The 2024-25 WiSiJo Contest is now open!
WiSiJo is an annual sijo poetry writing competition held across Wisconsin since 2020.
What is Sijo? Sijo is a traditional Korean three-line poetic form consisting of a theme (1st line), elaboration (2nd line), and a counter-theme and conclusion (3rd line). Sijo traditionally explores cosmological, metaphysical, or pastoral themes and consists of 14-16 syllables per line:
So they say there was a gale and frosty snow fell last night?
And the spreading pines were all broken and overthrown?
In that case how about the flowers, what chance have they to bloom?
–Yu Eung-bu (d. 1456)
In the above poem, the first two lines are dominated by heavy, dark, cold imagery—“gale”, “frosty”, “night”, “broken.” The counter-theme in the first half of the third line introduces flowers—light and delicate—into the poem. The two discordant images are then resolved or connected in the conclusion which focuses on the fate of the flowers in such an environment.
While sijo is not as well-known as haiku, its thematic nature and longer line length make it easily adaptable to English.
CEAS organized the first WiSiJo competition with Sejong Cultural Society in 2020 at the suggestion of Wisconsin high school teacher Elizabeth Jorgensen.
Jorgensen, who has taught sijo for many years, recently co-edited a book on sijo, Sijo: Korea’s Poetry Form, with Sejong Cultural Society executive director Lucy Park.
What started as an experimental pilot program has drawn entries from all parts of Wisconsin. The competition is open to Wisconsinites of all ages, offers monetary prizes of up to $400 to winning entries, and includes inducements for schools and libraries to promote participation.
While sijo are traditionally written on cosmological, metaphysical, or pastoral themes, previous entrants have written sijo on Wordle, Alzhemiers, and even creative writing:
Take From Creative Writing
rule of thirds; anaphora; synesthesia; innovation.
dialogue; hyperbole, repetition; powerful ends.
the knowledge: your voice has power; your words matter; you matter
—Elizabeth Jorgensen, Adult Division Grand Prize Winner 2024
