In the Similkameen, you can celebrate Family Literacy Day on Jan. 27 by writing some poetry, or more specifically, a haiku.
Haiku is a classic form of Japanese poetry with roots stretching back to the 17th century. In its traditional form, it is composed of three lines, with 17 syllables (or beats) arranged in a 5-7-5 pattern.
Classic haiku focuses on a season, an image or an insight, often represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas with a kireji, or cutting word separating the two, acting as a bridge or punctuation mark.
However, the three local judges evaluating the submissions for Similkameen Family Literacy aren’t going to be so stringent. All entries will be accepted providing they have the basic 17 syllables. Prizes will be awarded for first, second, third and junior winners, plus honourable mentions.
Each entry should be a single haiku on a page, with name, age and phone number. They can be dropped into the haiku contest box at either the Hedley or Keremeos libraries no later than 5 p.m. on Jan. 27. All works entered will belong to Similkameen Family Literacy and may be published in the 2012 Haiku Prize Digest.
Some examples of English language haiku can be found at www.haikupoetshut.com.