Fibonacci
A Fibonacci
Poem is based on the mathematical sequence Leonardo of
Pisa introduced to Western European mathematics in
Fibonacci's 1202 book Liber Abaci.
Researchers believe that the sequence may have been
described in Indian mathematics previously. Fibonacci, a
contraction of filus Bonacci, "son of Bonaccio",
is otherwise identified as Leonardo of Pisa (Wikipedia).
Fibonacci
numbers are derived from a simple mathematical
calculation. By definition, the first two
Fibonacci numbers are 0 and 1, and each subsequent
number is the sum of the previous two. Begin the series
with 0 to which a 1 is added, thus, obtaining a sum of
1. For the second calculation, the last sum, 1 then adds
1 for a new sum of 2. The third calculation computes the
sum of the last two numbers, 2 + 1 = 3. The
sequence continues in the same fashion resulting in the
following sequence:
0, 1, 1, 2,
3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987,
etc.
To fashion a
poem, the poet uses the sequence numbers as a map
designating the number of syllables to be included in
each successive line of verse. Thus, line one
contains 1 syllable, line two contains 1 syllable, line
three contains 2 syllables, line four contains 3
syllables, and line five contains 5 syllables--the
sequence continues, usually ending with 13 or at best 21
syllables. Longer lines are highly impractical.
Line 0 =
0 (the space between the title and line 1)
Line 1 = 1 syllable
Line 2 = 1 syllable
Line 3 = 2 syllables
Line 4 = 3 syllables
Line 5 = 5 syllables
etc.
In this
manner the poet may construct verses of one to eight
lines in length. The pattern can be repeated to
construct a poem of many verses. Another variation
might be to begin with a line of 21 or 13 syllables, and
diminish the successive lines using the fibonacci
sequence numbers.The fibonacci sequence numbers might
also be used to construct a mirrored poem. Certainly,
other structures might be devised also. For example, the
Fibonacci Poem could be combined with other forms such
as riddle, palindrome, and ekphrasis.
Deborah Haar
Clark traces the development of the Fibonacci Poem
in her article, "1, 1, 2,
3, 5, 8, Fun...What's
a Fib? Math plus poetry" at the
Poetry Foundation.
Sources
Clark, Deborah Haar. "1, 1,
2, 3, 5, 8, Fun...What's
a Fib? Math plus poetry",
Poetry Foundation. Clark
traces the development of the Fibonacci Poem in this
article.
Rich, Motoko.
"Fibonacci
Poems Multiply on the Web After Blog's Invitation",
New York Times, April 14, 2006. This
article documents the proliferation of Fibonacci poems
posted on Gregory K. Pincus' blog.
