This year The Central Coast Independent Writers Group, in collaboration with Artspace Popup Gallery, have been granted $500 in prize money to hold a second writing competition. The winner of the competition will receive $300, while two runners up will receive $100 each. The competition will open on the 7th of August and finish up on the 30th of September. A gallery event will be held at Artspace Popup Gallery on the 9th of October to celebrate the entries. A book is also planned to publish selected entries.
The theme of this year is the Haiku, a simple and elegant form of Japanese poetry where the writer attempts to capture a moment or thought in time, allowing it to be a beautiful form of expression, while also adhering to the cultivation of good mental health with its promotion of mindfulness. A Haiku may sound daunting at first, but they are simple to write. It is a three line poem of no more than seventeen syllables.
The first line is 5 syllables.
The second line is 7 syllables.
And the third line is 5 syllables again.
An example of this might be:
The lake glitters gold,
Sunlight shining splendidly,
Before the rain comes.
– Peter Rae
Another might be:
Am found in a space,
Between the then and the when,
Searching for the now.
– Marylynne Stadtmiller
If our haiku contest is something that interests you, or if you would like to enter, or if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Tammy Briggs of the Artspace Popup Gallery. Tammy was the facilitator of last year’s ‘Limericks in ISO’ competition.
Her email: tammy.briggs@uon.edu.au
Her phone number: 0426176990