Haiku Invitational
March 1 – June 1
The Haiku Invitational is an international online contest that attracts submissions from all over the world.
The top poems in six main categories (Vancouver, BC, Canada, the United States, International, and Youth (age 17 and under) will be featured in the Haiku Canada newsletter, an online publication in the newsletter of the Haiku Society of America, and published on the VCBF website.
These haiku will not only be showcased but also receive special celebrity readings, bringing them to life in a truly captivating manner during the Festival. Moreover, they take center stage in the Haiku Exhibition, where Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Watuth, and Japanese-Canadian visual artists transform these poetic gems into stunning visual pieces. As we look ahead, our program is set to grow even further, as we plan to collaborate with talented Japanese artists this Spring, fostering cross-cultural creativity and celebrating the essence of haiku through a global lens.
To encourage the writing, reading, and appreciation of this poetic form judges choose poems in additional categories of “Sakura Awards” and “Honourable Mention.”
Top 2023 Winners
| Vancouver cherry blossoms . . . we switch to our mother tongue Antoinette Cheung Vancouver, British Columbia | United States collecting blossom petals the shelter entry John Pappas Brighton, Massachusetts |
| British Columbia giving everything possible cherry trees C. Jean Downer White Rock, British Columbia | International daybreak a blackbird sings the cherry into bloom Polona Oblak Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Canada first blossoms a bit of Bach from a busker’s guitar LeRoy Gorman Napanee, Ontario | Youth late-night fog cherry blossoms light the way Isabella Slattery Shannon, Age 11 Christchurch, New Zealand |
‘November Cherry Blossoms A Haiku Zoom Reading’ Recording
Relive the magic of our ‘November Cherry Blossoms: A Haiku Invitational Zoom Reading’! In this recording, immerse yourself in the beauty of haiku and cherry blossoms showcased during our interactive Zoom gathering. Feel the global resonance as haiku enthusiasts from different parts of the world came together to celebrate this beautiful poetic form.
About Haiku ↗
Read all about haiku, including form and technique.
Learning Haiku ↗
Find materials to introduce haiku to both teachers and students.
Winning Haiku ↗
Read all winning haiku entries from 2006 – 2023.
Haiku Exhibition ↗
Celebrating winning haiku with a unique Haiku Exhibition with commissioned pieces by Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh artists.
2023 Winners ↗
Meet our 2023 Haiku Invitational Winners.
2023 Commentary ↗
Read the judges’ 2023 Commentary for inspiration for your own haiku.
2023 Sakura Awards and Honourable Mentions ↗
View additional categories of 2023 Sakura Awards and Honourable Mentions.
2024 HAIKU INVITATIONAL
Judges
Antoinette Cheung
Antoinette Cheung is currently coeditor for the journals Prune Juice and Confluence, which celebrate the art of Japanese short-form poetry in a contemporary English-language context. Her work has been published in leading haiku/senryu journals and anthologies, including The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku. She has been honoured with awards including the 2023 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Top Vancouver Winner, Bashō-an Award from the Fifth International English Haiku Competition, and Haiku Canada’s 2021 Betty Drevniok Award. Antoinette serves as coordinator of the Haiku Social Club, which provides a space for poets aged 40 and under to connect and share their work.
Garry Gay
Garry Gay was born in Glendale, California, in 1951, and now lives in Windsor, California. He received his B.P.A. degree in photography in 1974 and has been a professional photographer since 1980. He started writing haiku in 1975, greatly influenced by Bashō’s Narrow Road to the Deep North. In 1989 he cofounded the Haiku Poets of Northern California and was their first president. As president, Garry founded the Two Autumns reading series. In 1991, he was elected as president of the Haiku Society of America and founded Haiku North America, a biennial haiku conference. In 1996 he cofounded the American Haiku Archives in Sacramento, California. He is the creator of the poetic form called rengay. Garry’s work has been published in nearly every English-language haiku journal, and he has won numerous awards, including first place in the Spiess Award in 2004, first place in the Haiku Society of America’s Brady Senryu Award in 2010, first place in the HSA’s Henderson Haiku Award in 2011, and first place in the first Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards in 2013. Garry is the author of The Billboard Cowboy, The Silent Garden, Wings of Moonlight, River Stones, Along the Way, and The Unlocked Gate with John Thompson. Visit his photography website at https://garry-gay.pixels.com/.
Michael Dylan Welch
Michael Dylan Welch has been investigating haiku and related poetry since 1976. He cofounded the Haiku North America conference in 1991 and the American Haiku Archives in 1996, and founded the Tanka Society of America in 2000, the Seabeck Haiku Getaway in 2008, and National Haiku Writing Month (www.nahaiwrimo.com) in 2010. Michael has won first prize in numerous contests for haiku and related poetry, edited and written dozens of poetry books, and spoken at many literary conferences and retreats. His haiku have been carved into stone in New Zealand, printed on balloons in Los Angeles, and read for the Empress of Japan and at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Michael has an MA in English, served two terms as poet laureate of Redmond, Washington, has curated two poetry reading series since 2006 and 2008, and has taught for an MFA program and at local schools and libraries. Michael was keynote speaker for the 2013 Haiku International Association annual convention in Japan (which he visits often with his Japanese wife) and had one of his Japanese translations printed on the back of 150,000,000 postage stamps in 2012. He has been consulting with the VCBF since the Haiku Invitational began in 2006. In 2009, Michael started his website, www.graceguts.com, where he continues to collect and share his published writing. He was born in England, and was raised there and in Ghana, Australia, and Canada. Michael continues to investigate haiku where he now lives in Sammamish, Washington.
Programs subject to change.
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