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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 in the last twelve months and therefore are not a repeat submission from a previous year. Poems written using artificial intelligence (AI) are not allowed. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names.
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PRIZE
$200
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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 August 15, 2025, 6 pm EST (New York time). Results to be announced August 28, 2025. Please check back on August 28 or after to view the “Best Haiku of 2025” selected from this competition. NOTE: THE HAIKU CONTEST HAS ENDED! No more entries, the comments have been closed! Thanks to all who entered!
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HOW
Post your entries in the Comments below.
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WHAT
Each competitor may post in the comments below 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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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.
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PAST WINNERS
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scent of summer rain
rolling up all the windows
in dad’s jalopy
Spring light in her palms,
yet she sees only the dusk—
a coffin’s gilt edge.
Ash falls like petals—
wildfire splits the old oak’s spine;
the nightingale sings.
Beneath plum blossoms,
a swallow with one wing limp
hides its dreams in song.
Thanks, Jack McAuley, for the haiku you’ve posted. In order for any of them to be considered for recognition in judging, you will need to select the three you want to be competition entries, and withdraw the others in a further comment.
I would like this one to be my official entry and would like to withdraw the other ones.
How do I withdraw the others?
Thanks, Jack, you’ve done what’s necessary. Sorry I didn’t notice for a few days, but you can be sure now that your competition entries are the three above, the first one beginning, “Spring light in her palms.”
Poor Aegisthus. One
job & done. Had it in his
grasp; dude lost the axe.
When the whale leapt
I saw stars twinkle answers
Though the splash was gone
Very vocative. A thoughtful look at something ordinary. Excellent!
Thank you, David R. Solheim, for your haiku. If you wish any of the six to be considered as competition entries, please select no more than three for that purpose, and clearly state that you withdraw the others.
I would like the three haiku I posted on 24 June to continue to be entered in the competition and withdraw the three posted on 27 June. Thank you for the clarifying note.
spring foraging course
they say Dandelion flowers
do not attract bees
a squirrel’s new home
my unused table drawer
first monsoon showers
I follow a dog
to a panoramic view
Snowshoeing at dawn
Hello, I still don’t understand whether haikus should be related to Hiroshige’s print. Could you please clarify this for me?
Hello, Beryl. Your haiku does NOT need to be related to the Hiroshige print. All you need is any 5-7-5 haiku of your own composition during the past twelve months. You may submit three to be considered for the prize. Please use first and last name on the comment where you submit. Thanks!
Thank you Margaret for these clarifications.
in a church ruin
where the roof has given way
snow as a blessing
periwinkle dusk
I loiter in the garden
my parents tended
stumble-step pebbles
a horizon-skimming moon
ripples the neap-tide
garden stone Buddha —
the compassion in his eyes
salty tears in mine
thunder rolls its bass
hot summer days give thier way
to evening rain
dark speck in the sky
red kite soaring on thermals
looking for her lunch
sleet on the window
on his ninetieth birthday
flickering candles
*
din of cicadas
curtains blowing to and fro
in the evening breeze
*
a pregnant woman
holds her belly with her hands
snow on the gutters
Daniela Misso
emu in the Milky Way
always in the same place –
the longest night
bow-tie neatly pinned
his love pre-tied and fastened
all through the season’s
—-
broken hornet’s nest
sting in his words failed to upset
used to deeper pain
—-
monsoon bonanza
through the screen of fogginess
a haiku took shape
Winter has arrived
The lake starts icing over
Intrusive thoughts win
I open the door
Heat envelops me quickly
I like air con more
colourful rainbow
it’s not the same anymore
why is it a flag
The snow sprinkles down
The slipp-ery ice is covered
I fall to the ground
Serene, quiet, night
The moon exposes the dark
“Crack!” What was that sound?
The clouds float away
The bright sun dries the old trees
Disaster awaits
Canadian goose
Honking uncontrollably
My new alarm clock
The lake is frozen
The trees bare and without leaves
Where did the fish go?
The green grass rustles
The river beside gurgles
Tiny rabbits appear
Jesus came to us,
Teaching of rebirth and love.
We crucified him.
Hot night, college ground,
No one here to make a sound.
Cicadas screaming.
They tell us of hope,
Just let the ancient trees rot.
That hope is not mine.
lazy afternoon…
whistling through a blade of grass
on my umpteenth try
Goldfinches gather
On the weeping willow crown
Enchanting their charms.
At sunrise a flock of
Of geese fly into my dreams
Rude drivers wheeling.
Roadside chunk of tread
Shining the ditch like raven’s
Wings ready to fly.
Lilies scent the air
A hidden birdsong echoes
The truth of summer
The plum tree bares fruit
Sweetness and Color unite
In constant prayers
My eighty two years
Sailing still in calm waters
Breathe among the frogs
a pink lotus pond
in solitary beauty
as the sun rises
headless camellia
darkness thunder lightning rain
a samurai wind
the sunflowers smile
through a window of blue skies
a sip of sunshine
fall mountains ablaze
apples hang like bells from trees
a farmer looks up
crescent moon, your squint
tilts in the night sky eking
out eternal light
a finite number
of stars, an impossible
string of pearls to count
Hello again, poets. It’s Eric, still reading your work. And again, if you will allow, I wish to share an observation with you and hopefully provide an additional layer for using your wonderful talents in poetry.
Every haiku that I have read has included a form of “cutaway line” as its ending. Some were successful and some not so much. Perhaps the following will help: Try approaching the “cutaway line” using one of its synonyms, namely the “epiphany,” as your last line to accomplish the same goal.
Thanks for letting me share.
I am new, so please excuse my ignorance. I am not familiar with “cutaway line”. Are you referring to the Kireji?
Thank you for the sound advice!
Met at a party “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!”
neither one wanted to go that’s what all of the books say
Wed 51 years Then I guess I’m “NUTS!”