Poet Profile

Zdravko Kurnik

Prof. dr. sci. Zdravko Kurnik was born in Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A university professor, he was engaged in the popularization of mathematics and has published several thousand problems from popular mathematics. For over 50 years, he was engaged in enigmatics, creating riddles and had published over 3,000 of them in many enigmatical journals in Croatia. Beside haiku, he was interested in humor and satire, often awarded for his aphorisms. He participated in several TV quizzes and was a member of the judging jury. He was the selector at domestic haiku contests. He took part in Croatian haiku festivals and published in journals, miscellanies, and magazines for haiku. He died in Zagreb, Croatia.

Awards and Other Honors: Honorary Mention - Ito-En (1997); Mayor of Ashiya Prize - Ashiya International Haiku Festa (1998); Third Prize - International Kusamakura Haiku Competition (1998); Encouraging mention- Vrabac/Sparrow No. 23-26 (1998-1999); Courage Award - Ito-En (1999); Third Prize - International Kusamakura Haiku Competition (1999); Included in the anthology Otvoreni put/Free Road, M. Čekolj and M. Španović (1999); Third Prize - International Kusamakura Haiku Competition (2000); 100 hrvatskih haiku, antologija za igru Haiku karte/100 Croatian Haiku, An anthology for the Haiku Cards Game (DHHP, Zagreb, 2000 by Višnja McMaster); Honorary Mention - Suruga Baika Literary Festival (Japan 2001); Award - Suruga Baika Literary Festival (Japan 2002); Third Prize Kloštar Ivanić - Croatian language (2003); Commendation - magazine Haiku No. 19/20 (Zagreb, 2003); Second Prize - Kloštar Ivanić - Croatian language (2005); work included on the Haiku Society of America's "Haiku Wall" at the Liberty Theatre Gallery in Bend, Oregon (June 3-5, 2011).

Books Published: Na oštrici riječi / On the blade of a word [aphorisms] (Genesis d.o.o., Zagreb, 2005); Pod pravim kutom / Under a right angle [aphorisms] (Genesis d.o.o., Zagreb, 2007); Svjetlo u tami /Light in the Darkness [aphorisms] (Čvor d.o.o., Bjelovar, 2007); Otkucaji srca / Heartbeats [aphorisms] (Element d.o.o., Zagreb, 2008); Pod pravim kutom / Under a right angle [aphorisms] (Genesis d.o.o., Zagreb, Second edition); Budno oko / An Wide Open Eye [aphorisms] (Element d.o.o., Zagreb, 2009); Zabavna matematika: u nastavi matematike /Amusing math: in the mathematic teaching [zbirka zadataka/a collection of exercises] (Element d.o.o., Zagreb, 2009).      Co-authorship: Zdravko Kurnik, Boris Nazansky and Antun Košir: Rječnik anagrama / Vocabulary of Anagrams (Element d.o.o., Zagreb, 2008); Olovka i kist / Pencil and Paintbrush [haigas painted by Rudi Stopar (Slovenia); haiku by Zdravko Kurnik, Zvonko Petrovic, Julija Ivic, Dusko Matas, Boris Nazansky, Zdenko Orec, and Rudi Stopar; in Croatian, Slovenian, English and Japanese] (Zagreb, 2010).

In the clear night
a fisherman pulls in a net
filled with stars.

A lighthouse at night
spreads a silver path
before the ships.

Leaning out the window
the old man tells the morning
of his last night's dream.

Life in the town.
Down the street runs a river
in both directions.

A train in the distance...
the whistle is in the station
already.

In the rainbow's arc
after a summer downpour
the whole village.

Mild sound of bells
sails along a river
to my silence.

By ruined fence
the fragrance of lilac
stopping the passers-by.

Campfire at sunset--
words keep jumping over
the flaming tongue.

The breeze lessens
on the forgotten grave
a rose’s petal.

Credits: "In the clear night" - Mayor of Ashiya Prize - Ashiya International Haiku Festa (1998); "Leaning out the window" - Encouraging mention- Vrabac/Sparrow No. 23-26 (1998-1999); "A train in the distance" - Haiku No. 5 (Zagreb, 1997); "Mild sound of bells" - Third Prize - International Kusamakura Haiku Competition (1998); "Campfire at sunset" - Honorary Mention - Ito-En (1997); "A lighthouse at night" - Third Prize - International Kusamakura Haiku Competition (2000); "Life in the town" - 100 hrvatskih haiku, antologija za igru Haiku karte/100 Croatian Haiku, An anthology for the Haiku Cards Game (DHHP - Zagreb, 2000); "In the rainbow's arc" - Third Prize Kloštar Ivanić - Croatian language (2003); "By ruined fence" - Second Prize - Kloštar Ivanić - Croatian language (2005); "The breeze lessens" - Third Prize - International Kusamakura Haiku Competition (2000).

Sources Biography: We are grateful to fellow Croation poet Djurdja Vukelic Rozic for providing the poetry and other information for Zdravko Kurnik.