A piece that gives a vivid and practical expression of the growth of a young boy. Everyone notices when clothing or shoes don’t fit any more, that’s just a regular occurrence. However, one day finally discovering that he can reach that high shelf for which he once needed a stool, that is a moment of surprise and joy for the boy. You can just seem him proudly taking something down, filled with such young hope.
A native speaker may choose to express this differently, but the style used here is indicative of a Japanese person who is earnestly studying English, which makes it very likeable. (Tsunehiko Hoshino)
The Results of the 29th
There were 20,815 entries in theEnglish Haiku division of this contest. (All division combined featured entries from 55 different contries.) We would like to introducethe winning pieces of this English Haiku division.
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A day in summer, a child sits on an old pier by a small lake in the countryside and puts their feet into the clouds reflected in the water. English haiku often use the concept of reflection, but this one skillfully depicts it in an indirect and unexpected way.
A large tree standing upright in a flat pasture. Amid the dappled sunlight, the horses are gathered like rays beaming out from around it. A quiet moment of peace. However, this is a scene with further depth, also speaking to the long day mainly spent running around and eating grass..
This year saw a large number of pieces skillfully using English to depict enthralling or active depictions of a scene, especially among Japanese students. That being said, I think there was a tendency among both Japanese and non-Japanese submissions toward pieces that appear wonderful upon first glance, but when you think about them more carefully it isn’t really clear just what they are trying to depict. When creating a haiku, you must apply all due scrutiny to your word selection in order to ensure that you are imparting the scene in a way that other readers will also be able to understand.
We received English haiku from 55 countries this year, for a total of 20,815 entries. The spread of the entries making it through the preliminary round came from entrants ranging between 9 and 91 years old. In particular, both the volume and quality of work coming in from 16-year-old high school students really stood out. The most important thing when writing haiku is a fresh, flexible sensitivity. If you are caught up in commonsense and preconceived ideas then your work will be unable to distinguish itself and you will not be able to move anyone. The key is to take something from your everyday experiences and express it honestly, without holding back.