Welcome to Haikunaut Island, where all your dreams come – oh hang on, we were channelling the spirit of Ricardo Montalbán (RIP) there for a minute, and why wouldn't we, what with the vast potential of Haikunaut Island to provide a neverending 'Fantasy Haiku' adventure for our readers? Yes, in case you hadn't guessed it already, we're opening up the comments stream to the amazing possibilities of Interactive Renga! And if you don't know what renga is, then read this illuminating explanation! Are you back? All clear? Good, read on. So, the point of this exercise is for you to drop us a 'ku' in the comments section of our next post. Here's how it will work.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR HAIKUNAUTS

• Our 'master of Haikunaut ceremonies', Keiji Minato, will act as moderator. We've started off by asking Keiji's fellow-editor, David Lanoue, to throw the opening ku. This ku will form the first part of our 'meta'-Haikunaut renga.
• Renga can be any length from 2 lines to, well, ten thousand or more. Here let's do this in the most popular length, with 36 ku. The 36-ku renga is called “kasen” and your haiku anthology might have some examples by Basho & Co.
• So we're basically asking you to add your contribution as a candidate for the next ku in the comment box (maximum of 3 haiku, please!). You can also add your comment to recommend another person's ku that's already on the list. Please add the reason why you like it.
• After the comment area acquires some stock, Keiji will pick one as the next ku for our 'meta'-Haikunaut renga, and the process will continue. His selections will depend on several principles to smooth the way, & well, it also depends on his personal preferences!
• Please note that submitting your ku in the comments box implies that you grant Cordite permission to include your ku in the meta-renga. It is impossible to remove yours from the renga without disrupting the whole.
• Therefore be careful not to use another person's work (even if it is a translation). Parody is surely an important part of the renga/haiku tradition, but all we we ask is that you come up with your own words & images.
• Please also note that as this is a special mini-issue of Cordite, no payments will be made to individual contributors or editors. This applies also to contributors to the renga.

You are now ready for Haikunaut Island Renga. Go!