On The Write Path

Cultural mistakes in a haiku

I am traveled enough to pick up what I perceive to be cultural mistakes... I'm not always right; but, it's a common mistake in literature when writing about something or someone you know nothing about. E.g. unless you have eaten durian you probably shouldn't write about it.

For the non-traveler... how many times have you stopped when reading and exclaimed, "s/he wouldn't say that!" because you know the culture, language, history or have the common-sense to know that a Jane Austen character didn't call her best-beloved sister on a cell-phone.

So...

In response to Lee Buchanan's haiku

rainy-day baking
Chinese New Year cake
appetite of an ox

posted at facebook:

Too 'heavy' imho. 'Rainy-day baking' is unnecessary and not exactly 'true'. As far as I can find out the new year's cake "nian gao" is steamed not baked (except by Westerners). This doesn't feel authentic, kinda like a tourist view-point, not someone who actually eats a nian gao in Taiwan or Hong Kong where referring to it as 'Chinese' seems redundant. Do you eat American hamburgers? Or just hamburgers? It may be 'Buffalo style chicken wings' elsewhere but in Buffalo you order 'wings' (I'm from there). So... "nian gao (or new year's cake) steaming —appetite of an ox" would be lighter and more-authentic. The 'appetite of an ox' is really good. Kudos with that. 😃 In 3 lines ... if you must:

new year's cake
steaming — appetite
of an ox

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