Haiku Society of America Haibun Renku Awards for 2002

Haiku Society of America Renku Awards
in Memorial of Bernard Lionel Einbond

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HSA Renku Awards for 2002

Alice Benedict and Fay Aoyagi
judges

Grand Prize

The Wind Shifts

Billie Wilson
Peggy Willis Lyles
Carolyn Hall
Mark Brooks

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The Wind Shifts

the wind shifts—
garden beds emerge
from snowmelt

bw

soft laughter rises
with a yellow kite

pwl

in the toy store,
we all pinch the clerk
not wearing green

mb

does the new man
deserve a corner office?

ch

where the map
vees
a canyon full of moon

bw

three, no, four mule deer
amongst the piñons

mb

after a dream
of wild persimmons
I waken to their tang

pwl

the séance ends abruptly
with her sneeze

ch

better make
that phone call
if you want a date

pwl

back in my day
this meant a shotgun wedding

bw

the former prom queen
remembers the king
who went off to college

mb

such docile lions
guard the library steps

ch

sweat drips
as Quasimodo
greets the moon

pwl

tumbling in the waterfall
rainbows over rainbows

mb

somewhere
in the hall closet
my heirloom pearls

ch

helicopters again
above the search zone

bw

plum petals drift
from the branch she carries
to a dying friend

ch

up the front walkway,
the first ants

mb

the home team
crowds the pitcher's mound
at the opening game

bw

a hostile witness
on the stand

pwl

outside the movie
we kiss and make up
all over

mb

endlessly playing
our song

bw

golden jubilee
and, at last, that trip
to Tuscany!

ch

ravens claim
the withered field

pwl

before dawn
a neighbor empties ashes
from his hibachi

ch

aspirin downed with sake
from last night's cup

mb

unable to focus
on the face
of Dali's Christ

pwl

war protestors herd their kids
toward the memorial wall

bw

under the crescent moon
a smith beats a hammer
at the faire

mb

so soon the bright leaves
sodden in autumn rain

bw

impatient
for the paraffin to harden
on the canning jars

ch

he caps blank verse
with lines that rhyme

pwl

a note on the card said
"Fill out this check
for whatever you need."

bw

near the yield sign
an aroma of mint

pwl

hill by hill
the cherry blossoms
along the shore

mb

aglow with warm light
the eighty-eighth temple

ch

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First Honorable Mention

Something That Sings

Leatrice Lifshitz
John Stevenson

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Something That Stings

far, but not too far
there is something that sings
in my winter home

ll

the warm work
of hauling firewood

js

first raindrops
fall just so
into the river

ll

shouts
and laughter

js

moon
over the empty
schoolyard

ll

leaves are turning
on lover's lane

js

red wine
in his glass
and hers

ll

an equitable
settlement

js

cormorant
dries its wings
on a fence post

ll

starched collar, cuffs
and posture

js

the relief pitcher
throws his first one
at the batter

js

swimming hole
filled with moonlight

ll

experience
holding back
the tears

js

taking the telephone
from one room to another

ll

I'd like to be
a-l-o-n-e
with you

js

library books
that were lost

ll

Sunday stroll
among the stones
at Arlington

js

her bonnet
with long ribbons

ll

scent
of the bending
lilac

js

an open can of paint
on the ladder . . .

ll

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Second Honorable Mention

A Peacock Wanders

Mark Brooks
Paul MacNeil

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A Peacock Wanders

spring rain—
a peacock wanders
onto the path

mb

labyrinth hedges
sprout new leaves

pm

in the lobby
a doorman snoozes
past lunchtime

mb

slurping noodles
she trains for a marathon

pm

derelict caboose
a vibrant red
under the full moon

mb

yes! there is a good side
to this marked-down pumpkin

pm

fragrantly
the bull moose claims
territory

pm

they still debate the death
of Meriwether Lewis

mb

my wife asks
"do these old jeans
make me look fat?"

pm

better to send roses
this anniversary

mb

a shared glance
just a pew in front
of the faded soprano

pm

there goes a billboard
for last year's jazz concert

mb

the same gazebo
but the moon of youth
smiled more

pm

and those frat brothers
will earn their beer guts

mb

before the break
foam is sucked
into a wave

pm

stone by slippery stone
the girls cross the brook

mb

sepals parted
but the wild iris
not yet open

pm

another April Fool
sniffs a squirting flower

mb

the tail shadow
chases after
the kite shadow

mb

hesitation
when I asked her phone number

pm

true love
shows up
as an old friend

mb

Hamlet bids goodbye
to the fair Ophelia

pm

bitterly cold,
nothing stirred
that night

mb

sparkling
snowfield crust

pm

glitter and glue
on his pre-school artwork
and his cheeks

mb

postage stamps from Trinidad
fill an album page

pm

through the spotting scope
dozens of floats
line up for the parade

mb

I carry the chart toward
my barium enema

pm

he climbs
the outer fence
by moonlight

mb

shepherds move the flock
to the lower pasture

pm

storm windows
installed in place
of dirty screens

pm

from new hearing aids
a natural cacophony

mb

our pilot drawls
something
about cleared to land

pm

bees return to the hive
as the sky darkens

mb

a sunrise breeze
spreads through the apple tree
and blossoms

pm

she washes the sand
off of a conch shell

mb

~ ~ ~

 

 

 

The Haiku Society of America sposors this annual award for renku of 36, 20, or 12 stanzas.

See the contest guidelines for the HSA Renku Awards.

For more information about the goals of this contest, download a copy of the HSA Renku Contest Committee Report (pdf) published in Frogpod XIII:2 (May 1990).

Awards by year:

| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |

 

2002 judges commentary:

The first thing we both noticed after eagerly opening our thick packages of renku for the 2002 Einbond Renku Contest, and beginning to read was . . . these poets are truly enjoying themselves! Almost every poem showed an under-standing of renku form and rules. But even more, the poets grasped the joy of writing together.

As judges, we concentrated on looking for a strong hokku, followed by a steady opening, a variety of topics, seamless link and shift, and excellent individual verses. No entry was perfect, and our choice of a Grand Prize winner and two renku for Honorable Mention takes nothing away from the delight we felt in reading individual verses and passages in the other renku.

Writing renku is, above all, great fun. The poems we read resonated with that spirit. We hope that all the parti-cipants of this year's contest continue to write together, and to encourage more and more poets to experience the unique thrill of collaborative verse. Thank you all for your contribution to this contest! Viva la renku!

~ Alice Benedict and Fay Aoyagi

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Grand Prize - The Wind Shifts

After careful reading and analysis, we decided to award the Grand Prize to the kasen renku "The Wind Shifts". The four poets who participated in this renku seemed to trust one another, comfortably tossing each verse off with a light, playful renku spirit. There were many "ooh" and "ahhs" as we read this renku. The first two verses, however, are weak when compared to other entries. A hokku should have all the qualities of a stand-alone haiku. We felt that this hokku was not well-focused in time. But the remaining verses in the opening are skillful and the linking is elegant. In the ura (the second fold) the energy among the poets flows strongly. The "dream of wild persimmons" verse starting this section is just one example of the inventiveness and sensitive link-and-shift that the poets achieved in this section. It might be said that that the love verses tend to develop a story, how-ever, "such docile lions" tightens the flow. We also debated the use of "the first ants" as a spring kigo. Time should not move backwards in a renku—for example, from Easter (late spring) to snowmelt (early spring). In this kasen, time flows onward, from "plum petals" to "the first ants" to "opening game". We appreciated the clever use of a little word like "first". The second set of love verses are somewhat troublesome. Avoiding cliché is important in a renku. The second moon link "... a smith beats a hammer" is unique and evocative. Finally, the last six verses move to a quick close, with a variety of focus, both on topics and on human senses—touch, hearing, aroma, and sight. We felt the cherry blossom verse was plain. But then, in the ageku, a henro (a Japanese pilgrim who visits eighty-eight temples) at the "eighty-eighth temple" was a nice surprise, ending this renku with a "warm" feeling.

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First Honorable Mention - Something That Sings

"Something that Sings", a nijuin renku is a close contender for the Grand Prize. Its beginning is stronger than "The Wind Shifts". The hokku, in particular, is inter-esting as an example of using indefinite words to convey a precise feeling. But then, there are some lazy verses: ‘shouts/and laughter in #4, and "red wine/in his glass/and hers" in #7. Most of the verses in this renku show the evocative power of brevity. But being brief requires careful consideration of the juxtaposition of lines within a verse. In this renku, the second moon verse occurs earlier than is usual, and is a two-line, rather than a three-line verse. A nijuin has four ori or "folds" (as does the kasen), but arranged as 4-6-6-4 verses, and it includes one blossom and two moon verses. Typically, the moon appears in #1 in the second fold, the second moon in #5 in the third fold, and the blossom verse in #3 in the last fold. You can insert the moon verses earlier or later (but not the blossom verse). The linking in the third section is close in feeling, though topics are varied. We loved the impact of "I'd like to be a-l-o-n-e". And the line break in "scent/of the bending/lilac" is very effective.

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Second Honorable Mention - A Peacock Wanders

"a peacock wanders" showed the strongest start of all the renku submitted for this year's contest. The hokku concentrates the reader's imagination, while presenting juxtaposed images that resonate gently with one another. The wakiku (second verse) closely follows the hokku, yet leaves openings for further development. And the third verse nicely shifts to a new locale and feeling. Then the flow continues from the "marathon" to the "derelict caboose", and the "marked-down pumpkin". The verses are varied in point of view, syntax, topics, and verse structure in a way that is especially refreshing. Unfortunately, the renku weakens after this promising strong start. Several verses have similar topics ("faded soprano" to "billboard for last year's concert" or "iris" to "squirting flower"). In addition, both blossom verses lack focus.

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