Haiku Society of America

Haiku Society of America

Merit Books Awards for 2024

Laurie D. Morrissey and Elliot Nicely, judges

 

First Place

Beverly Acuff Momoi. How the Wind Sighs. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2023

Momoi’s book makes an instant impression with its artful cover design serving as an enticing invitation. The poet has crafted a collection with an authentic and original voice throughout. Driven by fresh imagery, no one technique is overly represented while her experimental haiku are highly successful, keeping the reader engaged from cover to cover. Momoi also demonstrates a masterful use of sense shifting and personification throughout her writing that is to be admired.

The consistent high quality of the poems reflects the careful effort put into the work of curating a cohesive collection. The haiku contain insight, potent images, sensory richness, effective use of poetic techniques, a sense of beauty and lightness, occasional humor, and plenty of room for the reader.

whispering
in the red fox’s ear
snowflake

fresh catnip
letting loose
the muse

~ ~ ~

Second Place

Kristen Lindquist. Island. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2023

Beginning with its one-word title, Lindquist’s collection rests confidently and comfortably on her lifelong relationship with a coastal Maine island. Her intimacy with the island life and landscape stirs an intimacy with readers. While mainly conjuring nature, they spark a strong human connection.

autumn gale
a crowd of propane tanks
huddles on the wharf

harbor moonrise
a voice in the dark
whispers whoa

~ ~ ~

Third Place

James Roderick Burns. Crows at Dusk. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2023

This deeply felt collection welcomes the reader with an artful cover and an opening crow haiku by Buson. While the seasonal arrangement of the sections and the consistency of traditional form are familiar, the haiku are full of vivid “haiku moments” that engage the senses. They contain surprising and effective wording (“the storied snow goose’s wild, inky honks”), keen perception of nature, and an echo of the Japanese masters.

How dear
the small, lit window—
how distant!

~ ~ ~

Honorable Mentions (not ranked but in alphabetical order by author)

Annie Bachini and Helen Buckingham. Two Haiku Poets. North Shields, England: Iron Press, 2023

A compact, handsomely designed volume showcasing two outstanding poets. This collection fills a unique space: not one writer’s work nor an anthology but a satisfying visit with a pair of writers worth getting to know. The book is arranged in two parts, one for each poet. Bachini and Buckingham each present about 70 haiku, allowing the reader to feel at home with one at a time.

•

Carolyn Hall. Unmended Fences. Ormskirk, England: Snapshot Press, 2023

While not stating it as an intention, this collection subtly explores the nature of illness and death from the perspective of a loved one left behind. Hall employs a variety of techniques and structures, while creating fresh imagery. The chapbook has unity, but successfully links and shifts from page to page.

•

Jeff Hoagland. Scent of Juniper. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2023

An assured collection. Hoagland’s book is a deep dive into the natural world, while containing insight into the human condition. The book contains many outstanding haiku, and he occasionally defies convention with experimental poems, which are successful as well. There is keen observation; awe and reverence; a touch of magic; a measure of playfulness; and gentle humor.

~ ~ ~

HAIKU ANTHOLOGY AWARDS

Best

Stanford M. Forrester and Johnette Downing, Editors. Bird Whistle: A Contemporary Anthology of Bird Haiku, Senryu, & Short Poems. Windsor, CT: Bottle Rockets Press, 2023

Though focused on one subject, this anthology contains a wide variety of styles, voices, and techniques. Forrester and Downing curated a collection of poems written by nearly 30 haiku poets, each with his or her own perspective on “birds and poets” and “poets and birds.” They have created a balanced volume that keeps the reader engaged. The charm of the book’s cover and the sparingly used Sumi-e paintings enhance the overall effect.

•

Honorable Mention Anthologies

Christine Lamb Stern and Jeannie Rueter, Editors. Luminaries: Celebrating the Dojin of Yuki Teikei Haiku Society. San Jose, CA: Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, 2023

This book is a bold departure, a large square volume that truly feels like a celebration. Notable for its creative design, stunning astrophotography, and its informative text as well as the poems. A pleasure to look at, as well as to read.

•

Jim Kacian & The Red Moon Editorial Staff. Skipping Stones: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2022. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2023

As a valuable addition to the longstanding series of individually titled anthologies, it does not disappoint. The expected quality is there, in 185 haiku and essays selected by an 11-member team. Comprehensive without looking crowded, presented in an extremely accessible format.

~ ~ ~

HAIBUN BOOK AWARDS

Best

Lew Watts. Eira. Ormskirk, England: Snapshot Press, 2023

An attractively produced volume that reads as a genuine and affecting memoir threaded through with strong, sensory haiku, some of which are highly imaginative. The haibun link together smoothly and the haiku can work well on their own. What comes through is the poet’s unbreakable bond with the past, which is not idealized. A collection that does not falter anywhere, but carried me through to the end, leaving me with a desire to read more by this poet.

~ ~ ~

Honorable Mention Haibun Books

Reka Nyitrai and Alan Peat. Barking at the Coming Rain. Uxbridge, England: Alba Publishing, 2023

This book is impressive for its inventiveness and creativity. The ekphrastic focus is unique; each poet responds to a work of art by a female surrealist artist, and the results defy expectation by being highly effective even in the absence of images on the page.

•

Sean O’Connor. A Patch of Earth. Uxbridge, England: Alba Publishing, 2023

A tightly focused collection of haiku, tanka, and haibun that dwell on the loss of the poet’s beloved father. Strong imagery, beautiful language, and a feeling of warmth and intimacy more than sadness. O’Connor’s prose has a special lyrical quality and the poems reveal that a lost loved one is never lost.

~ ~ ~

PROSE BOOK AWARD

Best

Roberta Beary, Lew Watts, and Rich Youmans. Haibun: A Writer's Guide. England: Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023

A long overdue primer on haibun that would serve newcomers to the form as well as experienced practitioners. Well organized, clear, and accessible prose coupled with a variety of outstanding examples. Not only are the three authors themselves masters of the genre, but their selection of examples by others and suggested resources serve to enhance their expertise.

•

Honorable Mention

James Shea and Grant Caldwell, Editors, The Routledge Global Haiku Reader, London & New York: Routledge, 2023

Easily one of the most important anthologies of haiku scholarship to be published thus far this century. Both the breadth and depth of this book are unmatched this year. It is certain that the publication of the Routledge Global Haiku Reader marks a watershed moment in the advancement of haiku scholarship.

~ ~ ~

BOOK DESIGN & AESTHETICS - SPECIAL COMMENDATION

Lisa Gerlits and Antoinette Cheung. Deepening Leaves: 2022 Seabeck Haiku Getaway Anthology. Bellevue, WA: Haiku Northwest Press, 2023

This anthology is hand-bound using the Japanese side stitch or stab binding method using country red waxed linen thread. The cover is a handmade paper from the Philippines, which uses abaca sinamay fibers as well as real leaves. The co-editors selected an enjoyable collection of poems in a volume that is itself a treasure.

~ ~ ~

LINKED VERSE - SPECIAL COMMENDATION

Christine L. Villa, Editor. How the Wind Moves: An Anthology of Collaborative Spilt Sequences. Sacramento, CA: Velvet Dusk Publishing, 2023

This anthology is an assemblage of split sequences, which is a poetic form still in its infancy. However, Villa has curated an anthology that resonates with incredible maturity. Not only does the publication of this anthology serve as a touchstone moment in advancing the legitimacy of the form, the editorial vision of the anthology is of the highest quality.

•

TRANSLATIONS BOOK - SPECIAL COMMENDATION:

Shelley Baker-Gard, Michael Freiling, and Satsuki Takikawa. They Never Asked: Senryu Poetry from the WWII Portland Assembly Center. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2023

This anthology consists of translated senryu written by Japanese Americans who were being held during the early days of the Japanese internment. The team of translators took into consideration historical context, the Japanese language, as well as Japanese poetic style in their painstaking work. The book is layered with such rich essays that the reader need not look elsewhere in order to find additional information needed to appreciate the poems, the authors, and the circumstances that inspired their writing. This book is both an incredible achievement in translation work as well as a defining document of uniquely American voices.

~ ~ ~

About Our 2024 Judges

Laurie D. Morrissey is a New Hampshire poet and nonfiction writer whose work appears regularly in journals, anthologies, and literary magazines. Her haiku have received Touchstone nominations and other forms of recognition from leading publications and award programs, and she has served as a book reviewer for Frogpond and Modern Haiku. Her haiku collections are the Slant of April Snow (Red Moon Press 2019) and All the Stars I Can Swallow (Red Moon Press 2022, shortlisted for a Touchtone Distinguished Books Award).

Elliot Nicely is a secondary school teacher and author of Sine Qua Non (Red Moon Press, 2024), which is his first full-length collection of Japanese-form poetry. He also served on the Haiku North America 2023 Programming Committee. Today, he resides in Lakewood, Ohio.

~ ~ ~