.
The Winner and Runner-ups are listed HERE.
WHO
Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). 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.
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 2023. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names.
.
PRIZE
$100
.
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.
.
WHEN
Now until September 15, 2024, 6 pm EST (New York time). Results to be announced September 29, 2024.
.
WHERE
Post your entries in the Comments below.
.
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.
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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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who submits more than three entries will have ALL his or her entries disqualified, unless excess entries are clearly withdrawn by a later Comment.
.
PAST WINNERS
.
.
Shivering
Bodies in jackets
August break
Day begins
Behind window
Cock crows
Thunder strikes
Wild wind
Rainfall
Loosestrife, cornflowers
Dew drying on shoots of grass
Mourning in advance
Gold and crimson rain
Leaves bare thin-fingered branches
Windows to the sky
Summer Olympics.
Steamy rain in gay Paree.
Slip-sliding cycles.
Summer in London.
Winter in South Africa.
On the Equator?
POLITICIANS
I ALWAYS DISTRUST
A MAN WHO DOESN’T HAVE A
LOYAL DOG OR CAT
Ravens taking flight,
flee the Tower of London.
The walls tumble down.
Oppressive July,
mugged by volatile August.
Smell the thunderstorms.
Comet detritus
lighting up the midnight sky
entertains the apes.
barren tree is filled
winter wing woven monarchs
black and gold at dawn
trout surface gulp air
on summer river running
the warm mist rises
the conflicted sky
whose drifting clouds hide the sun
lined with silver glow
Mandy Beattie
Classical Poets, Thank you for the wonderful opportunity. Blessings.
Wood Wide Web’s Morse code:
Linguists listen; learn to speak
the language of trees
Under crackling leaves
a hibernating hedgehog
uncurls and unfurls
Gaia nurtures all
We’re litmus among lichen
She recharges us
brown caterpillar
inching up the mountain trail
i pause to breathe in
reluctant leaves fall
from the tree showering
an old man walking
puffy summer clouds
float across eternity
so high birds can’t fly
the old cemetery
abandoned by the living
waits eternity
Magnolias tremble….
Flesh-soft petal wings flutter
on winds of wild wishes.
***
A cricket chirps through
thunder blusters. Flashes dare
not sear his night-song.
***
From window watches,
a sigh flies on sea breezes
to a lover’s soul.
All grasses have blooms
That wave winged hands, enticing
Visitors to dance.
Small cries from a mouth
The size of a cheerio
Drift in with the dawn.
Hydrothermal springs
Frothing orange-gold. Geysers
Vivid blue steam swirls.
Birds twitter away…
The cold and clang of church bells
Command this silence
Messalonskee Stream
Laced with browning pine needles…
Can’t believe your gone
A light rain subsides…
Out from the reeds, a heron
Taking stilted flight
My God, a your/you’re spelling error! Please forgive me.
Birds twitter away…
The cold and clang of church bells
Command this silence
Messalonskee Stream
Laced with browning pine needles…
Can’t believe you’re gone
A light rain subsides…
Out from the reeds, a heron
Taking stilted flight
Thanks for putting on this haiku contest.
Here are some for your consideration.
S.D. Gold
Breaker takes a break
to watch a tail-lit comet
not unlike his own
Needles long are leaves
a cardinal rests within
red as hate in bones
As the day’s light droops
slow with it falls again the
eyelids of the world
Everyone loves haiku, eh? Thanks to SCP for allowing the immediate readings, great stuff! Here’s my three:
Pale apple blossoms
assaulted by southern gale,
no apples this fall.
Below the riffle
red Royal Wulff emerges,
A rainbow rises.
A tear shed in grief
refracts white light to rainbow,
fractal future joy.
even in summer
when the bright yellow finch sings
i long for its song
mischievous young pup
testing my patience daily
yet the bond strengthens
Autumn eve, sunset
wandering the woodland path
without a lantern
December shakes down
Stern winter chill throws shivers
December crowns past
the autumn deepens –
the shadows gently gliding
within more shadows
orphanage courtyard –
a trio of snow angels
as if holding hands
snowing quietly –
in the hands of the orphan
the parents’ picture
I noticed that you have two haiku about orphan. Have you experienced about being an orphan or knowing orphans?
I thought these were all very good entries to the contest. Good luck in it.
The last one is very sad and lovely. Thank you for sharing these here.
Cool gray tidal sand
Slowly glows golden in the
Tequila sunrise.
Flaxen hair tumbles.
Cataracts in gold silence
Only sunlight sees.
Stiff cracks split cold glass
Breaking wintry calm under
Furry moccasins.
on these lonely roads
all the traffic coming is
wind in the treetops
tall old wagon wheels
spin sacred geometries
from late summer light
cane chairs and table
left empty under trees – where
falling leaves mingle
This was so lovely.
Thank you.
swift drift of jasmine
this she feels on her tired face
a caress whisper
Ernesto P. Santiago
Thank you for the opportunity.
St. Stephen’s Day dawns —
bloodied moose antlers fallen
on riverbed stones
island cattle ranch —
the massive Kodiak bear
chews on cow parsnip
a murder of crows
devours the spawned-out sockeye
her thousand children
rainy summer night
father changes his last will
at the last minute
waves unearthing shells
deeply buried in the sand —
those words left unsaid
visiting the sea
where I scattered your ashes
the cry of seagulls
Lovely image!
Wow!
Great haiku. My personal favourite so far. Simple, but I could feel the sea air.
This is a collection meant to be read individually or collectively.
The leaves fall slowly
the slight breeze tickles my face
winter is coming
こんな感じを Konna kanji wo (This kind of feeling)
初めて感じした Hajimete kanji shita (I felt for the first time)
愛と思う Ai to omou (I think it’s love)
He entered my life,
So swift, yet, I loved him so.
Now? I’m a widow
Nina, thanks for your haiku. Please provide your last name as requested above in the very first section on WHO may enter the contest. You can do it by replying to me here; there’s no need to retype your poem collection. Thank you.