2024 ruth weiss Foundation Poetry Contest: Unleash Your Verse
“I want my poems to evoke” — from the ruth weiss film, ruth weiss The Beat Goddess trailer.
Dive into the Haiku Contest for 2024! Poets and dreamers, this is your call to craft in the realm of haiku, where each syllable bursts with meaning, and every pause can capture a universe.
Why Haiku? Haiku distills poetry to its essence—17 beats, a touch of nature, a moment of Zen. Matsuo Basho captured it best: a silent pond, a frog leaps, and then silence again. It’s the art of minimalism, where quiet truths resonate between the lines.
The Beat Generation’s Twist: Jack Kerouac saw haiku as a snapshot of life, spontaneous and raw. He infused his verses with the rhythm of Bee Bop jazz, transforming traditional haiku into quick, sparse reflections of modern chaos. Similarly, ruth weiss, poet, playwright, artist, and filmmaker, painted her haikus across canvases, blending jazz music and vibrant hues to evoke deep human emotions and experiences.
Tradition Meets Rebellion: We honor haiku’s rich legacy while daring to disrupt. Just as Kerouac and weiss reimagined traditional forms, we invite you to either stand with the masters or chart new territories with your haiku.
Contest Categories and Prizes:
• Maverick: $1,200
• Emergent: $1,000
• Youth (18 and under): $800
• School Grant (up to three schools): $900
• Founder’s Prize: $100
• Honorable Mentions: $200 each for the final ten winners (Total: $2,000)
Prize allocations may adjust depending on entry volume.
How to Begin?
The Essence of Haiku: Embrace kigo (season words) and kireji (cutting words)—the vital elements that ground your verse in the now and slice through to the heart.
Live it: Write a haiku to a friend and share the inspiration.
Can You Dig It?
Please send us your verses, whether they cling to classic cliffs or dance on the edge of new waves. Join us in celebrating poetic legacy and innovation. Together, let’s craft a tapestry of haiku that honors tradition and propels it into the future.
PLEASE READ:
Categories – choose one you belong to:
Maverick – Ages 26 and up. The Maverick Award is open to all poets that embody the spirit of the maverick; whether published or not, ruth weiss’s spirit is the exemplar of the Maverick.
Emerging – Between ages 18 and 25. Emergent poets include a wide range of writers –those that exude a passion for writing. ruth weiss championed emerging poets throughout her long life as a bell-weather writer watching others evolve.
Youth – Aged 18 and below to age 15. Share your love of writing and creativity while you explore the poet ruth weiss.
Make sure your poem has never been published before.
If you win, you agree for us to be able to publish your poem on our website.
[Leave blank – add poem on the next step ‘application form’]
Make sure your poem has never been published before.
All types of haiku are acceptable, not just the formal.
If you win, you agree for us to be able to publish your poem on our website.
