"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Katsushika HokusaiThe 17 Best Haiku of 2020 The Society August 15, 2020 Beauty, Best Poems, Culture, From the Society, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests 8 Comments Winner and Runners-up of The Society of Classical Poets 2020 Haiku Competition Judged by Mike Bryant and Susan Jarvis Bryant See all entrants here. Thunder-bellied clouds Move slow over heathered hills, Pregnant with June’s rain —Savannah Leahy, Competition Winner Sixteen Runners Up With soft clicks and clucks, the hens watch the full moon rise— the night’s great white egg. —Rob Crisell snapping the cherries and crocuses all day long . . . the moon walks us home —Oluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina The insect monarchs Skimming with orange and black wings Holding court in spring. —Emory Jones in the birth of spring snow gilds the tips of tulips lingering for a time —Cindy Lou Bechtold tiny white phlox blooms exhale a whole hay field’s scent cupped in your two hands —Sharmon Gazaway Footsteps approaching; calling birds fall silent: sh-h! The willows whisper. —Patricia A. Marsh two moons this clear spring night—one drifts among the stars. one floats in the lake —Sondra Rosenberg The vibrant canvas Flutters on a sea of light— Sailing Butterfly —Shourya Vardhan Agarwal A winter zephyr, Fluttering the falling flakes, Whispers wistfully —Lucia Fisher backyard birds gather at the old baptismal font splashes of summer —Ernesto P. Santiago Footsteps on hard snow, Intense as soft-voiced secrets, Whispers of winter. —Dave Whippman Falling like snowflakes The smell of cherry blossoms The vision of blood —Vanessa Valencia Sheep flock in the sun Water doesn’t quench their thirst The dam is empty —Toni Newell White cherry blossoms Tinged pink by the setting sun Gently drift to sleep. —Douglas J. Lanzo Jungle feverish A sleek, yellow jaguar stuck in traffic jam —Mia Green buds soon bursting Birds are anticipating Raspberries for tea —Yvonne Longden Note from the Judges: Some people did not follow the rules of the competition and were thus disqualified. If your poems were not traditional haiku, then this worked against you. Haiku are depictions of nature and many submitted poems fell under the category of senryu, which are focused on human nature and are often cynical or humorous. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 8 Responses rohini sunderam August 15, 2020 Well done, everyone! This was an impressive turnout. Thank you to the Society for hosting this challenging and wonderful competition. Reply Joe Tessitore August 15, 2020 Congratulations to Ms. Leahy and to the runners-up, and thanks to the Bryant’s for judging such a formidable submission. Reply James A. Tweedie August 15, 2020 Yes, indeed. These winning haiku are worthy of recognition. Well done, all. Reply Margaret Coats August 15, 2020 Congratulations to the winner and runners-up! Thanks to the Bryants for judging, and to the Society for sponsoring the competition. There were so many good entries that I was able to find 22 winners of my own, and only one of them matched what Mike and Susan chose–although their selections are indeed excellent. I suggest that with a few more haiku competitions in upcoming years, the Society might be able to publish a slim volume of absolutely marvelous contemporary haiku in English, worthy to stand on a bookshelf beside the famed Peter Pauper series of classic Japanese works, all or most translated (I believe) by Peter Beilenson. But maybe next year there should be a senryu competition, as there were good examples of that genre, too. Reply Sharmon Gazaway August 15, 2020 Congratulations Savannah Leahy and all runners-up–so many lovely images in all of the entries. Thanks to the Bryants for judging–you had your work cut out for you. And many thanks to The Society for hosting the 2020 Competition! Look forward to more in the future. Reply Mia August 16, 2020 Well done everyone who entered. How marvellous to feel a part of such a great group.Congratulations to Savannah Leahy and to the runners up. Thank you to the judges who I think had such a difficult job and to The Society for providing access to such a quality site that inspires so much creativity. Wishing everyone all the very best, Mia Reply Adeniyi NewMann August 17, 2020 Greetings to Oluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina Reply Oluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina January 30, 2021 Greetings to you, Adeniyi Newmann. Thanks for reading. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
rohini sunderam August 15, 2020 Well done, everyone! This was an impressive turnout. Thank you to the Society for hosting this challenging and wonderful competition. Reply
Joe Tessitore August 15, 2020 Congratulations to Ms. Leahy and to the runners-up, and thanks to the Bryant’s for judging such a formidable submission. Reply
James A. Tweedie August 15, 2020 Yes, indeed. These winning haiku are worthy of recognition. Well done, all. Reply
Margaret Coats August 15, 2020 Congratulations to the winner and runners-up! Thanks to the Bryants for judging, and to the Society for sponsoring the competition. There were so many good entries that I was able to find 22 winners of my own, and only one of them matched what Mike and Susan chose–although their selections are indeed excellent. I suggest that with a few more haiku competitions in upcoming years, the Society might be able to publish a slim volume of absolutely marvelous contemporary haiku in English, worthy to stand on a bookshelf beside the famed Peter Pauper series of classic Japanese works, all or most translated (I believe) by Peter Beilenson. But maybe next year there should be a senryu competition, as there were good examples of that genre, too. Reply
Sharmon Gazaway August 15, 2020 Congratulations Savannah Leahy and all runners-up–so many lovely images in all of the entries. Thanks to the Bryants for judging–you had your work cut out for you. And many thanks to The Society for hosting the 2020 Competition! Look forward to more in the future. Reply
Mia August 16, 2020 Well done everyone who entered. How marvellous to feel a part of such a great group.Congratulations to Savannah Leahy and to the runners up. Thank you to the judges who I think had such a difficult job and to The Society for providing access to such a quality site that inspires so much creativity. Wishing everyone all the very best, Mia Reply
Oluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina January 30, 2021 Greetings to you, Adeniyi Newmann. Thanks for reading. Reply
