The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award--Deadline June 1, 2013

[Billie Wilson]

This announcement just in from The Heron's Nest [visit the Haiku Registry to read more about Peggy and her work]:

The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award

                                                            Indian summer
                                                            a turtle on a turtle
                                                            on a rock
                                                                                   
                                                                   Peggy Willis Lyles
                                                                    Heron's Nest Award winner
                                                                    for Volume III, #10, December 2001


Isaac Newton reputedly claimed, "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants." By any measure, Peggy Willis Lyles was a giant presence in the world of English-language haiku during the last quarter of the twentieth century and the first decade of this century. Those who came to know and admire Peggy's published work were enriched by the encounter. The scores of fortunate poets-from newcomers to veterans-who corresponded with Peggy at her "turtlerock" email address during her eight years as an editor with The Heron's Nest were even more profoundly rewarded through their firsthand experience of her incisive intellect and her generous spirit. So I am proud to announce The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award, a special annual competition to celebrate Peggy's life and to perpetuate her haiku legacy as both a master poet and an inspiring mentor.

This competition honoring our beloved colleague will be underwritten in its entirety by the editorial staff of The Heron's Nest and a Friends of Peggy Willis Lyles Fund-there will be no fee to enter. The top three prizes will include cash awards, and all awarded poets will receive a volume of Peggy's haiku. The First, Second and Third Place poets will each also be able to designate a library to receive a copy of To Hear the Rain, Peggy's 2002 hardcover collection. Finally, the First Place finisher will receive the memento of a miniature crystal turtle, representative of Peggy's haiku "totem."

We are all very excited about this tribute to a truly wonderful person and one of the finest haiku poets of our time. Haiku poets worldwide are invited and encouraged to enter their best work; only the current staff of The Heron's Nest and the contest judge (to be announced with the contest winners) are ineligible. Full details of this year's competition appear in the fact sheet below.

John Stevenson, Managing Editor, The Heron's Nest
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The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award for 2013
         
Maximum number of haiku allowed: five (5) haiku in English

Judging criteria: the sole criterion will be excellence

Judge: to be identified with the winners

Entry fee: none

Eligibility: all haiku poets other than the staff of The Heron's Nest, and the contest judge

Awards:         
First Place - $150 plus a copy of To Hear the Rain (as well as a copy to a library of the award winner's choice) plus a miniature crystal turtle

Second Place - $75 plus a copy of To Hear the Rain (as well as a copy to a library of the award winner's choice)

Third Place - $50 plus a copy of To Hear the Rain (as well as a copy to a library of the award winner's choice)

Honorable Mention (up to five recipients) - a copy of phosphorescence, a softbound selection of Peggy's work from Red Moon Press (part of its Postscript Series)

NOTE: monetary awards to non-US winners will be made through PayPal, where possible, in order to avoid the high cost of bank processing fees

Deadline for entries: June 1, 2013

How to enter: By email to John Stevenson at ithacan@earthlink.net (put "Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award" in the subject line; provide haiku in the body of the email only-attachments will not be opened; include your name and your location as you would like to see each listed) The submitted poems must neither be published; accepted for publication; nor under consideration by anyone other than us before we announce the contest results.

Announcement of results: July 31, 2013