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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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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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Winter morning’s sun
The park Yellow-red roses
Are still burning
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The park’s Autumn morning
Some old’s men, some old’s women
Some old’s leaves, some old’s deaths
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The ivy withers
The mirror cracks
when they meet
excuse me. correct form of my second haiku is so that I have written below.
The park’s Autumn evening
Some old men, some old women
Some old leaves, some old deaths
rose hips gently tap
the fore-arm and the arm-rest
the chair is creaking
vibrant summer sky
something flits between its hue
black trees and white stars
a distant tractor
calls me out of thoughts to Now
a plough recalls me
cracking desert crust…
skies reclaiming silent clouds…
summer humbling earth.
leafless cherrytrees –
the same world as yesterday
but with no more love
English-style garden –
what’s the accent of lilac
language of flowers
morning nightingale
answering with a whistle
I petrify it
Submission by Stuti Sinha
Fistfuls of yellow
drip from sticky summer hands;
Mango stones lay bared
Beads of sweat collect
on summer beaten faces
crying for respite
A fog eclipses
Kilimanjaro, till dawn
crowns its peak with light
Out of parched corn-rows
fly fat, black ears—the wind reaps
a harvest of crows.
Fish and butterfly
at the pond’s brim, eye to eye,
share infinity.
Clouds of melting ice
swirl my tea of garden herbs
—winter ending twice.
in the parents’ house
as if they were never been
people I don’t know
for cicada’s song
I will leave the door open
even if it’s frost
nights with double moon
she use to swim in the pond
without any clothes
Once green, the pasture’s
crackled yellow shelters life
forever still more.
Reflection of fall
Scenery in the still lake
Reflecting inward
Sparrows chrip by my
Window on a June morning
Kettle whistles too
Wildfire engulfing
Environment entirely
Battling breathlessness
Dear Judges,
My apologies. Changing one word in the first haiku.
Reflection of fall
Scenery falls in still lake
Reflecting inward
Thank you for this contest.
Thanks for your time.
the farm machines left
under a round harvest moon,
still cast their shadows.
Hummingbird in flight
Wings and heart beating as one
Fly tiny angel
Seeking true love pure
Brown eyes cold nose wagging tail
Found true love pure dog
Hummingbird in flight
Wings and heart beating as one
Fly tiny angel
Seeking true love pure
Brown eyes cold nose wagging tail
Found true love pure dog
rivers of lava
flash red against the night sky
Mount Fuji erupts
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the tumbleweeding
of dried hydrangea blossoms
–birdsong in the air
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looking deep within
a pistil and stamen mate
–an orchid corsage
freak warm wind, chinook,
scythe of spring, windrows of snow,
exposed earth startled
moonlight in the dock
silver minnow darts that laugh
crickets owl tick-tock
Winter flees the earth,
Leaving the world as in birth,
The new spring blossoms
one tiny house wren
with an insect in her mouth
still sweetly singing
bulbul wind-swinging
on a branch of the flame tree
shamal teasing it
palm doves snapping beans
from brittle brown pods of vines
no longer climbing
September 14 2023
“Compass Plant “Title
Glowing, swaying blooms
Captured sunlight in petals
Touch my head beneath
seasons are changing
cold breeze, color changing leaves
wind whispers goodbye
I love football games
favorite team is the Jags
Jaguars on top
Ocean waves crash in
Surprising me from behind
Sun bonnet floats out
cats are furry fun
snowy white and dark as night
soft paws comfort me
Bees on Spring’s blossoms
with sun, rain, wind, hail coming.
Late summer peaches.
I love volcanoes
lava flow crater will blow
Pompeii was buried
best sport basketball
bouncing orange balls, free throws
shoot the winning point
Past becoming flesh,
my ticking grandfather clock
springs a carmine tear.