Law Student Meaghan Hess Wins ABA Haiku Contest

Gonzaga Law’s own Meaghan Hess—a third-year student with interests that range from law to lacrosse to poetry—was the 2018 Grand Prize Winner of the American Bar Association’s annual haiku competition. The competition asks law students to write a haiku within the theme of recent US Supreme Court decisions and the US Constitution.

Hess’ winning entry comments on Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Program, 582 US ___ (2017): 

Her torch welcomed all
Send her your tired and your poor
But not anymore.

Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry. Traditionally comprising 17 syllables, the three-line poem has five syllables in the first and third lines with seven in the middle line. Hess’ poem met the structural requirements of the haiku form as well as the fundamental aesthetic quality; impressively, the haiku also promotes Gonzaga Law’s spirit of social justice.

As a token of congratulations to Meaghan Hess, our own Anna Creed, Staff Content Writer and Editor at Gonzaga Law, composed her own haiku for Hess:

The Law School salutes
Meaghan Hess’ rich artistry,
Marmots loll outside.