Fair Haiku and a Call For Poetry

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Guests descend buses
Ferris wheel whirls, midway calls 
Great New York State Fair

by Nancy Prosser (Auburn 2019)

It’s that time of year again: 1) The Syracuse Poster Project’s annual invitation to submit haiku and short poems for our 2023 Series is in the mail with an entry deadline of September 30, 2022 and 2) the New York State Fair opens this week and runs through Labor Day!

Extravaganza!
The State Fair kaleidoscope 
days of sights, sounds, tastes

by Ann Gymburch-Schramp (Lee Center 2017)

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Ferris wheel stands tall
Laughter and screams of delight
The New York State Fair

Poet: Alex DeSantis
Artist: Dylan Cownie
Series: 2015

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Sweet butter dripping
Fried Twinkie in other hand, 
Delights of State Fair

by Arlene Quizon (Renton 2018)

Coincidentally, our invitation for the 2023 Series includes an opportunity for poets to write a poem to accompany a ‘reverse poster’ — a special poster created first in order to inspire a poem! This year’s vibrant illustration — “Spirit of Blue Ribbons” — is the result of a wonderful collaboration between the New York State Fair and a 2007 Poster Project alumnus, Lydia Nichols. A former Syracuse University Illustration student, Lydia is an active artist and illustrator in the Syracuse community and was recently highlighted in our “Where Are They Now” Instagram series. To view her website, click HERE; to read our Instagram article, click HERE!

Poet: ____________
Artist: Lydia Nichols
Series: 2023 -- Spirit of Blue Ribbons

You can submit up to three poems inspired by any of this year's list of Ten Syracuse Spirits. We will consider one additional poem to accompany our specially illustrated poster celebrating the New York State Fair. Click here to view the list of spirit prompts.

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Vivid colors and
dazzling lights make for a grand 
State Fair atmosphere.

by Christina Lee (Syracuse 2010)

Fried dough, Midway thrills,
baby pigs, blue ribbon shows, 
State Fair memories

by Deborah Rahalski (Baldwinsville 2018)

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When the Great Fair comes
school cannot be far behind.
Summer ends too soon.


Poet: Lori DiCaprio-Lee
Artist: Keisha Cedeno
Series: 2011

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So, as you meander through the many sights, smells and sounds of the Fair, put your experience into words. See if you can frame your poem with the ‘reverse poster’ in mind, too. Remember, in addition to standard haiku (5, 7, 5 syllables), we will accept other short, three-to-four-line, poems. (What is “short?” Aim for lines no longer than eight words.) And, don’t forget to submit your work by September 30th!

Happy Memories.
The smell of cotton candy. 
Great New York State Fair.

by Teresa Niziolek (Fayetteville 2016)

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Whether or not you’re able to catch some time at the Fair, we hope you enjoy these last few days of August!

Great New York State Fair
Roller coaster memories 
Cotton candy day

by Ricky Maeweather (Syracuse 2016)

If you’d like to submit a haiku or other short poem and you haven’t received our 2023 Call For Poetry brochure and Entry Materials, you can download the brochure HERE and the entry form with the list of spirit prompts HERE. For more details on how to participate with the Syracuse Poster Project, click HERE.

As always, to read more about each poet and artist listed above, click on their name where highlighted. To read more New York State Fair-related haiku on our Blog, click HERE. If you’d like to purchase one of the two illustrated haiku posters featured on this post, click on the Series Year next to the poster; if you’d like to view and purchase any of our other beautiful haiku posters, click HERE.

Posted by Rosalyn M. Carroll  for the Syracuse Poster Project

The End of Summer “Daze” or It’s Labor Day Already!

The end of August can be somewhat bittersweet: The warm, lazy days of Summer are slowly becoming a sweet memory.  Parents, students and teachers are gearing up for a new school year to begin and college campuses have already begun conducting classes.  Baseball season is winding down while high school soccer games and football practice are largely underway. But, even though the Great New York State Fair and Labor Day officially mark the end of the Summer season, Summer stays with us until September 21!  Days remain mostly warm and sunny, the nights a bit cooler.  And, although tall, golden-eyed Sunflowers have settled back home facing East, there remain colorful songbirds at the feeder and the hum of cicadas and crickets are still lulling us to sleep.    

This time of year clearly resonates with many of our haiku contributors who savour this slow transition to Autumn.  Sheila Forsyth’s (Fayetteville 2014) haiku says goodbye to Summer with a beautiful image:

Evening cricket plays                                                                                                                                                        farewell to Summer on its                                                                                                                                              hind leg violin

As does Ellen Barnes’ (Syracuse 2014) haiku:

  Sunflower faces                                                                                                                                                                  A swoosh of yellow and black:                                                                                                                                       Goldfinch dinnertime

And, Jay Cox (Pompey 2010) pays homage to Summer’s end with this expansive and thoughtful haiku:

Monarch butterflies                                                                                                                                                          dance with fading wildflowers                                                                                                                                     as the sun slides low

We wanted to share with you a series of delightful haiku posters from our collection which clearly display these final “daze” of Summer.  Enjoy!

Hitchcock and Cassetti

DiCaprio-Lee and Cedeno

Walls and Ryan

From our 2009 Series, Artist: Q. Cassetti and Poet: David Hitchcock who writes: “Although I’m often inspired by the interplay of sound and thought, I also write about my own experiences and try to put into words memories that will resonate with others. In these poems, I want people to say, “Yes, I remember that feeling.”  I also think a little humor can open them to thoughts that they may not have had otherwise. So here the poem opens with a little humor, two puns in four words. Then it becomes slightly nostalgic, remembering summer as a child, and how fast it goes, and how baseball games and swimming can remind us of that time. There’s all that in just three little lines.

Chiefly close to home, / catching fast flying Summer / in a baseball mitt.

From our 2011 Series, Artist: Keisha Cedeno and Poet: Lori DiCaprio-Lee:

When the Great Fair comes / school cannot be far behind / Summer ends too soon

From our 2002 Series,  Poet: Martin Walls and Artist: James Ryan, now an Illustration teacher in Central Massachusetts:

Fizz of cicadas / Slows as evening cools—lights hum / On in Armory Square