Haiku – Contests for the Time Pressured Poet
by Grace Tierney
‘I find the contest, you write the entry.'
 This month's contest column is a must for any deadline-beleaguered poet. Although Mark Twain always claimed that writing something shorter was harder in the long run, I reckon it must be possible to write a three line poem in even the busiest of months. If you can manage that, in the appropriate syllabic arrangement of course, then you've got yourself a haiku contest entry.
Haiku consists of a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units of five, seven, and five syllables. In Japanese, the rules for how to write haiku are very detailed and clear but when writing in English there is little consensus on technique but if you need help to get you started check out the advice on http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/ . Traditionally the haiku subject matter celebrates the seasons, natural beauty, and spiritual motifs.
Those of you with a good sense of humor may enjoy the online tool for generating random haiku at EveryPoet ( http://www.everypoet.com/haiku/default.htm ). The results are a little crazy, and naturally you couldn't enter them in a haiku contest, but they may spark your imagination.
My first encounter with Haiku was during a particularly busy time at my non-writing workplace when some of my geekier colleagues decided to write haiku using the SQL computer language instead of English to relieve work-stress. But don't worry, we upped their caffeine intake and they're fine now. A similar project is running at the Work Haiku site ( http://www.workhaiku.com/ ) where cubicle-farm-inmates relieve tension via these brief poetic outpourings. The samples should bring a smile to the face of anybody who has ever struggled to meet an impossible deadline for a demanding boss.
For the more serious haiku writer you could consider joining The Haiku Society of America ( http://www.hsa-haiku.org ) or The British Haiku Society ( www . haiku soc.ndo.co.uk ). There's also a magazine of haiku and other Japanese poetry forms such as tanka and renku called ‘Haiku Presence' ( http://freespace.virgin.net/haiku.presence/ ) available for further reading.
So what are you waiting for poets? If a bunch of techno-geeks can write them in a code, then surely you can manage three short lines? I dare you!
Don't forget to scroll down for my regular contest round-up for the month of May .
Happy Writing!
Ps. I missed a contest in last month's round-up and it's still open, check out OnceWritten's Spring short fiction contest at www.oncewritten.com , the grand prize is 1,000 US dollars.
All contests are annual unless otherwise noted and all are open to international writers
Weekly Haiku Contest
http://books.guardian.co.uk/games/haiku/0,5917,124810,00.html
Haiku in seventeen syllables and five-seven-five form
every Sunday
The Haiku Calendar Competition
http://www.snapshotpress.co.uk/competitionshaiku.htm
haiku
June 30
Penumbra Poetry and Haiku Contest
http://www.twaonline.org/contests.htm
poetry and haiku
June 30
The Gerald Brady Memorial Awards
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/res-hsa-contests.htm
senryu - a form of haiku
July 31
The HSA Bernard Lional Einbond Renku Competition
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/res-hsa-contests.htm
Haiku
September 15
The Creating Reality Haiku Competition
http://www.creatingreality.co.uk/haiku.html
Haiku
September 24
Asinine Poetry Contest
http://www.asininepoetry.com
poetry - rhyme, haiku, or sonnet
October 15
Haiku Presence Award
http://freespace.virgin.net/haiku.presence/awards/awards.html
haiku
October 31
The Snapshot Press Collection Competition
http://www.snapshotpress.co.uk/competitionshaiku.htm
haiku or tanka
October 31
James W Hackett International Haiku Award
http://www.haikusoc.ndo.co.uk/comp.html
haiku
November 30
NLAPW International Haiku Contest
http://www.theheronsnest.com/connections/nlapw_2005.html
Haiku
March 1
Robert Frost Poetry Festival
http://www.heritagehousemuseum.org/html/mainFrameset.htm
Poetry and seasonal Haiku
March 1
The Oestara Anthology of Pagan Poetry Contest
http://www.oestarapublishing.com/news.html
sonnet; villanelle, rondeau, linked haiku, free verse, dreamed verse
March 21
Coming Soon to the Writing Contest Department
Forthcoming features will focus on quirky contests, non-fiction writing, no-fee contests, humor writing, short story contests, travel writing, writing for children, speculative fiction, contests with unusual prizes, mystery writing contests, romantic writing contests.
I'm always looking for new contest types to research so if you're looking for a particular type of contest for your writing, just drop me a line. I'd also love to hear from you if you win a contest you read about here or if you have a contest to suggest for inclusion. Please note that I will only include contests which are open to writers anywhere in the world as our readers are geographically dispersed.
Contest Deadlines from May 1 to 31
May 1
Dirt Press Hendrickson Memorial Prize
Poetry
http://www.dirtpress.com
May 1
Orphic Prize for Poetry
poetry collection
http://www.dreamhorsepress.com/
May 1
Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction
short fiction
http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/farhorizonsfiction.htm
May 1
Caffeine Society Short Story Contest
short fiction
http://caffeinesociety.com/cafestories.html
May 1
Minute Mystery Writing Contest
flash fiction - mystery genre
http://www.mysteryauthors.com
May 1
Alarm Clock Theatre Company Playwriting Contest
theater play
http://www.alarmclocktheatre.org/contest.html
May 1
Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Story Competition
{please note, the USA is not part of the Commonwealth}
short fiction
http://www.cba.org.uk/competitions/short_story.html
May 2
SouthWest Writers Contest
various contests
http://www.southwestwriters.org
May 2
Smart Publishing Winter 2005 Revelation Contest
unpublished book - novel, novellas, short fiction collection, poetry collection
http://www.smartpublishing01.com/contest.html
May 2
The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
Screenplay
www.oscars.org/nicholl
May 14
The Writers Network Screenplay Competition
Screenplay
http://www.fadeinonline.com
May 15
A Room of One's Own Fiction and Poetry Contest
fiction and poetry
http://www.roommagazine.com/news.html
May 15
Williamette Writers' Kay Snow Writing Awards
Various, including categories for younger writers
http://www.willamettewriters.com/guidelines.htm
May 15
The Willard R. Espy Literary Foundation
memoir/creative non-fiction this year but genre changes each year
http://www.espyfoundation.org
May 16
Writers Digest
various, please check their detailed Web site
http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/
May 18
New Letters
poetry collection, essay, short fiction
http://www.newletters.org/
May 27
The START Chapbook prizes
Poetry, Short Story and Play
http://www.southtipparts.com/pages/literature.html
May 27
British Short Screenplay Competition
Screenplay
http://www.kaosfilms.co.uk
May 30
Poetry Contest
Poetry
http://ash_works.tripod.com
May 31
Frome Festival Short Story Competition
Short fiction
www.wordswork.net/frome
May 31
John & Miriam Morris Chapbook Competition
poetry collection
http://alabamapoets.org/poetry_contests.php?contest_id=18
May 31
Lois Cranston/Calyx Poetry Prize
Poetry
http://www.proaxis.com/~calyx/
May 31
Hidden Talents Contest at Tall Tales Press
short fiction by adult or younger writers
http://www.talltalespress.com/pages/882188/index.htm
May 31
War Poetry Contest
Poetry
http://www.winningwriters.com/annualcontest.htm
May 31
Pebble Lake Fiction Prize
short fiction
http://www.pebblelakereview.com
May 31
River Styx Poetry Competition
Poetry
http://www.riverstyx.org/contest.html
Grace Tierney is a freelance writer who lives in Ireland. When she's not researching writing contests, she enjoys gluttony, reading, gardening, and travel. Her short stories have been published in the US and UK, and her non-fiction has been published in Ireland, the UK, America, and Australia. She is a staff writer with Writer Online and Netsurfer Digest . Contact Grace via www.gracetierney.com
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