Living in Japan, one is often struck by the power of the 5-7-5 form. Even traffic safety slogans are frequently cast into this haiku pattern. Of course, actual haiku themselves are mostly composed in the 5-7-5 form. By contrast, in English there is no fixed syllable count for haiku; both writers and readers seem to be always feeling out and negotiating the rhythm. In this year’s submitted works, the fun and ingenuity of shaping short poems is evident throughout, showing that experiments in free-form haiku are being undertaken all around the world. Including the grand prize winner, the number of haiku I wish I could show to Taneda Santoka just keeps growing.
The number of English haiku submissions in the 36th Contest reached a record high, with 33,954 entries. They were received from 61 countries around the world, and the selected works were highly diverse, with notable contributions this time from Asian authors including those from Vietnam, the Philippines, and India. However, outside Japan, most of the authors tend to be older, which contrasts with the fact that many of the Japanese awardees are relatively young. The age distribution of the authors is an important point to watch for the further development of English haiku. In Japan, it is hoped that more people of university age and older will become active in this field.
Living in Japan, one is often struck by the power of the 5-7-5 form. Even traffic safety slogans are frequently cast into this haiku pattern. Of course, actual haiku themselves are mostly composed in the 5-7-5 form. By contrast, in English there is no fixed syllable count for haiku; both writers and readers seem to be always feeling out and negotiating the rhythm. In this year’s submitted works, the fun and ingenuity of shaping short poems is evident throughout, showing that experiments in free-form haiku are being undertaken all around the world. Including the grand prize winner, the number of haiku I wish I could show to Taneda Santoka just keeps growing.
The number of English haiku submissions in the 36th Contest reached a record high, with 33,954 entries. They were received from 61 countries around the world, and the selected works were highly diverse, with notable contributions this time from Asian authors including those from Vietnam, the Philippines, and India. However, outside Japan, most of the authors tend to be older, which contrasts with the fact that many of the Japanese awardees are relatively young. The age distribution of the authors is an important point to watch for the further development of English haiku. In Japan, it is hoped that more people of university age and older will become active in this field.