The 27th HIA Haiku Contest Prize Winners
Haiku in Overseas
Prize Winners, selected by David Burleigh
| trade war news a spiderweb on the eaves sagging with raindrops | Chen-ou Liu （Canada） |
The first line is clearly topical, a concern of the moment, while what follows is natural, observed. The spider’s web is, I imagine, on the eaves outside the poet’s house, where the heavy raindrops gather and threaten to destroy it. The web is the spider’s lair and means of existence, yet one that may soon give way. Our lives too are delicately wrought, and may be easily disrupted. In the meantime we can admire the light refracted in the glittering raindrops, before they fall. I note the syllable count of 3-7-5.
| proxy war a soldier’s uniform on the scarecrow | Ibrahim Nureni （U.S.A.） |
There were actually two haiku on the subject of war, both with the image of a scarecrow, the other (from Serbia) wearing a helmet rather than a soldier’s uniform as here. What gave this one the edge, it seemed to me, was the opening phrase, which reminds us that wars are not only fought by the countries directly engaged, but with the support of other countries, that have their own intentions. The meaning of the central image is left ambiguous, for the reader to assign, even as it appears to be utterly bereft.
Honorable Mentions, selected by David Burleigh
| fisherman’s gaze pulls in the heavy nets of leaden clouds | Amir Kapetanović （Croatia） |
| telegraph poles — only the moon settles on the missing wire | Eduard Tara （Romania） |
| fall stairwell a crow’s long caw lengthens it | Richard L. Matta （USA） |
| distant bells blackbird’s song uninterrupted | Zoran Doderović （Serbia） |
Prize Winners, selected by Toshio Kimura
| flapping hand fan — grandpa’s hunting stories continue | Kanchan Chatterjee （India） |
The opening phrase “flapping hand fan” immediately evokes the family scene. It would be stories of Grandfather’s young days, and the grandson is naturally fascinated. Yet the final word, “continue”, hints at the grandson’s inner thoughts some time later. However interesting stories may be, what if they are too long? We can imagine that the grandson is beginning to feel that this is likely to drag on for quite some time yet. This haiku has such humor.
| day of vinyl records the sprawling ivy rotates into its own past | Alan Summers （U.K.） |
Though more people listen to music via streaming services, it is said that vinyl enthusiasts remain numerous. Much like with CDs, on a day off the ritual of taking a record out of its sleeve, setting it on the player, putting it away when finished, and selecting the next one is rather enjoyable. Probably, those songs, once listened to so often…. Imagining such things from the first line makes the description of the ivy in the following lines feel vividly alive, like a part of the author. Listening to old favorite music, readers would feel as though they have become this very ivy.
Honorable Mentions, selected by Toshio Kimura
| autumn equinox — the Moon half full half empty | Silva Trstenjak （Croatia） |
| calm sea stars looking for their own images | Zoltan Pachnik （Hungary） |
| after a quarrel — discovering the silence in a nightingale’s song | Marek Kozubek （Poland） |
| as if no one knows fawn season | Kat Lehmann （U.S.A.） |