General Guidelines:
Please scroll down for
submission addresses and editors'
guidelines. Ensure that your submissions
are sent to the appropriate editors, ie
haiku to the haiku editor, haiga to the
haiga editor and so forth.
Submissions may be sent at
any time and we will do our best to
acknowledge receipt promptly. Our
deadlines for the four issues are:
- March Issue - submissions close on
December 15th, the prior year
- June Issue - submissions close on
March 15th
- September Issue - submissions close
on June 15th
- December Issue - submissions close on
September 15th
The AHG editors will
consider submissions of:
- up to 10 haiku
- up to 10 tanka
- up to 3 haibun and/or tanka prose
- up to 10 haiga
- up to 3 renku
- up to 5 tan renga, rengay or yotsumono
- up to 1 essay or article, 1 book
review and 3 commentaries on poems
How to submit your work:
Haiku, haibun
and tanka submissions must be
placed within the body of an email. No
attached submissions will be opened for
these sections.
Haiga
images may be sent as attachments and
preferably as JPEG images.
Linked Forms,
Articles, Interviews, Commentaries,
and Reviews should be sent as
attachments either as RFT (rich text
format) or MS Word documents.
Please include the date,
your name and country of residence in
all submissions.
Your submissions must not
be under consideration elsewhere from
the time submitted until you are advised
that the acceptance process is
completed.
Publication Rights
and Definition of "Unpublished" Work:
1. In the interests of
fair practice, AHG claims
exclusive rights to publication of all
work selected for a period of 40 days
after the work is first published in AHG.
After this period has elapsed, all
rights return to the authors/artists who
are then free to have their work
republished or to republish the work
themselves on their own blogs and
sharing websites. Wherever a work is
republished, AHG must be cited
as the place of first publication.
2. AHG retains
the right to republish your work either
online or in print as part of an AHG
Annual or Retrospective. AHG
does not have the right to authorize
publication of your work elsewhere.
3. All works that have
appeared on Facebook or similar internet
social networks, websites, blogs or any
other online source that may be accessed
by an internet search engine are deemed
published and not eligible for
submission as unpublished. Works that
have been shared with a limited peer
group on 'membership only' forums not
accessible by an internet search engine
are deemed unpublished.
4. Previously published
works may be considered for AHG,
at the discretion of each editor,
provided that they are submitted with
full accreditation of prior publication.
5. When you submit your
work, the contractual assumption is that
you have agreed to all of the above
conditions.
Haiku Guidelines:
Lorin Ford, Haiku Editor:
haikugourds@gmail.com
English-language haiku is
alive, healthy and still developing.
Haiku are poems, so rhythm and sound are
important as well as succinct
expression. Subtle humour and a somewhat
detached viewpoint are a mark of some of
the best haiku, but also some of the
finest haiku are heartbreaking in their
implications. There is no nuance of mood
or tone that is unsuitable to haiku, but
the light touch, the suggestion, the
understatement is essential. Avoid overt
sentimentality and clichés of feeling as
you would avoid clichéd expression and
images. Bring something fresh to your
haiku even if the subject is something
that's been written about over and over
again. It's good to be aware of how kigo
are used in Japanese haiku, but try to
use seasonal references from your own
experience. Allusion to other literary
works can deepen a haiku, as long those
works are well known.
I welcome haiku from all
world regions but, needless to say,
haiku translated from your first
language must work well in English.
For each issue of A
Hundred Gourds, Ron Moss will
choose a few of the selected haiku to
include within a traditional haiga. This
is for fun and interest and is no
reflection on the relative merits of any
of the other haiku.
Please remember to
include your name and country of
residence directly beneath the
final poem in your submission,
each time you send a submission.
Tanka Guidelines:
Susan Constable, Tanka
Editor: tankagourds2@gmail.com
The defining factors of
English language tanka remain in a state
of flux, and I anticipate that this will
continue for the foreseeable future.
Since all poetry is subjective, it's
only fair that you know what currently
appeals to me.
Tanka that have an emotional
undercurrent are likely to gain my
favour. Pure description or narrative
can work successfully, however, if it
helps me see things in a new or
unexpected way.
A poem that leaves room for the
reader's interpretation and imagination
tend to work better for me than a
tell-it-all tanka. On the other hand,
one that is extremely dense or obscure
can be problematic.
Unless the tanka is obviously written
as a dream or from pure imagination, I
prefer ones with a literal
interpretation. If a metaphorical
reading is also available, that
definitely adds depth to the poem.
I'm not fond of unnatural wording or
splitting a phrase at the end of a line,
unless I can find a good reason for
doing so. Since poetry is song, I prefer
tanka with rhythm, flow, and no more
than one very distinct grammatical
break.
That said, please send me
your best-loved tanka. A memorable poem,
despite any deviation from the above,
will simply cause me to re-think and
update my list of preferences.
For each issue of A Hundred Gourds,
Ron Moss will choose a few of the
selected tanka to include within a
traditional haiga. This is for fun and
interest and is no reflection on the
relative merits of any of the other
tanka.
Haiga Guidelines:
Aubrie Cox: New Haiga
Editor for AHG 2:2 onward: haigagourds@gmail.com
On the most fundamental
level, I consider haiga to be the
combination of an image and short poem.
However, the poem should not explain the
picture or vice versa. Rather, the poem
should expand upon what's presented in
the image and vice versa. This expansion
may play off an emotion, theme, or
detail that's presented in either or
both the image and poem; the image/poem
may also alter the audience's perception
of the poem/image. The best haiga do not
always have an obvious connection
between the poem or image, but resonate
and create an experience that would not
be possible by the poem or image
alone—the two art forms come together to
create something new when put together
that would not exist otherwise. That
being said, both the poem and image must
be well crafted and be able to carry
their own weight.
I accept the combination
of image and haiku, senryu, tanka,
kyoka, and short haibun. Play is an
important part of haikai to me, so I
strongly encourage the use of all
mediums for artwork including, but not
limited to: photography, brushwork,
collage (digital and handmade),
pencil/ink sketches, and computer
graphics. Please do not send haiga made
with stock and/or creative commons
images.
Haiga images must be
JPEG/JPG format with a maximum
height/width of 750 pixels including any
decorative borders and a minimum
height/width of 600 pixels. Include your
signature as part of the artwork itself.
Please make sure the text within the
graphics is readable, and keep in mind
we may resize images when necessary to
fit our format. If a haiga is a
collaboration, both parties must give
permission to publish and include name
and contact information.
Haibun & Tanka
Prose Guidelines:
Mike Montreuil, Haibun
& Tanka Prose Editor: haibungourds@gmail.com
Both haibun (prose +
haiku) and tanka prose (prose + tanka)
are acceptable.
English Language Haibun is
a relatively new and evolving form.
Therefore, there are no restrictions
regarding content: travel accounts,
personal experiences in natural or human
settings, fantasy, dreams, etc. are all
welcome.
Having said this, all
editors have their own poetic
sensibilities. I am looking for haibun:
- that carry a sense of the writer's
presence or, put another way, the
haibun must not read like pure
fiction.
- where the prose is well written and
tells me a story that reflects the
author's world and his or her
experience. Personal commentaries
about the state of world, politics,
etc. will not be accepted.
- where the haiku either poignantly
summarizes the theme of the piece or
steps out from the piece and adds a
new dimension. In its simplest form, a
haibun is a linked poem and as such, I
am not under the conviction that a
haiku must stand alone or be
understandable, if read alone. In my
view, the haiku relates to and is
understood with the prose and title in
context.
- that have titles.
It must not be merely tacked on,
but must relate to the piece in
a way so the attention of
the reader is drawn to the haibun as
it is done for short stories, novels
and poetry.
I would like no more than
three haibun for submission per
submission reading period. However as
many you send, I will only accept one
haibun per writer per issue. Those that
are not accepted will not be commented
on and may be resubmitted in the future.
My normal practice is to
accept, not accept, or make suggestions.
If I make suggestions, you are welcome
to resubmit your haibun for
consideration. I will try to make
editorial suggestions for the pieces
that I receive, so please don't feel
insulted or singled out by this
practice.
Renku, Tan Renga,
Rengay & Yotsumono Guidelines:
William Sorlien, Renku
Editor: renkugourds@gmail.com
I welcome submissions of
all renku forms, be they traditional,
modern, or experimental
works. Other collaborative forms,
such as tan renga, rengay and yotsumono,
will also be considered. Preference will
be given to those poems that effectively
'link and shift', that employ season by
use of traditional kigo or draw from
seasonal reference of your regions of
origin, and create a compelling movement
through the use of topic, folios and
methods of linking.
Renku that excel in
cadence and metre, contain humor and
irony, empathy and humanity, display a
state of wonder in regard to the natural
world and lend to an innovative prosody
will receive the highest regard. I
encourage you to include a brief
Tomegaki (lead-poet's debrief) and/or
one or more Kanso (appreciations) by
participating poets.
Expositions
(Commentaries, Articles, Interviews,
Reviews) Guidelines:
John McManus, Expositions
Editor: jmac.ahgjournal@gmail.com
I welcome articles,
interviews and reviews. In addition, I'm
looking for commentaries
– short pieces that focus on a single
haiku, haibun, haiga or tanka by a
writer different than yourself that had
a special meaning or that touched you in
a special way. A commentary explains why
you selected the piece, what it meant to
you, what its qualities are for you as a
reader.
© A
Hundred Gourds, 2012. All works
herein are the property of the poets and
artists. No work may be republished or
used in any way without their written
permission. Images credit: Ron Moss,
consulting and contributing artist.
Website design a collaboration between
Lorin Ford, Melinda Hipple, Ron Moss &
Ray Rasmussen.
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