Student Haiku Wanted: The Joy of Information

February 28, 2020

A special issue of Library Trends on “The Joy of Information” is in development; see the Call for Papers for a scope statement and submission details.

Students of Library and Information Science at all levels are invited to contribute haiku on the same theme (information and joy), for publication in a curated collection of the special issue. We are excited to showcase the considerable creativity and vision of the students in this field.

Haiku is a form of short poetry that originates in Japan. When written in English, a haiku is an unrhymed, 3 line poem, where the syllables in each line are 5, 7, 5, respectively. Traditional haiku contain references to nature or the seasons, but we are interested in poems on the subject of information and joy (although references to nature are still welcome, where relevant). Whatever its subject, a haiku is made both by its structure and by its spirit; these poems are valued for their sparseness, and a good haiku balances simplicity with depth, in order to evoke emotion.

Instructors are welcome to make the haiku a class activity or assignment.

Additional guidelines:

• The poem must conform to traditional haiku syllabic structure
• The theme must be the crossroads of information and joy (references to theories and concepts of LIS will be appreciated)
• Submissions are to be sent to informationhaiku@gmail.com by July 1, 2020
• More than one haiku can be submitted per person
• As submissions will be judged blind, please do not include any identifying information in your haiku document or file name
• Authors must be enrolled in academic programs of Information Studies in 2020

We look forward to your submissions.

Thank you!

Guest Editors

Jenna Hartel
Associate Professor
Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
jenna.hartel@utoronto.ca

Hailey Siracky
Director of Library Services
St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta
siracky@ualberta.ca