Lougheed House Haiku Contest
Senator and Lady Lougheed, the original owners of Lougheed House, were well-known early influencers and promoters of Calgary arts and culture.
As a nod to their legacy, and together with the public reopening of our “Storied City” exhibition, (we begin to reopen Lougheed House in August) we invite Calgarians of all ages to submit their haiku poems to the contest.
Haiku is a Japanese poetic form of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five. (Less is acceptable, but definitely not more.) Haiku traditionally evoke images of the natural world.
Those with a special connection to the city of Calgary or to western Canadian culture are also welcome to submit their work. The judging process will be entirely blind.
Sample Original Haiku
a flutter of lace
unspoken secrets echo
through time
By Josephine LoRe, 2020 Contest Judge
overcast day
yellow floribunda
stand in for the sun
By Joanne Morcom, 2020 Contest Judge
Contest Judges
Shaun Hunter
Shaun is the co-curator of “Storied City: Early Calgary through the Eyes of Writers” at Lougheed House. As the 2020 Historian in Residence at the Calgary Public Library, she is creating a digital map of the city’s literary landscape. Shaun shares her passion for local stories in her book Calgary through the Eyes of Writers and at www.shaunhunter.ca.
Josephine LoRe
Josephine LoRe has two collections, ‘Unity’ and the Calgary Herald Bestseller ‘Cowichan Series’. Her poetry has been published in anthologies and publications in nine countries, including FreeFall Magazine and Japan's 2019 Setouchi-Matsuyama photo-haiku contest. Josephine presented in Women Echoing Women, a Haiku Enchantment at Vancouver's 2019 Haiku Canada Conference. Visit Josephine at
Joanne Morcom
Joanne’s a native Calgarian, social worker, poet, self-publisher, workshop presenter, traveller and thrift store shopper. Her short form poetry appears in journals and anthologies, while her fifth poetry collection, Big Blue Sky Haiku and Reflections, will soon be released by Painted Turtle Press.
She’s a member of Haiku Canada, Tanka Canada and The Writers Guild of Alberta. Visit Joanne from a safe distance at www.joannemorcom.ca and on her Facebook and Twitter pages.
Contest guidelines:
- In the spirit of this unique summer at the Lougheed House, we are looking for haiku that invoke themes of nature, gardens, Calgary and its community, and life during the pandemic. We will not accept any previously published work. Each entrant may include up to three original haiku in their submission.
- Entrants must submit a video recording (maximum one minute in length) of themselves reading their haiku aloud. We encourage entrants to film their submissions in their home gardens, a local park, or to come down and record at Beaulieu Gardens - Lougheed House’s public gardens space!
- We encourage entrants to also share their recordings on social media with the official contest hashtag: #lougheedhousehaiku. By submitting an entry, entrants agree to allow use of their submission by Lougheed House in its social media and marketing. By submitting a haiku, you authorize Lougheed House to reproduce and publish it in whole or in part, in any form we choose, for promotional purposes through September 30, 2020.
- All rights will return to successful entrants upon publication.
Dates:
- Winners have been contacted and announced! Congratulations to all prize-winners and to all entrants who made this community initiative a success. Please note that the judging process was entirely blind.
Contact:
In case of any questions or difficulties regarding the Lougheed House’s August 2020 Haiku Competition, please contact us at student@lougheedhouse.com with a Subject line of: Haiku Contest 2020
Prize Winners
1st Prize: Susan Calder, "two metres apart"
2nd Prize: Skylar Kay, "distant thunder"
3rd Prize: Rachelle Pinnow and Sterling Pinnow Hassall, "an olive tree twists"
Honourable Mention: Moni Brar, "picking summer fruit"
Honourable Mention: Marilyn Lett, "Salverson and Reeve"
Honourable Mention: Susan Calder, "my neighbour's garden"
