This month’s exciting place to submit poetry is called Frogpond, a magazine
of haiku. Many students compose haiku in their writing classrooms, and this
publication provides a wonderful opportunity for writers of all ages to submit their own haiku. A haiku is a form of poetry that originated in Japan in 1889. Traditionally, haiku have a nature theme, which allows for many possible subjects when writing. Haiku also have a set form. Each haiku is made up of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables in that order. These are fun to write because of their small size and ability to bring the poet into the natural world.
I have three wonderful examples of haiku from area students. These will help you understand the form, if you are unfamiliar with it, and may also inspire you to write a haiku of your own.
The eye of the cat
pounces at the dragonfly,
yet he still crouches.
Liz Diemer, Age 12
Snake grooves through the grass
looking for its lunch, unknown,
but known all along.
Andrew VanderMeer, Age 11
The dance of a tree
with its partner, rippled wind,
shakes leaves off its dress.
Jessica Swanson, Age 12
The website, http://www.hsa-haiku.org/frogpond.htm also invites people to submit senryu, haibun, or renku, which are other forms of traditional writing. Since this magazine releases three publications a year, there are three chances for you to submit your work: February 15 to April 15, June 01 to August 01, and September 15 to November 15. You can submit a number of things to this magazine, and the list of these is at the site. In order to submit, you need to follow a few guidelines. First, the magazine prefers that you submit your work by email. When sending your work through email, add the haiku or other form of poetry directly to the email’s body—no attachments. The magazine also wants to stress that all work must be original and previously unpublished.
Experiment with words in a haiku of your own or write in one of the other poetic forms originated in Japan and, perhaps, send your very best ones to Frogpond for them to be
considered for publication.