Haiku poetry submission and exhibition
Imagine if you could share your experiences, thoughts or project into just 17 syllables or three breaths.
Imagine seeing all those ideas gathered together in one place.
This year we are inviting you to submit a short haiku poem on the conference theme of People, Partnerships and Potential by 9am on Monday 31 October 2016.
Submissions will be exhibited at our poetry prescription stand and collated into the Hospice UK haiku compendium.
By ‘short’, we mean short! Just three lines… so no excuses for not joining in!
The haiku format:
opening phrase/description (5 syllables)
longer thought (7 syllables)
ending short phrase (5 syllables)
Bolton Hospice poet Dr Phil Isherwood (@poetrymeta4life) and nurse poet Sue Spencer (@nursingbard) explain: “The haiku has the particular ability to capture the detail (they come from the Zen tradition that this is where true beauty and meaning is found). The formal Japanese haiku are about nature and love… but many poets use an informal approach. In hospice work they have been used in response to conversations with patients.”
The best ones make every word count – no padding! Punctuation and capitals are optional.
The strict format above is for the purist – as counting syllables can put people off. So an informal approach is to write three lines of a ‘breath’s-worth’ each. Here is one example based on a patient’s memories:
Buttercups in summer.
A field of shimmering smiles but
I could never pick two the same.
@poetrymeta4life
For this year’s conference we are particularly interested in haikus for the theme of People, Partnerships and Potential – both with and without the three ‘p’ words. For example:
People – are what you have
Partnerships – are what you make
Potential? Go on!
@poetrymeta4life
People
listen and learn
connect, converse, confer
human kindness matters
@nursingbard
Partnerships
step together
alongside like minded souls
making a real difference
@nursingbard
Potential
stand for a while
imagine all is possible
you can shape the future
@nursingbard
We’d love to see haikus coming into us by 9am on Monday 31 October 2016. All you need to do is send us:
- your haiku
- your name, role and email
- your twitter handle (if you have one)
- your consent for us to display, reproduce and publish your haiku.
Anyone can submit – take up the challenge!
Poetry prescriptions
Wednesday 16 November (Phil Isherwood) and Thursday 17 November (Sue Spencer)
Have you ever thought about using poetry in your everyday practice – for your patients and families or for yourself and those that you work with?
Poetry can be used in a variety of ways: stress, distress, harried, hurried, feeling your age, upset, confused, anxious, feel cross or just in need of being listened to? Poetry provides expression, time and space.
We are delighted to offer poetry prescriptions at the beginning and end of the day, and during conference breaks, on Wednesday and Thursday. Come and meet our resident conference poets Dr Phil Isherwood (Wednesday) or Sue Spencer (Thursday) by the haiku exhibition to find out more about how to prescribe and use poetry.
“I believe that poetry can help to make you better. Poetry is essential, not a frill or a nicety. It comes to all of us when we most need it. As soon as we are in any kind of crisis, or anguish, that is when we reach out for poetry, or find ourselves writing a poem for the first time.” Julia Darling, in the introduction to The Poetry Cure.
Sue and Phil will suggest poems to soothe the soul, lift the mood, find solace, connect with something new, rediscover a poem or simply 15 minutes to yourself. Let us suggest a poem that fits your story.
The poetry collections we will draw from include:
- Staying Alive, Being Alive and Being Human, The Poetry Cure and Soul Food – all published by Bloodaxe Books
- The Emergency Poet – An anti-stress poetry anthology by Deborah Alma published by Michael O’Mara Books
Sarah Russell, head of research and clinical innovation at Hospice UK, comments: “I am so delighted that Phil and Sue will offer us a different way to communicate with not only our patients and their families but also with ourselves.
“The haiku exhibition and Poetry prescriptions are an exciting contribution to the conference and I look forward to taking full advantage of their ideas as well as everyone’s haiku poems.”
Find out more about the conference and how to submit your haiku on the Hospice UK website.
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