The three-line haikus took only a few seconds to read out loud, but as people read the poems off index cards at the Columbia Art Center Monday evening, they elicited thoughtful nods, a few "ahhh's" and some appreciative laughs.

Haiku might seem easy, and it is often one of the first types of poetry taught in elementary school, said the discussion leader, Tim Singleton. But it can be very expressive, he said.

"It is very little, but it does big things," he said.

The evening, which combined Singleton's talking about the history of the Japanese poetry form with audience comments and questions, was the first of what organizers from Little Patuxent Review magazine and the art center hope will be a series of monthly art-themed salons.

Little Patuxent Review, first published in the 1970s, was revived last year by a group of local artists seeking to honor the spirit of the magazine's founders and provide a creative outlet for local and regional talent.

The third biannual issue, the theme of which was nature, is available now. Mike Clark of Columbia, publisher of the magazine, said the editors received more than 100 literary and visual-arts submissions for that issue and narrowed that down to about 25.

The magazine is accepting submissions through March for its next issue, which will center on childhood.

Clark said the salons are another, more personal way to expand the art scene in Howard County.

"The salons allow people to gain greater access to the artists," he said. "It breaks down the barriers and gives that sense of intimacy and conversation. ... To have that dialogue going, I think that's pretty exciting."

The Howard County Poetry and Literature Society brings literary artists with national and international reputations to the area, he said, so the salon organizers plan to be "more locally based and regionally based."

About 25 guests attended the haiku workshop in the art center's gallery, surrounded by the current show of fiber art and paintings. The next salon is to focus on clay art, and other topics are being developed for future salons.

"We think that [the center] will provide a welcome artistic environment for this kind of lecture series," said Liz Henzey, director of the Columbia Art Center. "We are using our space in a better way for all the different arts in the community."

Singleton said the salon was a nice opportunity for him to share his work and his passion for haiku.

He recounted the evolution of haiku, starting in 17th century Japan and extending through the beat poets of the 1960s to its modern English-language form.

Many people are familiar with the idea, stemming from English translations after World War II, that haiku must have five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line and five in the third line.

But Singleton explained that many current haiku poets, including those in the Haiku Society of America, use a free-form structure that doesn't count the syllables. They focus instead on length, elements of nature and spare, direct language, which have been hallmarks of the form.

Despite the simplicity of the structure, the choice of words and images should give listeners "more of a picture than the words that are there," he said.

Monday's participants talked about examples from numerous writers in different centuries, including this one by Singleton: "introductions / the cocktail's cold / in her handshake."

Singleton talked about another haiku he wrote that won a contest: "father and son / just there / the Pleiades."

Singleton, 46, an advertising marketing manager for The Sun, said he started writing haiku because of "a kind of arrogance. ... I thought, 'It's very short. I can do it in my spare time.'"

He thought he would move on to longer poems, he said, but after discovering the possibilities of haiku, "I never get past the third line."

Anne Barney, a poet and Little Patuxent Review board member from Ellicott City, said, "I was amazed. There is so much more depth to it than you might think. ... You could hear how people responded.

"I always like to learn different ways to approach my own writing by hearing people read."

Susan Fingerman, a librarian from Ellicott City, said she, too, enjoyed the evening.

"I've been reading haiku since the '60s," she said. "I've never been here before, but [the topic] just grabbed me. ... This struck me and got me out."

Information on the Little Patuxent Review and coming salons: www.littlepatuxentreview.org.