Poet Profile

John Hawkhead

John Hawkhead has been writing haiku, senryu, and creating illustrated haiga for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world. He specialises in short pieces, including short stories, one-minute plays (see YouTube), and short poems.

Awards and Other Honors:

His poem "Helmand" was selected for the Royal British Legion’s official CD recording of war poetry for its Poppy Appeal 2010. Other honors include First Prize in the HaikuNow! 2013 Awards [Traditional Haiku category] (The Haiku Foundation, 2013); Lincoln Underground Haiku Contest 2016 - Winner; Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 - International Sakura Award; UHTS 'aha' Haiku Contest 2020 - Winner; Haiku Calendar Competitions 2020 & 2021 - Winner; 10th Setouchi Matsuyama Haiku Contest 2021 - Grand Prix Winner; 2021 Porad Award - First Place; 2021 Trailblazer Contest Finalist; his Touchstone-nominated book ‘Bone Moon placed third in the 2023 Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards; he has been shortlisted twice for the Touchstone Award for individual poems (2018 and 2023).

Books Published:

Witness (Austin Hutcheon, 2010) [ISBN 1445225387, 9781445225388]; Small Shadows (Alba Publishing, 2016) [ISBN: 978-1-910185-53-7]; Bone Moon (Alba Publishing, 2022) [ISBN: 978-1-912773-51-0]; Four Horse Parable (Nun Prophet Press, 2024)[ISBN: 9798328860703].

lying together
after the spring thunderstorm
blossom and hailstones

misted air
mother stirs autumn
into jam

unseasonal snow
so white inside
the constitution

wren song the weight of a soul

practising judo
the youngest group of children
learn how to tie knots

online
undertakers
doomscrolling

Credits:

"lying together" - Snapshots 5 (1999); Haiku Society of America Haiku Wall (Bend, Oregon, 2011); Daily Haiga (2012); “unseasonal snow” – is/let, Oct 11, 2021; "practising judo" - Haiku Presence 10; Haiku Spirit; The New Haiku (Snapshot Press, 2002; edited by John Barlow and Martin Lucas); The Greenleaf files (2012); “misted air” – Presence Issue 65 Nov 2019 - Winner of Best Poem Award; “wren song” – Whiptail issue 2, Feb 2022; “online” – tsuri-dōrō issue 16, Jul/Aug 2023.