The logistics of the “Haiku Off” are as follows: There will be three rounds during which contestants may write one poem a piece. Each round will be themed (top secret until the day of the event!) and contestants will have 10 minutes to scribe their haiku masterpiece. After 10 minutes, haikus will be collected and read aloud; identified by number (thus the reading is blind to avoid bias). The judges will then pick their favorite haiku and the winners will be revealed! There will be a 10-minute break between rounds. Winning haikuists will win fame and notoriety, and the winning haikus will be published by Maya

Maya will be providing free food and beverages.

The deadline to submit writing is December 1, 2009. Please submit enteries to dsomaya@drexel.edu before December 1! Submissions will be read blind and voted on democratically by Maya staff members (staff members are not allowed to compete). For more information go to Maya‘s website.

The Mid-Atlantic Student Magazine Conference is held every fall to bring together college student magazine editors, writers, artists, and faculty advisors from the mid-Atlantic region. This event is centered on a series of editorial workshops, student lectures, and guest speakers to present new research on undergraduate publishing. Other Philadelphia universities like Temple University, the Community College of Philadelphia, and University of Pennsylvania will also be in attendance.

Maya‘s also holding their second annual Fall term writing contest. If you’re a Drexel undergraduate and interested in submitting to Maya‘s writing contest, visit Maya’s website for more information. The deadline for submissions is December 1st.

Say what?

(To get the full effect you have to hear the “Say what?” in a drawn-out, falsetto squeal.)

First of all, I’m Irish. That means I’m pale. And that means that I blush like [insert various clichés to your heart's content]. Not only do I have the skin tone of a dead fish before my slight summer freckling comes along to barely mask it (oh boy), I have a voice that’s been compared to Daria’s on more than ten occasions. So I’m basically pretty primed for these reading shenanigans.

But besides the personal awkward factor, it got me thinking. What is it about reading aloud that’s so elusive? You’re good at it, or you’re not. It’s rare to just be able to rattle off a page with good pacing, good breathing, using intonation without lapsing into children’s-show voices à la Lamb Chop… It’s tricky business. An audience member even commented on the reading of a participant in the reading marathon, who had gone up before me. She remarked on the gap in interpretation of an author’s work, between reading it to yourself, with the tone and literal voices set in your mind, and having it interpreted for you. Is reading aloud an art that’s fallen along the wayside?

(That’s mostly rhetorical, don’t stress yourself out.)

Submission cut off will be 11:59 p.m.

dsomaya@drexel.edu

We will publish Maya Spring 2009 issue in late April.