Coach House Books asks Sherwin Tjia a few things about The World Is a Heartbreaker

CH: What's a pseudohaiku?

ST: A pseudohaiku is an impostor poem. It's a close approximation of an actual haiku. To the casual glance, it resembles a haiku, but it doesn't adhere to the 5/7/5 syllable structure. Because pseudohaikus have the whiff of the illicit, sometimes they are more fun.

CH: 1600 is an awfully big number. Perhaps it's as addictive to write them as it is to read them?

ST: I write about three a day. I accrue them slowly. I've got a lot before I know it. Every morning before work, I like to buy a coffee. I thought to myself one day, what if I kept the styrofoam cup? Lined it up against the wall? Added to it? After a year my coffee-cup collection would be enormous. It's the same with these pseudohaikus. They come to me at random moments during a day. It's like finding pennies.

CH: Do you compulsively think in three lines now?

ST: I don't think in three lines. Some people think that a story can be summarized in this sequence of punctuation: ? ! .The story begins with a question, then sets about answering it with some surprises, then concludes it with a satisfactory ending. My pseudohaikus are so short, however, each individual poem has only space to do one of the functions. I actually think in one line, which I then chop up like sushi to fit on the small saucer of the pseudohaiku form.

CH: Do you read real haiku? Do you like it?

ST: I do, and I like it. They were my original inspiration. I don't hold to many of the conventions, however. I don't often mention a specific season or have a nature reference. I prefer human nature. The senryu is actually a people-focused brand of the haiku which I like. But all things considered, I'm not much of a traditionalist. I like playing too much. I had some three-word poems that I needed to get out. They're snappier. More like signs. Poems you can read while blasting past them at 100 klicks on the highway.

CH: Do you make any connection between your visual arts practices and these poems?

ST: Oftentimes, the only place with painting where you can affect the nuance of how the viewer will see your painting is in the title. The title's very important. You can make or break a painting with the title. Some titles close off different meanings. I think I learned something about economy coming up with titles for paintings. You want to add depth without overdetermining it.

CH: Clearly you are a cat person rather than a dog person. Why are cats better?

ST: I like everything about cats. They're my spirit animal, I suppose. I just have so much sympathy with them. I like that they're calm, playful, watchful and sensuous. Also that they sleep most of the time. They relax well. But they also have this other life where they go out and get the job done – bringing home the bacon, literally. They are creatures of stillness and sudden movement. They have different gears, like a bike.