Recite a sijo, win a BTS BE box!

Find SIJO here: bit.ly/4bSJKwm

Upload recording and tag #SejongCulturalSociety, #BTSSijoChallenge, plus a friend.

Post by March 31
20 winners

#BTS #BTSArmy #poetrycontest #poetrycompetition #BTSSijoChallenge #SejongCulturalSociety #poetry #sijo

Deadline: February 28, 2026
Eligibility: Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada
Submission Fee: None

Prize Money
Adults: $1000 / $750 / $500
Pre-College: $500 / $400 / $300

Guidelines are available here:
bit.ly/2024sijo

Submit your poem here:
www.sejongculturalsociety.org/writing/curr...

Something Powerful Is Headed To Minnesota — And It Should Serve As A Major Wakeup Call “Listening to the news from Minnesota, I wondered if anyone recognized the signs.”

My essay @huffpost.com on Violins of Hope. And what they mean today.

Big thanks @noahmichelson.bsky.social

SIJO EVENT CHALLENGE
Educators eligible for stipend. More info: SejongCulturalSociety@gmail.com

SIJO RECITATION CHALLENGE
Recite a sijo on Instagram. #SejongCulturalSociety and #WorldSijoPoetryDay. Top 5 = $100

WORLD SIJO POETRY DAY
2/7/2026
8pm CST
YouTube.com/@SejongCulturalSociety.

A week of taking care of my 8 and 2-year-old grandkids left me exhausted. It also taught me we all need a little grace. After an exhausting week caring for my grandsons, I realized the real lesson wasn't perfection but the quiet power of grace.

My essay for @businessinsider.com on learning grace from kids and grandkids.

@conz.bsky.social

www.businessinsider.com/toddler-pee-...

Little known truths about lilies of the valley - Wisconsin Life Lilies of the valley are often considered a beautiful, yet high-maintenance plant. For writer Nancy Jorgensen, they will forever connect her to her beloved grandmother, who found virtue in caring for ...

I am honored that Wisconsin Life at WPR chose my story for this year's animation project. It's been almost a year in the making, and their work is magnificent. Thank you to the entire team!
wisconsinlife.org/story/little...

New season of ‘Wisconsin Life’ gets animated – read a Q&A with author Nancy Jorgensen - PBS Wisconsin The new season of Wisconsin Life features an animated version of an essay written by Nancy Jorgensen, “Little Known Truths...

A sneak peek at the animation to be released later this month for one of my essays at Wisconsin Public Radio.

Opinion | All students impacted by federal funding cuts Nancy Jorgensen: I was able to save my musical theater class with donations and fees, but the loss of funds has reduced general services and support for students.

My Op Ed in @captimes.com

captimes.com/opinion/gues...

I Was Hired As A High School Teacher. You Might Be Surprised By What I Was Really Doing All Those Years. "Most people don’t see schools as life-saving institutions, but I sometimes witnessed life’s most fragile moments."

My latest @huffpost.com Personal essay.

@noahmichelson.bsky.social

2025 International Sijo Competition – Submissions open

No entry fee
Prize money $500/$250/$100

Resources:
- how to write sijo: www.sejongculturalsociety.org/writing/curr...

Submit sijo using this online form:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Pub, players and pints: Dropping in for an Irish music session in Waukesha - Wisconsin Life Irish music sessions regularly pop up in pubs and restaurants across Wisconsin. These are generally informal gatherings, where tin whistlers, fiddlers and accordionists play traditional Irish tunes. W...

Love the Wisconsin Life underscore on my essay! Thank you
Wisconsin Public Radio!

@maureenmccollum.bsky.social

My essay is the Editor's Pick today @nextavenue.bsky.social

www.nextavenue.org/my-second-li...

10 Years After He Graduated, A Student Sent Me A DM With An Apology I Never Expected "Couldn’t that describe me as a kid? Should I have written those words to my own former teachers?"

My latest @huffpost.com piece!

@noahmichelson.bsky.social

I Was Shocked When My Daughter Wanted To Compete In The Olympics. What Happened Next Was Even More Stunning. “The perils of competition — choppy water, a pile-up on the bike course, hazardous heat — scared me.”

My latest @huffpost.com essay. Thank you @noahmichelson.bsky.social .

www.huffpost.com/entry/rio-ol...

Sijo Poetry Summit 2025
June 27-28
In-person and Zoom
FREE to attend

More information and full schedule here:
www.sejongculturalsociety.org/sijo/sijo_su...

Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Me: The 'rebel trio' of Wisconsin educators - Wisconsin Life Some professions run in the family. For writer Nancy Jorgensen of Waukesha, she spent her career as a teacher — just like her aunt and her daughter. She explores their vocations in this essay, “Rebel ...

My latest essay on Wisconsin Life at WPR. Print version as well as my recording are posted.

2025 International Sijo Competition – Submissions open

No entry fee
Prize money $500/$250/$100

Sijo is a traditional three-line Korean poetic form organized by line and syllable count.

Submit sijo using this online form:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

If you love your library, listen up…

"A few years after my wrestling days, students started calling me Nancy Pants."

A hilarious and touching journey through the monikers of the inimitable @nancyjorgensen.bsky.social | www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/nancy-jo...

Art @anchalastudio.bsky.social

Nancy Jorgensen — Does It Have Pockets Alias Disclosure  Please note: By responding to this questionnaire, you consent to publication and understand this information could limit or extend boundaries of self-image, professional advan...

In which I reveal my wrestling name.

@doesithavepockets.bsky.social

#essay #creativenonfiction #hermitcrab

My essay "A Short History of Shattered Molds" is free to read here:
sblaam.com/issues/#flip...

Elizabeth Jorgensen, you're in it.

Gwen Jorgensen, you, Stanley, and George are too.https://sblaam.com/issues/#flipbook-1356/45/

My Husband's Medical Team Was Failing Him. Then A Stranger Stepped In And Said 6 Words That Saved His Life. "At a time when the universe had robbed me — of my husband’s health and companionship, of security, contentment and peace of mind — she offered me a gift."

My Huffington Post essay published today. @huffpost.com Thank you editor @noahmichelson.bsky.social

February Sijo Challenge

Multiple winners earn gift cards.

Details here:
www.instagram.com/p/DFnxoNjxp5...

Issue 8 This issue includes works by the following contributors: Fiction by Logan Markko, Franz Jørgen Neumann, Adina Polatsek, Audrey-Anna Gamache, and Kevin B. Nonfiction by Blair Kinsey, Elana Walters, N.L...

Thank you to Chaotic Merge Magazine for publishing this hermit crab essay. "Tragedies and Disappointments of a Happy Youth." PAGE 7 at the link.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐣𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐲: 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 7

Special opportunity for HONORARIUM

More information:
www.sejongculturalsociety.org/sijoday/

Uncle Al’s Compendium for Creativity By Nancy Jorgensen Alverno College HAVEN  Tony, Wisconsin, is so tiny mapmakers pretend it doesn’t exist. But within its two square  miles—population 160—lived a writer.  My nana’s b…

My latest essay is free to read at Voices and Visions Journal.

Many thanks to the journal and to my editor Elizabeth Jorgensen.

For more information, visit the Sejong Cultural Society website:
bit.ly/4b9XSOR

Creative Nonfiction: Grand Obsessions by Nancy Jorgensen First, my right hand settled on the brown-stained keys. The chip on middle C scraped my thumb, telling me I found the right spot. My left thumb rested next to it, but my ring finger refused to lie …

Sharing my essay "Grand Obsessions" published today at @jmwwjournal.bsky.social. All about pianos, Cheerios, sports, etc.

jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/19/c...