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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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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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A neatly spun web
Offers early morning pearls
The sun is thirsty
The withered lone tree
Gnarled, old, knotted, grey and dead
Life’s last destiny
Softly sighs the sea
gently heals unsettled sands
of our written words.
Lie low lioness…
let the learning last until
your leadership lunge.
Gorgeous proverb! Copied into my notebook.
This did not post in haiku format. How can this be deleted and re-posted?
If it’s deleted, you’ll lose Monika Cooper’s appreciative comment. Please simply REPLY below the mistaken format, and re-type it, taking care to ENTER after each line, and thus make 3 lines. The mistaken format will still be there with the correction, but that does NOT count against you. The judges understand, and we re-type haiku for the RESULTS page. Remember to check back on September 29 to see whether you are on it.
Naked summer nights
Stardust falling from the sky
Contented lovers.
White caps on green waves
Darkness of the winter storm
Shivering sea life
Rivers twist and turn
We dam them up for power
Nature still breaks free.
An empty snail shell –
Dementia confirmation
In my trembling hand.
A silver slug trail –
My book falls open at the
Stations of the Cross
Far-off tsunami –
A butterfly flutters by
Looking innocent
I keep getting a message saying I’ve made a duplicate comment – but don’t seem to be able to see any comments I’ve made! What am I doing wrong?
It looks like your entry may have just taken a while to post. It is posted now.
Mike the Mod
Yeah, sorry, I was being technically incompetent
Ignore me! I see them now
as the act unfolds
bullets fly and soldiers fall
unseen puppeteers
no one to applaud
and yet under the full moon
wild cherry blossoms
in spite of the birds
scorching sun and rocky ground
the seed that flowered
those rattling aspens
I didn’t sleep at all last night
remembering them
my pages are bound
with staples; my sentences
with semicolons
early April snow
it’s a good thing the cherry
has its pink jumper
on Easter Sunday
a great tit out and about
in his smart black cap
a fuchsia petal
endlessly swirling around
the town square fountain
a fine spring morning
only my neighbour’s shih tzu
is wearing a coat
first day of grade nine-
a turtle in the hallway
paddles among sharks
windows are open
when sandstorm arrives early
no way to get home
orange maple leave
passes along the river
I go with the flow
1.
ten blocks of cold words;
soldered worlds of daylight dew
point through these old locks!
2.
September shines and
sure as dust my modem dies
– Forced little nocturne.
3.
night and endless screen
while we wrap a rapt rap now
the sky rose lingers
Haiku 1
Misty forest
in the bark of the pine tree
the moth worms
Haiku 2
Sound of the wind chime
in the maadurga* temple
monarch butterflies
* Hindu deity
Haiku 3
On the mountainside
wildflowers everywhere,
sheep bleating
I, Dr. José Luis Solís López, declare that the 3 haikus are of my authorship and property.
I wrote them before July 2022.
I correct my haiku´s de Dr. José Luis Solís López
Haiku 1
Misty forest
in the bark of the pine tree
the moth worms
Haiku 2
Sound of the wind chime
in the maadurga* temple
monarch butterflies
* Hindu deity
Haiku 3
On the mountainside
wildflowers everywhere,
sheep bleating
I, Dr. José Luis Solís López, declare that the 3 haikus are of my authorship and property.
I wrote them before July 2022.
Full moon with his shine
freezes down the dreamless sheet.
Rattles of crickets.
sun flower blooming
butterfly stopped for a kiss
law of attraction
starlings on blue sky
parades twittering like rains
migration begins
say it with flowers
the language i understand
beauty of nature
on my way back home
floating over pure white clouds
end of one journey
the city canal-
harvest moon’s pale reflection
on clutter of cans
humidity high
summer conference drags on
the last drop of juice
rediscovered roots
watching the white lotus rise
from grandfather’s pond
autumn’s magic spell
the forest’s emerald gems
turn garnet and gold
hummingbirds hover
along a lonely dust road
desert rose in bloom
thinning morning mist –
dewdrops on a spider web
filled with the silence
in forest’s shadows
hidden in the midday heat
middle of summer
path in the garden –
between silence and silence
the scent of roses
Farmer laments weeds
As he scatters summer seeds.
“Beauty,” poet breathes.
Daffodils asleep
Under winter’s blanket keep,
Eager for their call.
Waked to August rain
Soothing is its constancy,
With it my heart beats.
The season’s new coat,
Dining jacket shade of smoke,
Mocks yesterday’s strut.
—
Think you spoke too soon;
English summer’s pantomime
Carries on ’til noon.
climate change status –
now all the world is skating
on very thin ice
the yin/yang symbol’s
interconnected balance –
autumn equinox
diving cormorant…
thankful to hear an echo
paddling on the pond
military man
retreats to the hillside church
catching r and r
The flowers’ eyes splash
color around the fountain—afternoon women
after a dry spell
rain blessed the earth with tear drops
sorrowful of greed