Five Palms Press is seeking haiku submissions. The resulting volume, Songs of the Pandemic, is expected in January 2021. Read the general guidelines below:

“I am inviting friends, and friends-of-friends, to contribute a verse of haiku, or a quintet of five verses, for an e-book titled “Songs of the Pandemic” to be published in January 2021.

Haiku is a non-rhyming form of micro-poetry consisting of three lines, where the first line has five syllables, the second line seven syllables, and the third line five syllables. See examples below.

I am seeking contributors from across the USA and from as many countries around the world as possible, one contributor per state/country. Haiku will be in English.

No experience as a poet or haikuist is required – just release a creative spurt of 17 syllables. Each haiku should make some direct or metaphorical reference to your personal experience of the pandemic – challenges, grief, opportunities, fears, disappointments, discoveries.

Here are three examples, received so far, to stir your creative juices:

closing eyes against

black glitter, I hug a friend.

it won’t happen here.

– Claire Matturo, USA (Florida)

grazers pause to browse

hoof prints etched six feet apart…

outlines of covid

– Pat Geyer, USA (New Jersey)

when we meet again

I’ll hold you ‘til our shared tears

wash away this year

– Alice Rivera, USA (California)

Each of these examples is a verse within a quintet, but they stand alone quite nicely. General instructions.

Writing tip: I find that my first draft is rarely my final draft. Early words need to marinate in brain juice for a while to bring forth richer, more complex flavors. I like to revisit a draft at varying times over a couple of days. My brain seems to work differently in the morning than in the evening.

All contributors will be notified by email when contributions are received (email: fivepalms@dandana.us) and when the e-book is published. Its price will be $0, or as close to $0 as allowed by Amazon.com. We’re not in this for the money!

Feel free to pass this invitation along to a friend, or a friend of a friend, or …”