Wordstock Cometh.

Wordstock, Portland’s annual bookapalooza and literastravaganza, gets rolling in a little over a week from now. The festival's list of authors and workshops is as long as … well I’m not feeling particularly literate this morning.

If you don’t have the scratch to buy your way in, you could try to win a ticket by entering the festival’s Twitter Haiku contest.

This week (through October 2), if you twitter a haiku about Wordstock, Wordstock authors, or any one of its partner events, you will be entered into the contest. You can find the rules here. Be sure to include @wordstockfest and the hashtag, #WSHaiku, so the good folks at the festival can find them.

Remember, a haiku typically has three lines totaling 17 syllables (five,seven,five). Here’s a haiku to help you remember.

Start with only five.
Mix in seven more to taste.
Add five more to end.

I’ve already submitted a few entries:

I like free tickets
to Wordstock or monster trucks.
The key word is “free.”

To win free tickets
it is wise to seem earnest.
Compliments help too.

Did not volunteer.
Too cheap to buy a ticket.
Will doggerel do?

Tickets to Woodstock?
Oh man, that is so far out!
Word, not Wood? I’m cool.

Hot librarians.
Bearded dudes with meerschaum pipes.
It’s Wordstock. Again.

Great literature;
Erudite authors galore;
Books up the ying yang.

If my haikus don't get me a ticket, maybe the Wordstock people will give me a pass in exchange for blogging about it. It can't hurt to ask.