Welcome to Zingara Poet’s first ever poetry contest.

Here’s how it works.

Write a haiku, senryu, or a Ginsberg sentence in the comments section below between 8:00 AM Friday, January 22nd and 8:00 AM Sunday, January 24 and I will select one (or maybe two) winner(s) from those submitted sometime Sunday afternoon and announce it here. The winner(s) with receive, via USPS, a free copy of the latest issue of Crazyhorse Literary Journal featuring works from their 2015 contest. (This will require disclosure of a mailing address, which can be sent to me via email at zingarapoet@gmail.com).

As a reminder, haiku is a short poem that contains three phrases with a 5-7-5 metrical count. Traditionally, haiku capture images of the natural world and is the result of careful observation. A really good haiku conveys emotion through juxtaposition of ideas and a “cutting word.” Here’s an example from Basho:

On a withered branch
A crow has alighted:
Nightfall in autumn.

A Senryu utilizes the same structure as haiku, but focuses on human nature and psychology. Sometimes written as satire, senryu may use humor, but this is not a requirement.

The Ginsberg sentence is one that contains seventeen syllables. No line breaks, no particular subject or focus. Just seventeen syllables. That’s it.

Please share widely, and LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!!

*One comment/poem per person, please.

Poems only, please. Links and promotional comments will not be approved.