about
f/k/a means formerly known as
Since May 2003, f/k/a has combined “breathless punditry” — lively commentary focused on legal ethics and client’s rights, plus political and cultural topics — with a daily dose of “one-breath poetry” in the form of genuine haiku and senryu. Although opinionated and occasionally cranky, the Editor/Host, David Giacalone, strives for even-handedness and intellectual honesty. You can contact David through our Comment section, or by email using: “dag DOT law76 AT post DOT harvard DOT edu“.
. . . We are the proud recipient of Blawg Review’s “Creative Law Blog Award.” [see “thanks a lot (for all this pressure)” (Dec. 27, 2005)]. We also humbly thank both Blawg Review and Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites, for including f/k/a in their “Simply the Best” Top Ten Blawg lists (see our post, October 5, 2007).
Special thanks to the editors of the ABA Journal for putting us on the very first Blawg 100 list in Dec. 2007 of “the best sites by lawyers for lawyers.”
[Note: as 2008 begins, we’ve sworn off politics and legal ethics as topics for our punditry. Stay tuned to see how f/k/a (d)evolves.]
As “Haiku Advocate and Missionary,” the Editor wants to share the pleasures of real haiku with visitors to this site. In addition to his own humble offerings as dagosan, you will find haiku and related poetry by some of the very best published English-language “haijin” — our Honored Guest Poets — and the work of Japanese master Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue.
Quick Definition of Haiku: Haiku is a “one-breath” poem (no more than 17 syllables) that relates nature to human nature, and usually compares or contrasts a pair of sensory images, which are separated by a pause. At its best, haiku lets the reader share in the poet’s “haiku moment” — a moment of insight or awe.
See “is it or ain’t it haiku?” to learn more about the haiku genre and find links to other helpful materials. Also see our Haiku Resources Page.
Most Americans only know haiku as childish poems with three lines and strict 5-7-5 syllable format — or, as off-color or silly doggerel. I was fortunate to discover haiku as a true poetry genre and a multi-dimensional artistic experience, at a time when my health limited both my attention span and my stamina. Small doses of the tiny poems inspired me as a reader, and kindled a belief that even I — despite a couple decades as a lawyer — could learn to “do something creative.” I hope you’ll catch haiku fever from this weblog and the resources mentioned in the weblog.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: The commentary/punditry on this website is copyrighted by David A. Giacalone, but is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Deriviative Works 3.0 License. Please note, however, that the poets whose works appear at f/k/a reserve all prior copyrights and their poetry may not be reproduced without their prior consent. Of course, Fair Use rights are not affected by these limitations.
The original weblog at this site began on May 26, 2003, and was called ethicalEsq. It focused on legal ethics and clients’ rights. haikuEsq came on board on Dec. 13, 2003, taking charge of our Sidebar. Yes, Lawyers and Haiku explains the haikuEsq philosophy, and why we think haiku is a perfect art form for lawyers and others in our too-busy society. On May 26, 2004, we tried to go (virtually) all-haiku and launched f/k/a (see Poetry Not Punditry). However, the world is just too interesting to ignore, so we went back to offering punditry. So far, health-related attempts to keep commentary as short as our poetry have failed.
Please note: the Editor, David Giacalone, is solely responsible for all commentary or opinion that appears in the postings on this weblog. The haiku poets who generously appear here as Honored Guests do not necessarily — or even presumptively — concur. The Editor is not responsible for the Comments of others, but requests that all Commentors refrain from vulgarities and personal attacks. We reserve the right to remove such offensive comments.
ethicalEsq and Prof. Yabut are Editors Emeritus of this website
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prof. yabut’s journal was officially launched April 26, 2004. He made his debut here, on April 1, 2004, and retired May 26, 2004. He is an alter ego of the Editor.
As explained here and here, ethicalEsq and Prof. Yabut have mostly given up the punditry business. However, we have archived ethicalEsq’s postings and his extensive Legal Ethics Resources , as well as Prof. Yabut’s favorites.
The Editor: Although there may appear to be (and often are) warring personalities at this weblog, it is created and edited solely by David A. Giacalone, who is affectionately known around here as “I” and “we” (as well as Mr. Editor, haikuEsq, dagosan, Prof. Yabut, and other pseudonyms). Due to health problems, I’m a prematurely-retired (but no longer prematurely-gray) attorney and mediator, living in the Capital Region of New York State. My discovery of haiku late in life has brought me a lot of joy (see Yes, Lawyers and Haiku), and I want to help people who might not think of themselves as poetry-lovers to enjoy, appreciate, and maybe start to write haiku and related forms of poetry.
After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1976, I spent a dozen years emersed in antitrust law and competition policy at the Federal Trade Commission. In 1988, my first mid-life crisis took me from Washington, D.C., to a small city in Upstate New York, where I began a decade of practice centered in family court, mostly representing children and developing a divorce mediation practice.
At the foot of the main page of ethicalEsq’s archives, you will find a fuller description of the experiences and perspectives that led me to start ethicalEsq. As I try to find my balance among a mix of haiku poetry, serious client advocacy and punditry, and idiosyncratic fun, I hope you’ll find f/k/a to be an enjoyable and interesting place to visit (frequently). My goal is to stay healthy enough to keep posting for as long as folks keep coming — and, probably a little longer.
s/dag
p.s. The curious can find a few “then and now” photos of the Editor on the Siblings Page.
p.p.s. David Giacalone was also the founding editor of shlep: the Self-Help Law ExPress, which offers news, views and information on self-help law and pro se litigation. He can also be found most days hanging out at MagnaPoets Japanese Form, a group weblog that offers haiga, haiku, senryu, tanka and haibun from a select group of haijin, hosted by Mistress Aurora Antonovic.
Do you pay for accepted haikus published at this site? And what are your submission guidelines? Thanks, Roy
Comment by Roy — July 28, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Roy, and for asking a very relevant question. We do not pay for haiku published at this site, nor do we accept or encourage submission of poems. Our Honored Guest Poets are well-known haijin, with significant bodies of published work, who have generously accepted the Editor’s request to share their haiku and senryu with the readers of this website. With the poet’s permission, the Editor selects poems published elsewhere and presents them here at f/k/a.
Comment by David Giacalone — July 29, 2006 @ 9:25 am