December 31,
2010—Sustainability
Haiku Contest
THE NEXT
FIFTY BUZZ
Over the
next two years – leading up to April 21, 2012 – we will host
an engagement
activity on the 21st of each month to build momentum for the
Seattle World’s Fair 50th Anniversary. We invite you to
participate in this collection of activities – contests,
drawings,trivia, parties – designed to involve citizens in
the planning and celebration of The Next Fifty, win prizes
and have a little fun while we’re at it.
The
Next Fifty Buzz #6 – HAIKU CONTEST
Launches:
September 21, 2010
Ends: December
31, 2010
Theme: Sustainability
Prizes:
1st Place - $100, 2nd Place – a set of World’s Fair
Anniversary Zombie glasses
(valued at $50), 3rd Place – A Next Fifty commemorative
T-Shirt (valued at $20), plus
Honorable Mentions will be noted.
Limit: Two haikus per person
Judge and
Sponsor: Haiku Society of America
Buzz #6
We’re
excited to announce an invitation for citizens to write a
haiku to celebrate the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair 50th
Anniversary (April 21st – October 21st, 2012). Whether
you’re an accomplished poet or would like to learn about
haiku you’re encouraged to participate. The contest is
sponsored and will be judged by the Haiku Society of
America* and the prize for the winning haiku is $100.
The theme for
the Haiku contest will be: Sustainability. The Pacific
Northwest has a wealthof knowledge and passion to pave the
way for a sustainable future – from Native American wisdom
to climate change initiatives, from cyclists to kayakers,
from green builders to master gardeners, from biofuels to
organic foods. In May of 2012 the 50th Anniversary
Celebration will focus on sustainability and big bold ideas
to meet the environmental challenges ahead.
To submit your
haiku, go to
www.thenextfifty.org.
What is a Haiku?
A haiku is
a short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the
essence of anexperience of nature or the season intuitively
linked to the human condition, thus lendingitself well to
the theme of sustainability and our place in the
environment. Most haiku in English consist of three unrhymed
lines of seventeen or fewer syllables, with the middle line
longest, though today's poets use a variety of line lengths
and arrangements. Traditional Japanese haiku include a
"season word" (kigo, a word or phrase that helps identify
the season of the experience recorded in the poem, and a
two-part structure equivalent to a "cutting word" (kireji),
which in Japanese is a sort of spoken punctuation that marks
a pause or gives emphasis to one part of the poem. In
English, season words are sometimes omitted, but the
original focus on experience captured in clear sensory
images continues. The most common technique is juxtaposing
two images or ideas (Japanese rensô). Punctuation, space, a
line-break, or a grammatical break may substitute for a
cutting word. Most haiku have no titles, and metaphors and
similes are commonly avoided.
http://sites.google.com/site/graceguts/essays/becoming-a-haiku-poet
Examples
snapped
line—
the salmon's full length
in the air
Francine Porad
the last kid
picked
running his fastest
to right field
Mike
Dillon
summer
garden
the full stretch
of the hose
Connie
Donleycott
foghorns
we lower a kayak
into the sound
Christopher Herold
winter night—
the accordion player
pulls up her sleeves
Dejah Léger
awakened
by the silence
first snowfall
Marilyn
Sandall
after the garden party the garden
Ruth
Yarrow
meteor shower . . .
a gentle wave
wets our sandals
Michael Dylan Welch
The Haiku Society of America
The Haiku
Society of America is a not-for-profit organization founded
in 1968 by Harold G. Henderson and Leroy Kanterman to
promote the writing and appreciation of haiku in English.
Membership is open to all readers, writers, and students of
haiku. The HSA has been meeting regularly since its
inception and sponsors open lectures, workshops, readings,
and contests. The HSA has a total of about 800 members
around the country and overseas. The Society’s journal,
Frogpond, which features work by the HSA members
and others, as well as articles and book reviews, is in its
32nd year of publication. The HSA also publishes Ripples, a
newsletter containing reports of the society’s national
meetings and news of regional, national, and international
events.
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/
