WINTER OLYMPIAD HAIKU AND TANKA CONTEST

Day 5,213, 21:07 • Published in USA USA • by MaryamQ



In the spirit of the arts Winter Olympiad, announced by Paul Proteus, under the direction of CP Kody5, we present the Winter Olympiad Haiku and Tanka contest. With the support of Kody, backed by Herr Vootsman, you too, can win wonderful prizes with the minimal effort of writing and posting 17 or 31 syllables.

For those of you who are not familiar, haiku and tanka are traditional poetic forms that we in the West borrowed from Japan in the 20th century. As they seemed to be simpler than the iambic pentameter and rhyme schemes of Shakespearean sonnets, they quickly became popular among amateur poets.

The rules for the westernized forms are pretty straightforward, although somewhat different from the Japanese and Chinese forms.

Western haiku has 3 lines, with 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. Traditionally, nature and seasons are central themes. There is no meter, and no rhyming.

Tanka are in the same form, except they have 2 additional lines of 7 syllables each.

If you look at the memes above and below, you will find somewhat flippant examples of both.

For more information, you could check out Poetry for Dummies, by The Poetry Center at San Francisco State University; John Timpane, Ph.D.; and Maureen Watts, published by Hungry Minds, Inc. My copy is dated 2001, but there might be later editions. It is just one of a number of very accessible books about poetry and poetry writing that may be available in your local library.





What the contest administrators (and the Spanish Inquisition) expect of you:

1. Write one or more original haiku or tanka.
2. Post your creations, one per comment, in the comments below, or, if you wish, in your own newspaper, but then you must leave a link in the comments below.
3. You may write in whatever language is most comfortable for you, but if it is not English, please provide a translation with your submission.
4. Please be kind, both in your writing and your critiques.
5. You, the game community, will decide the winners with your votes at the site of submission, either here, or in the author’s newspaper.
6. Submissions will close on at the end of Day 5220, 6 or 7 March.
7. Again, please be kind.
8. Do not plagiarize. If you are caught, you will be disqualified.
9. Have fun!

!!!Prizes!!!:

Please refer to the images of the beautiful chocolate and zinc medals, shared by Paul Proteus here: Winter Olympiad Writing Contest, and don't forget to enter before the deadline!

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, prizes for this event will be 150k cc for first place, 100k for second place, and 50k for third.

If you wish to help sponsor another event, or you have an idea for an event we might include, please contact me, Paul Proteus, or Kody5 by in-game message, and thank you for your support!


Maryam