Haiku Society of America Renku Awards
in Memorial of Bernard Lionel Einbond
~ ~ ~
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
~ ~ ~
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
~ ~ ~
First Honorable Mention
Something
That Sings
Leatrice Lifshitz
John Stevenson
~ ~ ~
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
~ ~ ~
Second Honorable Mention
A Peacock
Wanders
Mark Brooks
Paul MacNeil
~ ~ ~
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
~ ~ ~
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.
~ ~ ~
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.
~ ~ ~
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.
~ ~ ~