Monday, December 13, 2010

How To


I recently discovered the somewhat obvious fact that anyone can write a wikiHow article.

The most accomplished masterwork of instruction housed on their database that I've come across thus far is this elegant exploration of postmodern ennui:
How to Write Instructions*
This might be the new form of our generation. As much as I don't want to dig too deep into the pit of similarities shared by the wiki-entry and its precedent, the sonnet—I particularly enjoy wikiHow's 'Warning' section and how it functions as a sort of volta.

I wrote one called:
How to Start a Prominent New Business**
It begins:
1. Buy a lot of ties.
Consider this an invitation for poetry to explain the world to itself.*** Virgil was a guide. We are scientists.


*Based on work by Marilyn Haight, Lily A, Sondra C, BR, Dave Crosby, Manchurian President, Wingrider and Savannah, wikiHow user(s) Horses4Ever, Flickety, Paintsaint, Mypinkphone, Lillian May, Tikuko and BoldStepFixer and Anonymous.
**Flagged for deletion before I finished this post. Admittedly, this is not about starting a prominent new business.
***Which reminds me. Emily Pettit has a new book called How.