Poet Profile

Martha Magenta

Martha Magenta lived in Bristol, UK. Her haiku, haibun, senryu, and tanka have appeared in many journals and anthologies. She was awarded Honorable Mentions in contests for haiku, tanka and haibun in 2017/2018. She is listed on The European Top 100 haiku authors, 2017.
Martha was in a hospice for the last week of her life and was well looked after - her son was with her at the end. She passed away on January 14, 2020.

Awards and Other Honors:

71st Basho Memorial English Haiku Contest 2017 - Honorable Mention; The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards for 2017 - Honorable Mention; UHTS "Fleeting Words" Tanka Contest 2017 - Honorable Mention; The UHTS The “Samurai” Haibun Contest, 2017 - Honorable Mention; Caribbean Kigo Kukai, April 26, 2018 - 2nd Place; ukiaHaiku Festival Contest, Jane Reichhold International Prize category 2018 - Honorable Mention.

lunar eclipse
a rabbit thumps
the hawk's shadow

starry night
the draught horse’s shoes
spark on concrete

wind in the wires
her soft touch
on the cello

from somewhere
to nowhere the bridge
suspended in mist

halo moon 
the heavy heads 
of sunflowers 

sparkling cider
a busker blows stars
into the sky

Credits:

“lunar eclipse” - Shamrock Haiku Journal (June, 2017); “starry night” - The Wonder Code 2017, Scott Mason, Girasole Press [first published in The Heron’s Nest Vol. XVIII, No. 4, December 2016]; “wind in the wires” - Presence, (no. 59, Nov. 2017); “from somewhere” - hedgerow (issue 104, Feb. 2017); “halo moon” Chrysanthemum (issue 22, Oct. 2017; “sparkling cider” - Akitsu Quarterly (Spring, 2017).