Hexapod Haiku 2009
Great image captured by Jim Ferguson of a hover fly visiting some cherry blossoms. This familiar scene played out across Raleigh last week, and signs of spring are surfacing all over.
flowers fight the frost,
unfolding in the cold air...
here pollinators!
unfolding in the cold air...
here pollinators!
Spring is trying hard to emerge from winter's grip here in North Carolina. Crocuses, daffodils, cherries, and various other trees are blooming, and plenty of flies buzz in my yard despite the threat of snowflakes tomorrow. Bees continue their slumber, though I'm sure a quick sweep of the maples down the street would yield a few hymenopterans (great time of year for Xyelidae!). Thallo's impending visit reminds me that it's time to host our (2nd) Annual Hexapod Haiku Challenge.
The rules: We'll accept up to 10 original entomological haiku per poet. Your haiku should be submitted by 11:59pm, 20 March 2009 (first day of spring!) as an email (ncsuinsects@gmail.com) or as a comment below (we will periodically harvest them, so don't despair if yours disappear from the comments list at some point). Anyone is eligible to submit haiku except for our judges (you know who you are).
The motivation: For us the haiku represents a fun medium, traditionally focusing on seasonal changes and nature, and with a relatively standard format that makes judging less difficult. We will definitely accept minor departures from traditional haiku "rules" (i.e., the 5-7-5 morae composition). We'd love to see more haiga (a haiku that comes with an image; we got many last year, especially from kids), though they will be judged the same as haiku. For you we offer three awards with (small) prizes: 1) best in show, 2) runner-up, 3) best entry from poet under the age of 13.
The info we need: Your haiku(!), your name, your contact info (include city, state, country), your age if <13 years old.
The fine print: We recognize that you hold the copyright to your original haiku (or try creative commons). By submitting your haiku to us you grant NC State University, the NC State University Insect Museum, and the Department of Entomology permission to reprint it/them in our newsletters and/or websites, verbatim and with attribution.
A final word: We're calling it the Hexapod Haiku Challenge only for alliterative purposes. We would love to have haiku that feature any familiar arthropod associated with the field of Entomology.
