Greetings.

17Sounds publishes a new English-language variant of the Japanese haiku form with a companion image by Christine Newton Bush (see below) three times weekly on Substack. She no longer refers to these verses as “haiku” as she often subverts many of the traditional characteristics. In this way, her 17 sounds echo the form without seeking to reproduce its ancient characteristics.

Christine has been a practitioner of the form for many years. She finds the format of five syllables followed by seven followed by five enchanting and demanding, but also finds it results in a clarity of insight that eludes longer forms. The constraint of crafting exactly seventeen syllables also serves to prevent her from overextending the time spent writing so that she can pursue her avocation as a musician, composer, and multimedia producer.

Like a growing number of creators, 17Sounds wants her content to be accessible to as many as possible regardless of their ability to financially support her work so the content of the written verse is equally available to everyone.

Paid subscribers receive an evolving multimedia version of the verse, currently rendered upon a virtual typewriter. The companion image and video are available to paid subscribers under a CC-BY license. You will learn more details on how this work upon opting to subscribe.

N.B. Jonatha Chance is a longtime pen name used by Christine Newton Bush. She has evolved her primary use of it for when creating fine art or poetry, preferring to attribute her photography and music to her legal name. Regardless, all content published by 17Sounds is created by and copyright to the same person.