As the first two placed haiku were by the same author With Words decided to add an additional third prize this year, and this has been awarded jointly.
summer tapas
the head waiter touches
the waitress's stomach
John Barlow, Liverpool, England
single-lane bridge
a dog walker
directs the traffic
John Barlow, Liverpool, England
changing kimonos
between seasons...
my ordinary life
Pamela A. Babusci
Rochester, New York State, U.S.A.
Remembrance Day -
the child insists on a poppy
for her doll
André Surridge
Hamilton, New Zealand
It was really gratifying to receive so many entries for our inaugural international haiku competition, and that amongst all the recognised practitioners of the haiku poem, there were many that were new to us.
The competition was judged anonymously and Alan enjoyed every single entry. We had poems from twelve different countries, and three different continents: Argentina; Australia; Austria; England; France; Italy; Latvia; New Zealand; Portugal; Scotland; U.S.A.; and Wales. We look forward to exceeding this next year.
Thank you to everyone who entered.
The With Words Team (Alan, Karen and Kathy).
summer tapas
the head waiter touches
the waitress's stomach
John Barlow, Liverpool, England
The winning summer tapas haiku worked for me on several levels.
It has a subtle multi-sense approach preventing it from being merely a 'visual' poem; it evokes an emotion in me without 'telling me'; and I was free to interpret the presented picture even if my take wasn't necessarily a correct one. I went as far as wondering whether the waitress was pregnant with the head waiter's baby.
When a haiku poem is made up of a 'fragment and phrase' (first coined by Jane Reichhold) it's because the haiku is broken into two parts despite its already incredible shortness. This can be so often the power of such a brief poem, where it uses its very brevity to cause an overall 'single but complex image' out of two simply juxtaposed concrete images.
This poem uses the 'fragment' of the 'summer tapas' and the 'phrase' of the simple action to incredible effect.
single-lane bridge
a dog walker
directs the traffic
John Barlow, Liverpool, England
The second prize single-lane bridge haiku has a seemingly simple set up of concrete images. We're at a single-lane bridge with a dog walker who could be an eccentric directing the traffic. We don't really know if the traffic is heavy, or light.
Is the dog walker being a nuisance, or is it the traffic; could it be that not being an actual driver was the very factor useful in unsnarling a traffic jam; or is the dog walker causing a jam because it's a single-lane bridge for both pedestrians and motorists alike?
The haiku plays with us, there's no obvious joke or punch line and we can't quite pin it down. This isn't a convenient beginning, middle and end poem all neatly wrapped up for us: it's designed to take us a little out of our comfort zone.
This is an example of a well-crafted poem that invites thought.
changing kimonos
between seasons...
my ordinary life
Pamela A. Babusci
Rochester, New York State, U.S.A.
The 'changing kimonos' haiku contained a delicate poignancy, of 'sabi' (Japanese non-sad sadness/aloneness) and I was very moved by this poem. The third line is beautifully judged to complement the 'phrase' part of the haiku poem, without any heavy-handedness, but with a 'just so' of precision. It had a life beyond the poem; it was as if a bond had been created between the two of us, not just of poet and reader, but of shared humanity.
Remembrance Day -
the child insists on a poppy
for her doll
André Surridge
Hamilton, New Zealand
The 'Remembrance Day' haiku starts simply enough, but with a surprise in the 'phrase' part of the haiku. Many of us may think special memorial days are for 'last century's wars' but without preaching, only showing, this poem reminds me that wars are still very much with us. I found that the scene with the little girl insisting on a poppy for her doll was very potent.
In order to get this annual competition off to a good start, With Words has separately funded the third prize, and we have topped up the donation to our African charity to £100. Our U.K. charity will be announced at a later date.
It was important to us to find the 'right' literacy project to support abroad. We knew that even a small amount of money spent within Africa could achieve a lot, and after some searching we found AGLIT (Adolescent Girls Literacy Project) which is known locally in Malawi as 'Tsogolo la Abuthu - A Future for Girls Through Education.' AGLIT is run entirely by Malawian staff who've been trained for this.
AGLIT/MATE: http://www.mate-malawi.org.uk/
We are delighted to say that, with the help of everyone who entered, The With Words International Online Haiku Competition 2008 has funded twenty afternoon combined health and literacy lessons with teenage girls in Malawi.
