Paperboats, the collective of Scotland-based authors, artists and activists focused on nature and environment, is inviting writers of all ages to submit their haiku poems to be in with the chance to win a cash prize and be published in a special Zine dedicated to the traditional Japanese poem.
The haiku — consisting of three lines containing, respectively, five, seven and five syllables — can be in English, Scots or Gaelic and take the themes of rewilding or a future free of fossil fuels as inspiration.
The competition is open to writers over and under 16, and the best haiku in each of the four categories will win a £100 prize. Highly commended entries will be published in the online December edition of the Paperboats Zine, which is dedicated to nature writing in a time of climate and ecological crisis. They will also receive a Paperboats badge handmade by Glasgow artist David McDiarmid, based on an original design by George Wyllie. The chief judge of the competition is award-winning novelist, poet and haiku aficionado, Kevin MacNeil.
Spokesbloke for Paperboats, Chris Powici said: ‘We are so excited to announce this competition, which comes almost exactly a year since we launched our first online Zine, dedicated to sharing our concerns about the nature and climate emergency. Special thanks to Kevin MacNeil for taking the time to judge the poems. We encourage those entering to be imaginative in their treatment of the theme. The haiku should be on the theme of either The Rewilding National Charter or the Fossil Fuel Treaty, two campaigns Paperboats is giving its support to this year. The wild isn’t all about wolves and eagles; it’s about seagrass and snails (and other things!) as well. How will we power our lives when we stop turning coal and oil into fuel? Haikus that celebrate wind, wave and sun are very welcome. Good luck, and get writing!’
Kevin MacNeil added: ‘The haiku is not only one of the most popular poetry forms in the world, it is inherently suited to writing about nature and the environment. Not only this, but writing haiku is fun! I’ve seen people of all ages and backgrounds write terrific haiku. Haiku can even be written in one spontaneous flow. The haiku welcomes everyone – it just asks for sincerity and attentiveness. I’m very excited to read the haiku that people come up with.’
Entries close on Monday 14th October, 2024. Find details of how to submit a haiku, competition categories, rules and guidelines here.
Last November, Paperboats took a flotilla of 1000 Paperboats, made from the pages of old books and magazines and inscribed with 1000 Climate Hopes, to present to MSPs of all parties. This served as a warning shot across the bows of current and future political leaders, demanding they support rapid and urgent action in the face of accelerating climate breakdown. Kathleen Jamie performed a new poem ‘What the paperboat said’, outside Holyrood, and there was music from a scratch choir organised by multi-award-winning musicians Karine Polwart and Stephen Deazley.
Paperboats, named after the poem ‘What the Clyde said, after COP26’, which Jamie wrote for the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, is soon to launch a new podcast. It will feature members of the collective, writings from the Zine as well as general discussions about nature and the environment.
Members of the collective have also been busy appearing at various events around Scotland this past year, including the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2024, a writing workshop hosted by Dumfries & Galloway Climate Hub, and Edinburgh Climate Festival as well as on BBC Radio Scotland’s Scotland Outdoors programme, and the Local Zero podcast.
Paperboats is a growing collective of writers focused on nature and environment in a time of climate and ecological breakdown. They are Scotland-based and global in outlook and write to affirm the astonishing life of this planet. Paperboats came together as folk with a loose connection to Stirling University but they welcome writers from across Scotland and beyond. They aim to raise a diversity of voices on the climate crisis and are particularly keen to hear from under-represented groups and those on the frontlines of the climate emergency.
The founder members include:
Tom Bowser – Argaty Red Kites rewilding estate in Perthshire and author of A Sky Full of Kites
Leonie Charlton – poet and author of memoir Marram
Linda Cracknell – author of Doubling Back and Writing Landscape
Merryn Glover – author of books including The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd
Kathleen Jamie – Scottish Makar (National Poet for Scotland) 2021 – 2024, author, poet, essayist
Karen Lloyd – author of Abundance
Elaine Morrison – Scots writer and poet
Chris Powici – poet
Polly Pullar – conservationist, naturalist and author of many nature books
Sandy Winterbottom – author of The Two-Headed Whale
More information about Paperboats is available on Instagram and X.
The Paperboats Zine Issue One: This Is What The World Was Like, Issue Two: By Stone, By Wood, By Water and Issue Three: A Turn of the Sun, are available online here.