HNA Haiku Contest - THE WINNERS

[Don Baird]

Haiku North America Haiku Contest
HNA Conference - August 14th -18th, 2013
Queen Mary, Long Beach, California

The HNA Haiku Contest is officially commencing.  Entry is free. Prizes are $150, 1st; $100 2nd; and, $50 3rd.  There will be 5 Honorable mentions.  The deadline to enter is June 30th, 2013.  Award winners will be announced at the HNA Convention during the Awards Ceremony.  You do not have to be present to be a winner but it will be much more fun if you are - for everyone!!!

Submitted haiku must not be in consideration for publication, other contests, formerly published or work-shopped.  Facebook is considered published in regards to this contest.

Please send up to 10 entries to  hnahaikucontest@gmail.com.  Maureen, an independent assistant will log the poems and forward them to the judging staff (to be revealed at the Convention).

Welcome aboard and Good Luck!

Don Baird
Contest Coordinator

[Don Baird]

There were almost 1500 poems/entries to this contest.  It is going to be a very difficult one to decide.  We have 1st, 2nd and 3rd places and five honorary positions.  We narrowed it down to 45 for the moment and now, our finalist judge is at work ... making the nail biting final choices.  Good luck to you all and thanks for joining in the contest.

See you at the HNA.

Don

[Don Baird]

Join in!!!!!!  It begins this Wednesday!  Poets from all over the world will arrive, share and enjoy each other's poetry and company!!!  This year will be a hit, for sure!

http://www.haikunorthamerica.com/2013-conference.html 

[Don Baird]

The winners are:



1st Place:

N.E. Taylor -

camellia floating
in a white cup
snow on mount fuji


2nd Place:

Diana Jeong -

windblown -
a dandelion
colonizes


3rd Place:

William Kenney  - 

downtown
pointing the way
with her cigarette


Honorable Mentions:

In No Order:

Terri French -
first snow . . .
the shape of a grandchild
beneath the quilt                                                     

John Stevenson -
long night
a snow fort
of dreams

Andre Surridge -
moonless night
a cormorant fisherman
tightens the leash


Ernest J Berry -
hospice
a hint of spring
in his window box

Brad Bennett -
butterfly garden
scraps of conversation
float by


There were nearly 1500 poems entered in the contest from around the world.  I was the screening judge and reduced them to just under 50.  Garry Gay, an executive with the HNA, then selected the winners.  It was a long, tedious process as a result of so many entries.  But, the number of poems that were "winner quality" was mind staggering.  There were such wonderful, powerful, and skilled poets participating in the contest that making choices was tough right from the beginning!

As I said at the HNA contest introduction, numerous poems could have taken first place.  The tough part wasn't looking for quality; it was trying to select from a pool of poems that were all bringing so much to the table.

Congrats to all!  See you in a couple of years at the HNA, once again.

Don
Contest Administrator

[S.M. Abeles]

An excellent group of poems.  Kudos to the winners and judges.

[jdgarcia]

Thank you for these!  Each is wonderful!