As the Samurai Haibun contest convenor, I wish to thank all entrants trusting me with their
Haibun. I was delighted to receive a diverse collection of entries from across the globe,
including the following countries, American Samoa, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hungary,
India, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, USA
A special thank you to friends on social media who distributed our competition flyer via
Facebook pages and posted our competition details on their personal Web pages. It has
been a pleasure to work with an’ya as well as with the contest judges, Neal and Elaine.
Marilyn Humbert, Australia
UHTS Samurai Haibun Contest 2023
Judges Report and Winners
103 haibun! What a challenge to judge those that combined the best prose and best haiku that
complemented each other. It calls on one performer to “record” both parts of a duet. We
independently chose our top fifteen and there was an overlap of eight haibun. We then recited
these to get a sense of the sound of the haibun and settled on the top four which we then
ranked as the best compositions. Here are our choices, not based on cleverness of form, but
on an orchestration of human thought and emotion linked to the mystery of Life!
Elaine and Neal Whitman, USA
First Place
Judges Commentary
As professional educators, often we were asked if teaching can taught. Our reply was,“Yes,
but only to teachers!” Likewise, we wonder if only writers can be taught how to write. This
haibun hints that anyone who wants to write can be be taught to write. Some haibun are
effective when the prose uses short phrases that add an element of urgency which moves the
reader along. This is the case here. Also, good haibun make good teachers and we
experienced this haibun as a master teacher of how the haiku associates with the prose
without repetition. What “sealed the deal” for us for was the image of the blank page in the
haiku. Everyone who attempts to write prose or poetry in any form knows how daunting it is
to hover over a blank page and get started. It prompted us to say, “Oh, I see! There is more
here than meets the eye.” Thank you for the writing tips. We plan to use your advice in our
own work.
Advice to Writers
Bob Lucky, Portugal
You will need some tools — pencil and paper, a typewriter, a computer, an amanuensis.
It’s hard to know what you have to say until you say it.
After you get it all down, throw out the parts that don’t say anything or repeat what’s
already been said (unless you’ve said it better).
Save the other bits.
Someday you might discover what you want to say or realize you didn’t mean a thing
you said, but at least you’ll have said what you had to say.
hungry moon
the magnetism
of a blank page
------
Second Place
Judges Commentary
A good title captures the reader’s attention, but its excellence cannot be evaluated until you
come to the end and can judge its aptness. This was particularly true of this haibun. The
purity of tone in this haibun resonated with both of us instantly. The writer’s ability to convey
the passage of time in a minimum of words was remarkable. The baby, seemingly effortlessly,
emerges as a treble in the boy’s choir. The gleam in his eye becomes starlight. There is
something near-magical about this haibun, yet its vision is deeply rooted in the reality of
choral music.
Thresholds in Octaves
Diana Webb, UK
Sing to him they said. So we did. We sang of how beautiful he was over and over. His lids
hadn't opened nor his chords vibrated. And we kept on singing.
baby's first whimper
notes of the bluebird
gleam in his eye
Many years later he's in the choir. Reflected back the glint of a star.
boy treble
how long before
a new dawn breaks
------
Third Place
Judges Commentary
Right from the start, the author draws us into the experience: in particular, the power of the
elk. We, too, “feel the energy.” This haibun works because the prose is evocative and brings
us to a specific location, and because the haiku heightens our sensations. We liked the
specificity of the prose and the mystery of the ethereal haiku. All in all, a great combination
of prose and poetry.
Wapiti
Sally Quon, Canada
Across the lake we could see the elk, at least two hundred of them; most were in the water,
some were on the bank, and a few were in the meadow beyond. Two bucks began to fight in
the meadow, and within moments, the water had cleared, elk bounding onto the shore and
beyond.
Even from our vantage point on the far side of the lake, I could feel the energy, wild and
sexual.
In the evening, we drove down the dusty lane to a large meadow. The elk had begun to gather
near the tree line at dusk. The bugle of the bull elk sounded like a woman screaming –
haunting and ethereal. It was a call to battle, and we watched as the elk fought, two by two,
until there was a winner. The winner then chose a female to be added to his harem. Pearly
clouds of dust rose from the hooved feet of the elk, drifting across the meadow, and though
darkness fell over the valley, the clash of antlers continued until dawn.
after the battle
through early morning mist
the vanishing elk
------
Honourable Mention
Judges Commentary
This haibun creatively paired ekphrastic prose with a nature haiku. These were unified with
raw language congruent with the subject matter. We were not familiar with the sculpture, but
the specific language made us see it. Also, we felt as if we witnessed the aerial combat.
Overall, a powerful piece of writing that evokes a place and mood.
SWUNG INTO PLACE BY CONSTRUCTION CRANES
Alice Wanderer, Australia
Bruce Armstrong’s Sentinel is a five-meter-tall sculpture of a white-bellied sea eagle on a
plinth. It stands on a slope overlooking the pier. Roughly cut out of hardwood with a
chainsaw and painted white, it looks like a body can feel from the inside. Only the massive
beak, protruding directly from the top of the skull, and the two black dots for eyes are
representative. Its beak points north, in the direction of its cousin sculpture, the 23-metre-tall,
wedge-tailed eagle on Wurundjeri Way in Melbourne’s Docklands.
These raptors – both with wingspans greater than my height – evolved to divide the hunting
grounds of land and sea between them. But as development is shrinking habitat, they battle
over nesting spaces.
the clash
as they lock talons in midair
two hammering hearts