MEDITATIONS

a Minimalist Poetry Anthology for Christians

 

GUIDELINES:

 

This anthology is now open to submissions. It will close when filled. Relative announcements will be posted in the Hiraeth Publishing newsletter.

 

As many of you know, a haiku is a brief story told in very few words with a great ah-ha moment at the end. You may have learned that it also consists of 17 syllables of 5-7-5 lines. Because English syllables are NOT equivalent to Japanese onji, that last part is not a requirement.

 

A tanka poem should be five lines (traditionally 5-7-5 7-7 syllables), with a short line, a long line, another short line, followed by two long lines. One set of lines should show an image, and the other set of lines should “reflect upon” that image, and both sections should be able to be read as an independent poem.

 

The haiku or tanka should be both concise and “Christian love and peace” in feel.

 

What we'd like to see, then, is either a haiku-like poem of three lines, which has an Eastern or Zen feel and a great ah-ha moment, just like a regular haiku, OR a tanka-like poem of five lines with the same feel. Whichever type of poem you write, it should be succinct. It should be about ONE moment in time, with ONE action, and should NOT be a sentence spread out over three to five lines!

 

Whether haiku or tanka, it should tell a story, and may be funny, sad, poignant or anything in between, as long as it is based on the Christian Faith, and especially if it is meditative in tone.

 

Payment is $1.00 per accepted haiku or tanka, paid on publication, and contributors will also receive a contributor copy.

 

Please send no more than five submissions in the body of an email to: gatrix65 at yahoo dot com.

 

IMPORTANT: Please put MEDITATIONS and your last name in the subject line of your submission e-mail.

 

Please do NOT double space your poem!

 

Always include your FULL CONTACT INFORMATION (name, snail mail address, email and PayPal address) on every submission. Submissions without contact information may be deleted without notice. You may also send a brief (just a sentence or two) bio with your submission.

 

Editors for this issue of MEDITATIONS are Francis Wesley Alexander and teri santitoro. For questions, you can reach us at gatrix65 at yahoo dot com.