Ryan Mecum

Amazingly it chronicles the zombie's brain-eating frenzy, sometimes on scraps of paper, miraculously still legible (without any major ragged handwriting), and oftentimes decorated with duct tape and realistic pieces of hair(s) that I seriously kept wanting to blow off the page because who wants a random hair in their book?! Not to mention a few teeth and buckets of blood splatters and some poignant zombie snapshots (though how he managed haikus and a camera, I'll never know!).

From page show more 132
Brains, brains, brains, brains, brains!
Brains, brains, brains, brains, brains, brains, brains!
Artificial hip.

The funny thing is that I had a friend in HS who had been putting together a writing portfolio of a dark and twisted nature for English class, and she had written a story about a girl who was dancing with a boy's head (though you didn't know it until the very end). She painstakingly handwrote it into a small journal-type thing and added red paint all over the cover. Needless to say, it definitely gets the point across when you hit the ending. I thought it was gross at the time (but maybe a cool idea), but now I think Zombie Haiku is bloody brilliant :D Oh, how time changes one's perceptions...

From page 53
Blood is really warm.
It's like drinking hot chocolate
but with more screaming.

Zombie Haiku is a delightful bedtime snack that will have you begging for Ryan Mecum for more of this brainy exercise! :) show less

Oh, I feel so lucky! I bought both of Ryan Mecum's "monster" haiku books, Zombie and Vampire Haiku, together. I read Zombie Haiku first, because who doesn't love zombies? Unfortunately, it wasn't great. Not true for Vampire Haiku! Had I not bought them together, if I had read Zombie Haiku before purchasing Vampire Haiku, I might not have given this one a shot. I'm so glad I did.

Vampire Haiku is infinitely better. It's funny a lot more often, and the 'story' is much more absorbing. It is show more written in journal-format again, but this time spans a few hundred years (1620-present) and covers many popular historic events between those times. My favorites were those relating to vampires in modern pop culture. His reactions to Twilight are simply hilarious.

Those were not vampires
if the sun makes you sparkle
you're a unicorn.

The book also has remarkable presentation, it's just fun to look at. It is filled with pictures that set the mood much better than the ones in Zombie Haiku did, and it just feels...well, vampire-y.

I loved it. My only complaint is that it ended too soon. I really do wish it had lasted longer. Oh well, this one I am glad I own, as I know I will be reading it again in the future. show less

Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry for Your... Brains by Ryan Mecum is a small collection of haiku that tells of a man in the early days of a zombie apocalypse.

The author presents the book as a reproduction of a journal found in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. It is lovingly reproduced with the mud, grime, blood and guts that were presumably splattered as the man first ran for his life and later succumbed to becoming a zombie.

Although mixing a Japanese poetry form with an American B movie show more horror story seems like an unlikely pairing, it works remarkably well. These snatches of verse give a sense of character and as well as a rough timeline for the unnatural disaster. At the same time, the book isn't bogged down with either unnecessary amounts of gore or the character building of multiple characters who will invariably succumb to the zombies. show less

Ryan Mecum's Vampire Haiku mixes humor and poetry in diary form for vampire William Butten, who was turned in 1620. He falls in love with a beautiful woman on the Mayflower named Katherine, who turned him into a vampire. Soon he's parted from his love to roam America on his own and make his own friends. There are tales of some well known historic figures from Davy Crockett to Amelia Earhart and famous events in history like the Civil War and Woodstock.

Readers may initialy be attracted to the show more cover haiku, which also appears on page 37:

"You know that your drink
is down to the last few sips
once the toes curl up."

Butten has a twisted sense of humor, but readers will enjoy is little anecdotes about becoming a vampire and bumbling around learning how to feed, etc. Mecum uses his linguistic and historic knowledge to create fun and witty haiku. Although they are not precisely haiku in the traditional sense, they mostly adhere to the form's syllable count. It is fun to see Butten reveal insider knowledge about the deaths of Davy Crockett and other major historical figures. In some cases, the poems will have readers cringing in disgust.

"Discarded band-aids
are rare unexpected treats.
My version of gum." (page 113)

There are even moments in the book where the vampire makes fun of the modern vampire crazes from the goth kids to the latest vampire movies. One of the best haiku in the book is about the Twilight movie:

"Those were not vampires.
If sunlight makes you sparkle,
you're a unicorn." (page 117)

Will Butten ever find his true love, Katherine, or will he stop searching for her and settle down? Overall, those interested in humor and vampires will find Vampire Haiku to be a treat. show less