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WHO
Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate. Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members may participate, if not involved in judging the contest. The winner, if not a U.S. resident, must have a PayPal account or a bank that accepts U.S. checks, in order to receive prize money.
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PRIZE
$100
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JUDGES
J. Thomas Rimer, Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Theatre, and Art at the University of Pittsburgh; former chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress.
Margaret Coats, Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University; retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.
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WHEN
Now until September 16, 2023, 6 pm EST (New York time). The original Sept. 15 deadline has been extended for those in other time zones. Results to be announced September 29, 2023 (corresponding with Tsukimi—the Japanese Moon Festival).
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WHERE
Post your entries in the Comments below.
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WHAT
Each competitor may submit up to three haiku of traditional form: three lines per poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second, and 5 in the third. Entrants are recommended to conform to other traditional haiku requirements outlined HERE.
IMPORTANT: By submitting haiku to this contest, the contestant declares that the poems are his or her own work, and that they were written after July 2022. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names.
If you want coaching on haiku features, please read the examples and explanation before submitting your entries. Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment. This is permitted until the competition closes, but do take reasonable care to complete work to your satisfaction before you enter it. Please do not use the Comment area as your scratch pad. That is discourteous to other competitors, to interested readers, and to the judge and will disqualify you.
Entries that do not meet basic traditional haiku requirements may be deleted. Anyone who submits more than three entries will have ALL his or her entries disqualified, unless excess entries are clearly withdrawn by a later Comment.
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PAST WINNERS
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Metamorphosis
begin prepare transform change
child youth adult age
Marta, please follow above instructions marked IMPORTANT by using both your FIRST NAME AND LAST NAME. Thanks!
Lurking behind a
gauzy veil of clouds, the moon
casts a ghostly vibe.
Storm clouds gather to
powwow while chanting rhythms
of thunder and rain.
A tsunami of
coastal fog threatens to breach
peninsula peaks.
Departing the cold,
she casts her stemline adrift
amidst leafy seas.
The rhythmic beat of
summer’s rolling waters, now
iced into silence
Gathering needles,
she deftly stitches them round
the warbler nursery.
chicken restaurant…
angels have no need of wings
to fly to heaven
a naked willow
leans over the frozen pond
no sound of water
over the white clouds
the whiter snows of Fuji
and the rising sun
each single snowflake
building the difference
in the endless white
A Haiku for Fall
Sweet gum leaves changing
little golden stars cast down
falling in my yard.
in thick morning mist
a yellow leaf flutters down
the earth’s falling star
1} Your words cut deeper
Deeper than the ocean floor
Sorry won’t fix it
2} Only three letters
Yet it pains me to say it
So I’ll stick to James
I tried to join Men –
sa but my haIQu was a
wee bit too low
I tried to join Men –
-sa with a sixteen sylla-
-ble haiku IQ
first colourful leaf,
dancing through the stormy wind,
searching so-called “home”.
piece of liquid pearl
banished from the above, falls,
dries, losing beauty.
the water dances,
while lots of candles, above,
begin to twinkle.
Inviting waters
heron confirms well-being
accept the healing
Winds direct bamboo
defeating adversity
empowered vigor
Language of the trees
windblown pines whispers linger
engaged listener
February sun
the little wren takes a bath –
the sound of splashes
cherry blossom time –
the homeless man sleeps soundly
under a pink sky
above the rough sea
albatross floats on the wind without a single move
Warm bright days return.
Cold rivers run high and wide
Redolent of snows.
autumn loneliness —
our photos in the album
still stuck together
anniversary —
autumn rain clearing the dust
off her epitaph
winter solitude —
a pencil slowly rewinds
grandma’s lullaby
ABC’S OF THE SEASONS
1. Antagonizing
Ants assemble aimlessly:
Aged Autumn Army
2. Bye-bye butterfly
Buried by branches bough, born
Beside backyards brook
3. Cautious carriages
Cantor carelessly cross cold,
Chilled Christmas currents
River-girdled Birch
On stranded Isle _ what secrets
Might your parchment yield?
Billows in the night _
Campers ride their wind-swept tent,
Drunken elephant
Umbrellas marching
In rain-soaked skies _Lilly pads
Swimming in a sea
Like peppermint sticks,
Spinnakered sails of varied hue
Separate the blue
Mexican sunflowers
Host hovering hummingbirds _
Suspended motion
Please cancel poem #1, River girdled birch
and poem #5, Mexican sunflowers
River-girdled Birch
On stranded isle _ what secrets
Might your parchment yield ?
Billows in the night _
Campers ride their wind-swept tent,
Drunken elephant
Umbrellas marching
In rain-soaked skies _ Lilly pads
Swimming in a sea
Like peppermint sticks,
Spinnakered sails of varied hue
Separate the blue
Mexican sunflowers
Host hovering hummingbirds _
Suspended Motion
Swallow, an arrow,
bursts across the burnished blue.
I cannot catch time.
Honeysuckle heart—
the beat of the hummingbird—
drink and pollinate.
Little girl, barefoot
in summer’s last sunshine, stirs
a cup of acorns.
Girl squirrel statue still
Holding tight her acorn hat
Late for the moons dance
White egret, blue sky
Mirrored in the sea below
Beauty reflected
Fog heavy and wet
Moves slowly into the night
A mourners black veil
The sunbeams reach through the cloudy sky —spreading God’s love to all below
Early morning soft and still—promises of the joy filled day to come
I mistakenly entered 5 Haiku. Please disregard #1, River-girdled birch
and #5, Mexican sunflowers