An invitation to all those familiar with and well versed in the principles, techniques and concepts of authentic haiku and senryu.
As a refresher and reminder, I recommend this column by haikumonk allpoetry.com/Column/423262
also this short article:
www.crystalinks.com/haiku.html
Plus, of course: ahapoetry.com/HAIKU.HTM
NOTE: "Few modern English haiku poets use the 5-7-5 syllables rule, which is often inappropriately taught in schools. The 5-7-5 practice produces a haiku much longer than a traditionally composed haiku in Japanese, as the Japanese do not count syllables as they are defined in English, but instead count morae (singular mora), units of time. Morae are generally shorter than the average of English syllables which are highly variable in length."
An example of classic haiku (by Basho) :
II II II (Furuike ya)
II II II II II (Kawazu tobikomu)
II II II (Mizu no oto)
An old pond!
A frog jumps in --
the sound of water.
The four great Japanese masters of the haiku form are generally thought to be:
Matsuo Basho
Masaoki Shiki
(links to their Oldpoetry pages)
On how to sing
the frog school and the skylark school
are arguing.
~ Masaoki Shiki
RULES:
1) Must not exceed 17 syllables; less is preferred, i.e. 11 to 14
e.g. If you cannot recite your haiku aloud in "one deep breath ",
it has too many words/syllables.
2) Up to 3 entries per person,
prewrites allowed if I haven't commented on it before.
HINT: Haiku is the image, without flowery adjectives and adverbs.
'Show, don't tell'... 'egoless reticence'. They are not just a 3 line poem!
Finally, I shall read all entries but will not comment until close of contest -
and not necessarily on all.
Make me say, 'Ooh' or 'Aha!'.... not 'Huh?' or 'Ugh!' 
GOLD: 400 points
SILVER: 200 points
BRONZE: 100 points
Any Honorable Mentions will also receive points (to be announced)
P.S. I may have to remove one or more of some entrants' 3 submissions,
if the count goes over 40, to keep the numbers down and quality high.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on May 22, 2005
- Rewards: Gold: 400
- Final notes: Firstly, I want to thank you all for your entries, I was surprised and honoured by the extraordinary number of entries!
As you probably noticed, I received so many I had to close early after only 2 days and had to trim to 55 entries.
Thank you also to those who took my critiques in good spirit... those who know me are aware I am precise and critical -
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by JupiterIris 2 lines, 4 comments, on May 14 3:54 PM 2005. In Nature• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
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hmmm... I so love to write Haiku, and I completed the Haiku class of Haikumonk completely
though, still I don't think I'm good enough to enter this contest... though I will seriously think about it and bookmark it (you never know my muse gets struck by extremely professional inspiration 
)
I wish you the best of luck with this contest!
Leander -
i always enjoy your detail and that picture above is exquisite
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I like to think that I can write decent haikus, but this is kind of daunting...which means that I must enter. Just give me time.
Nice contest!
-Pepper- -
That's the spirit, Pepper! Go for it!
~G
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Come on, Leander, you can do it!
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Oh hmmmm.
the more I learned about haiku the less I felt I stood a chance of really writing it.
I will seriously consider this.
I look forward to see what Mari and some others bring to the table. -
Believe it or not, I'm most envious over the fact that you thought of adding the trophies as graphics in your contest description. Dang, why didn't I ever think of that!
I'm here as a cheerleader. I've never written a haiku and wouldn't know where to begin. Your description was so entertaining that for a moment I actually thought to enter...then I remember who I am.
Good luck to you, all the entrants, and to anyone who even thinks to write haiku. -
LOL! Thank you for the great 'cheer leading' comment and clappy, Yem! You know, I really think you could write haiku if you put your mind to it... it's quirky enough
~G
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I like wide open spaces, give me a field...I'm like an insane dog, I just need to be let off my chain and let run.
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Ooh, a contest that I think I can enter! I need something to take my mind off of things. I think I can work something up or if not, I think I have plenty of old haiku that you haven't commented on yet
~CT -
Hm, I so need to get inspired again to write a haiku, specially when you are judging it
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I do hope you will, Mari
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It's good to see more of the serious haiku contests. Haiku is my favorite form, after all. Have fun with this.
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Gennelle, this is a great contest, and you've presented it beautifully! I tend to express myself in longer poems, so I'm not likely to enter, but I wish beauty to the contestants and pleasure to the host!
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Thank you, Margaret! You have done some impressive haiku yourself though. I doubt there's a form you couldn't do well
~G
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What a lovely background I shall have to try a dig deep for this contest
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I've never attempted,and judging from the heavy hitters already posted here.Oh well, I'll be reading and learning.~~Suseann
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Some impressive Talent here already...good thing I entered first & looked at the entries after!!! 
Thanks for having such a great contest, Gennelle...Good luck, one & all!!! 
Wanda
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whoa! There must have been an explosion of entries while I was gone, 'cause I don't remember there being this many...looks like your contest is a popular one. Good luck to everyone, and to Maatkara for judging it!
-Pepper- -
oopsers and darn
too late 
awe well, probably wouldn't win anything since the huge number of wonderful entries here
Good luck judging!
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I HAD A DUMB TYPO ON MY HAIKU 'wont' that i fixed...please read it again!
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Er, you still have a typo in the title. Do you mean won't or want?
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Actually I do mean "wont" it means - a pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition. Thanks for reading it again I appreciate it.
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Ah, ok Just had to be sure that really was your 'wont'
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This has been an amazing contest, and thanks so much for the loads of prizes!!!
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Congratulations, one & all!!! Some amazing entries here...& I learned a lot, too!!! Well done, Haijin... Wanda
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Thanks Gennelle for the HM, for holding this contest and congratulations to all the winners!
Mari
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Congratulations to the winners of trophies in this contest. This was a contest that truly did bring out some fantastic entries. And thank you Maatkara for the honorable. I am flattered that mine was awarded that.
~ John
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You are a terrific host! Congratulations to all!
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Many thanks for the honourable mention!!!!!
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Ooh, what a lovely page and the infomation most helpful! I have pasted this into a word processor document so I can study your notes. Thank you again for the reference. It is of great value to me. Belle
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Silver trophy winner
Gold trophy winner
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