Snafu Senryu

The Prompt

We recognize that some interpretations of our past haiku challenges were actually senryu, not haiku. The Snafu Senryu challenge is about honoring the senryu poetry form in all its painfully human glory. A senryu is a traditional Japanese form of poetry that, like a haiku, consists of three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. However, while haiku often focus on nature or seasonal changes, senryu revolve around human nature and emotions, often with a humorous or ironic twist.

The theme of this challenge is "awkward moments." Delve deep into those uncomfortable, sticky situations we've all found ourselves in to capture the essence of that experience. A senryu is meant to highlight human quirks and emotions, so ensure your senryu has a personal or emotional touch. Humor, irony, or wit is welcome, though not mandatory.

Entries will be judged based on adherence to the 5-7-5 structure, creativity, human element, and how well they capture the theme of "awkward moments."

A single senryu or collection of senryu per submission will be accepted.

In order for your submission to qualify, it must:

The Prizes

• Grand Prize: $500
• Second Place: $250
• 10 Runners-Up: $25

*See our resource here on how we count syllables. We recognize that there are different ways of pronouncing words by region and dialect, and we appreciate that! We count syllables using a haiku syllable counter, however, we allow room for a one syllable difference based on varying pronunciations of words.

For your poem to be eligible, it should be submitted to the Poets Community, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Poems published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until November 2, 2023, at 11:59 PM ET will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Snafu Senryu Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.