2021 RESULTS

 

SHARPENING THE GREEN PENCIL 2021 CONTEST RESULTS

 

 

At the Tenth Edition of the Haiku Contest

SHARPENING THE GREEN PENCIL 2021

organized by the Romanian Kukai Group 

205 participants from 5 continents have entered as follows:

  

AFRICA	1	Algeria	1
	2	Nigeria	2
ASIA	1	Azerbaidjan	1
	2	Bangladesh	1
	3	India	17
	4	Indonesia	1
	5	Japan	1
	6	Philippines	4
	7	Pakistan	1
	8	Taiwan	1
	9	Thailand	1
	10	Turkey	1
	11	Vietnam	1
AUSTRALIA	1	Australia	11
	2	New Zealand	11
EUROPE	1	Belgium	2
	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2
	3	Bulgaria	15
	4	Cyprus	1
	5	Croatia	20
	6	Finland	1
	7	France	4
	8	Germany	3
	9	Hungary	1
	10	Italy	10
	11	Lithuania	1
	12	North Macedonia	2
	13	Poland	9
	14	Portugal	1
	15	The Netherlands	4
	16	Romania	12
	17	Russia	4
	18	Serbia	2
	19	Spain	2
	20	Switzerland	2
	21	Ireland	1
	22	UK	10
	23	Ukraine	2
AMERICA	1	USA	33
	2	Canada	6

The organizers would like to express their gratitude to the participants for such a large interest and invite everyone to participate in the eleventh edition,

which will start in February 2022.

 

Djurdja Vukelic-Rozic, Croatia, Pre-Selector

Julie Warther, USA, Final Judge + Comments

Cezar Florin Ciobica, Romania, Coordinator  

 

Ana Drobot, Romania, Secretary 

 

Congratulations to the winners, commended haiku poets, and to all participants.

WINNERS

 

FIRST PRIZE

monarch migration—
the grandparents
I never knew

(Seren Fargo, USA)

It was the conciseness of a just-so juxtaposition and a subtle science lesson which elevated this poem for me. Late season monarchs migrate south, lay eggs and die. It is the second generation which flies north again where the third generation will be born. Many of us also grew up not knowing our grandparents for whatever reason: geographic distance, adoption, estrangement or death. Yet they are very much a part of us, and there is no doubt their decisions affected the generations that followed. For those with immigrant ancestors, we know our lives would have been vastly different had they not made that long trip.


SECOND PRIZE

longest night –
the clay bowl's
whorls and ridges

(Sandra Simpson, New Zealand)

Working a tactile sensation into haiku can be a difficult task, but here we can almost feel a lump of clay spinning on a wheel, taking shape in the potter’s hands. It is a slow process and one that requires patience. “Whorls and ridges” could describe the design of the bowl itself or contours of the artist’s fingertips. When fingerprints are found in a finished piece, there is no mistaking its individual nature and the care with which it was created. This alone is a striking image, but a resonance emerges when this image is paired with “longest night”- a time when the seasons themselves turn, taking on more and more light - in the unique nature of time itself.


THIRD PRIZE

blueberry dusk
a fresh crop of fireflies
in the farm field

(Marilyn Ashbaugh, USA)

“blueberry dusk” is such a charming way to describe a season, time of day and color! The fruit theme continues with “a fresh crop” and the “farm field” so it is a delightful surprise that the crop is not an edible one at all, but rather fireflies. The repeated “f” sounds feel like firefly sightings themselves, popping up here and there. We know those little lights shine even brighter with a blueberry dusk backdrop!

***************************

FIRST HONORABLE MENTION

marquee pigeons
the tale of the town
in missing letters

(Darrell Lindsey, USA)

A tale of omission - showing what is by stating what is not -with a wabi/sabi feel. Pigeons on the marquee suggest the absence of activity around the sign and, with nothing new to announce, that the missing letters have been gone for quite some time. Yes, the most striking message seems to be the decline of this desolate town.


SECOND HONORABLE MENTION

dark pond
a lone skater slices the ice
into moons

 

(Valorie Broadhurst Woerdehoff, USA)

Night skating has a romantic feel, but this skater is alone with the moon’s reflection on a large glass-like mirror. Once the skater’s blademarks scratch the surface however, a mosaic artwork is created with bits of moon in each piece. One can almost feel the skater’s delight as she/he makes this discovery and races to slice more pieces - no longer alone at all!

THIRD HONORABLE MENTION

whipsnap wind…
another day’s worries
hung out to dry

 

(Marietta McGregor, Australia)

Wonderful “w” sounds in this poem reminiscent of the wind itself. The harshness of that “whipsnap” suggests the worries and are still working their way into the poet’s thoughts. As this seems to be a regular occurrence (“another”) perhaps the poet is washing his/her hands of the whole mess of worries, come what may (“hung out to dry”). Or possibly, this daily ritual of hanging clothes on the line is meditative in a way that helps the poet set the worries of the day aside.



*********************

FIRST COMMENDED

war veteran's tale
bonfire embers reach
the Milky Way

 

(Billy Antonio, The Philippines)

SECOND COMMENDED

summer breeze-
new lovers
on an old bench

 

(Aljoša Vuković, Croatia)

THIRD COMMENDED

rabbit ear iris
the texture
of the morning dew

 

(Kimberley Sanson, France)