HAIKU IN ENGLISH – give it a shot PUZ_Haiku_EntryForm
Open to all Australian residents
We cannot pay for your entries, but you retain full copyright. If selected for publication your poem/s will be accompanied by a randomly selected peaceful image. This will be shared on social media with your very brief bio. We welcome multiple entries.
Question: Why write it?
(an) Answer: It can reveal your power to speak in a simple, telling, and possibly beautiful way. If the writer is prepared to use some conventions, Haiku can appear to have written itself. (If you’re not familiar with Haiku, take a look at the links below.)
Question: What kind of Haiku does PUZ want to publish?
Answer: A moment of life observed, free of commentary and feelings expressed.
Question: Do I have to write about nature?
Haiku is famous for writing about the natural world, but you can be in your kitchen, driving in traffic or hiking – wherever something catches your attention or arises in your imagination.
Our key rules for this mini project:
No title / No rhyming / No abstract words /
Prefer it’s not all about you
No similes (eg the river roared like thunder) /
No more than 17 syllables….
… Syllables and patterns: In Australia, many school children were told to write 17 syllables in a three line pattern of 5/7/5. However contemporary poets writing in English often say they come closer to the Japanese tradition when using fewer than 17. For a great explanation of this, see The Sydney School of Arts and Humanities pdf of Australian poet Gwendryth Young’s notes which we downloaded from Haiku Oz.
Quendryth Young’s Haiku Workshop
From our archives Riverbeats Haiku, 2009
For loads of info and poetry Haiku Oz
