knowledge of descriptive language and the structure of a haiku poem. The book stimulates great emotions and imagination due to the fact that the main character is a zombie hunting people to eat.

The poems are very consistent in quality. Even though some poems made my stomach churn I still wanted to know what would happen next. All the poems found in the book are very compatible and they all flow together nicely. Various moods and feelings are felt throughout the book such as fright, sadness, laughter, and sickness.

All of the haikus in Zombie Haiku are written by Ryan Mecum. There are one to three haikus per page. Very appropriate visuals and photographs are used throughout the whole book. Pictures of zombies and drops of blood are splashed throughout the pages. There are chapter titles, but there is not a table of contents.

Mecum takes such a hated form of poetry and turns it into a thriving story that young adults will love to read. Young adults, especially boys, will love these poems. Zombie Haiku is an amazing example of how poetry can be used to write about anything.

Occasional screams

loudly tell me of missed meals

that others found first.

Activity: This poem is a great example of the strong sense imagery Mecum uses. After reading this poem and several others from the book, and discussing sense imagery students can be divided into groups. Each group is given three haikus from the book and each group reads their three haikus and highlights and discusses the words that display sense imagery. Each group then shares their three poems and the words they highlighted and how the words show sense imagery.