Haiku in a Hurry Have fun in this creative "think on your feet" Fling Event!
Haiku in a Hurry is a "fling" category that is not offered in every tournament. If a tournament will be offering Haiku in a Hurry, it will be announced in the invitation. Haiku in a Hurry: Students will pull three prompts at random, quickly select one and have five minutes in which to prepare and present a Haiku poem (3 lines: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables) inspired by the chosen "jump start." Students may use a 3 X 5 index card to compose their poem and are required to read the" jump start" as the poem's title when they deliver their Haiku. Judge will provide audible, verbal time signals while student composes their Haiku poem. Please note: In this category, it is vital to comment upon both the content and the delivery of the student's Haiku poem.
Time limit: 5 minutes with a 30 second grace period. Judges will provide audible, verbal time signals during preparation time. Students who speak beyond the time limit plus the grace period may not be ranked 1st.
During the performance the student should strive to demonstrate the following skills: ENGAGING PERSONA: creates interest and holds your attention. Invites you with their eyes to listen to their performance. POETIC LANGUAGE: uses and expresses imagery, rhythm, similes, metaphors, symbolism, and sounds. (Note: rhyming is not required in Haiku poetry) VOCAL VARIATION: effectively varies volume, pitch, speaking rate, tone, pauses, emphasis and mood. PHYSICAL VARIETY: uses and varies facial expressions, gestures, and body language to enhance their performance. USE OF PROMPT and POETIC FORM: effectively uses the prompt to create an original, on topic poem in Haiku form (3 lines: 3 syllables, 5 syllables, 3 syllables).
Haiku in a Hurry Example: A student pulled three prompts from the choices: dog cat skunk The student decides to write their Haiku about a cat. Once the decision is made, the judge puts the two unselected prompts back and starts the timer as the student begins to compose their poem on a 3X5 card. Judge will give verbal time signals indicating how much time has passed. Ex: "1 minute has passed." When the student has finished composing their Haiku and stands to present, the judge should switch to visual time signals indicating how much time is left. The Haiku poem would have syllables like this one: "CAT The cat creeps slowly What does it spy behind there? Maybe another?"