Highly Commended
Monday, April 20, 2020
Santoka: Haiku Poetry Lovers Association - 3rd International Haiku and Haiga Contest, 2020
Honoured to have this work translated into Serbian!
Poetry Pea, March 2020
You Tube - Pea TV: "A Walk by the Aegerisee" - March 9, 2020
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
glassy lake
flocks of snow geese
pull up the moon
1st Place, 2017 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest
Poetry Pea, March 2020
The Haiku Pea Podcast:
Series 3, Episode 6 - "Recipes", March 12, 2020
grandma's bread . . .
the love she forgot
to add
Series 3, Episode 6 - "Recipes", March 12, 2020
grandma's bread . . .
the love she forgot
to add
Poetry Pea, February 2020
The Haiku Pea Podcast:
Series 3, Episode 4 - "Loving the Haiku and Senryu", February 18, 2020
Valentine's Day
our Dalmatian pup's
new red leash
Series 3, Episode 4 - "Loving the Haiku and Senryu", February 18, 2020
Valentine's Day
our Dalmatian pup's
new red leash
San Francisco International Rengay Competition, 2019
Rengay written with Jennifer Hambrick (in normal type) and Debbie Strange (in italics):
In the Key of Grey
hydro lines
the sixteenth notes
of grackles
morning
in the key of grey
the lullaby
of wind through grain
empty silo
high lonesome
a crush of midnight
shadows
barbed wire
the descant of coyotes
curving
into the distance
a train's lament
Third Place (tied)
Excerpted from the judge's comments:
...It was one of very few rengay with a double theme. And the music references are skillfully incorporated into each verse, all of which relate very nicely to one another. I found this rengay to be very aesthetically pleasing.
—Seren Fargo
The British Haiku Society Awards, 2019
Thrilled to receive the following four awards:
between the spokes
of your spinning wheel
a dusty web . . .
I never thought our lives
would so quickly unwind
Winner
Judge's comments:
For the overall winner, I've chosen this tanka by Debbie Strange from Canada. It has a fantastic visual juxtaposition of a spinning wheel with a web between its spokes. I can see this sitting in someone's attics for a long time gathering dust. The final word "unwind" allows readers to literally unwind from the tanka itself. All the words that have a "w" sound are a plus, "between", "wheel", "web", "would", and "unwind". Not to count syllables but, this is a fine example of writing a crescendo into the tanka. Debbie's two shortest lines being the same count, the first long line (2) is one beat longer, the second long line (4) is two beats longer, and so forth until the final and longest line by three beats which created its fine crescendo.
between the spokes
of your spinning wheel
a dusty web . . .
I never thought our lives
would so quickly unwind
Winner
Judge's comments:
For the overall winner, I've chosen this tanka by Debbie Strange from Canada. It has a fantastic visual juxtaposition of a spinning wheel with a web between its spokes. I can see this sitting in someone's attics for a long time gathering dust. The final word "unwind" allows readers to literally unwind from the tanka itself. All the words that have a "w" sound are a plus, "between", "wheel", "web", "would", and "unwind". Not to count syllables but, this is a fine example of writing a crescendo into the tanka. Debbie's two shortest lines being the same count, the first long line (2) is one beat longer, the second long line (4) is two beats longer, and so forth until the final and longest line by three beats which created its fine crescendo.
—an'ya
watching you
prepare a star fruit
just so
the small galaxies
of grace in your hands
Runner-up (chosen by an'ya)
Honourable Mention (chosen by Gregory Longenecker)
Honourable Mention (chosen by Gregory Longenecker)
Judges' comments:
For runner-up, surprising but not surprisingly by the same talented author, Debbie Strange. The rhythm is there, it makes a nature reference via fruit, plus the human element. It's succinct, and yet this tanka is complete. The reference to "star fruit" and "small galaxies" is a striking comparison. The final line is memorable and adds "grace" to the whole tanka as well.
—an'ya
This is a deceptively simple tanka. The poet observes someone working with star fruit and enters a meditation. They notice the small things being done, "just so." There is a kind of magic or "grace." "The small galaxies" refers to the fruit and/or the work performed by the preparer.
—Gregory Longenecker
a black river
of ants surges across
the pavement
they know their destination
long before I know mine
2nd Honourable Mention
Judge's comments:
Judge's comments:
Again, another well written and poignant tanka by Debbie Strange from Canada. The mention of ants as a black river surging across the pavement is a super visual, and there's a solid human element of compassion in this one too.
—an'ya
Call of the Page: Haiku at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, 2020
Masters of Japanese Prints: Nature and Seasons
Beyond honoured to have the following tanka paired with "The Hollow of the Deep Sea Wave off Kanagawa", 1830-31, by Katsushika Hokusai:
the ocean
was in a rage last night
but today,
these peace offerings
of blue musssels and kelp
1st Place, 2018 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest
Beyond honoured to have the following tanka paired with "The Hollow of the Deep Sea Wave off Kanagawa", 1830-31, by Katsushika Hokusai:
the ocean
was in a rage last night
but today,
these peace offerings
of blue musssels and kelp
1st Place, 2018 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest
Australian Haiku Society, April 2020
Honoured to say that this haiku was included in the PDF booklet featuring selected poems from the prompt!
aloneness . . .
one star pokes a hole
in the night
Thursday, April 16, 2020
World Haiku, Number 16, 2020
Translated into Japanese
farmstead
a cobweb where
my window was
traffic jam
a different song
in each lane
swallowtails
the pause between folding
and unfolding
Note: these haiku previously appeared in Akitsu Quarterly
farmstead
a cobweb where
my window was
traffic jam
a different song
in each lane
swallowtails
the pause between folding
and unfolding
Note: these haiku previously appeared in Akitsu Quarterly
Tofino Poet Laureate - National Poetry Month Initiative, April 2020
Tofino Poet Laureate, Joanna Streetly, featured the following tanka on her blog for National Poetry Month Day 7 (April 7, 2020):
between the spokes
of your spinning wheel
a dusty web . . .
I never thought our lives
would so quickly unwind
1st Place
2019 British Haiku Society Awards, Tanka Section
between the spokes
of your spinning wheel
a dusty web . . .
I never thought our lives
would so quickly unwind
1st Place
2019 British Haiku Society Awards, Tanka Section
The Heron's Nest, Volume 21, 2019
heirloom hollyhocks
I still see father kneeling
in a patch of light
summer solstice the length of a beaver's incisors
deserted farm
the random acts
of hollyhocks
I still see father kneeling
in a patch of light
summer solstice the length of a beaver's incisors
deserted farm
the random acts
of hollyhocks
The Cherita, Book 34, January 2020
Issue: "a home for the wind"
unfettered
I let
myself go
a red kite's wings
measure the width
of this loneliness
A Cherita Lighthouse Award
hordes of crows
settle among treetops
outside my window
their wings whisper
an omen that someone
is about to die
at the waterfall
elephants perish while trying
to rescue each other
there is a lesson here
that humanity seems
to have forgotten
you seek me out
in my sun-dusted
writing room
but I have
already left my body
behind
windows rolled down
my fingers
splayed against the wind
a rooster tail
of prairie dust is all
I ever leave behind
unfettered
I let
myself go
a red kite's wings
measure the width
of this loneliness
A Cherita Lighthouse Award
hordes of crows
settle among treetops
outside my window
their wings whisper
an omen that someone
is about to die
at the waterfall
elephants perish while trying
to rescue each other
there is a lesson here
that humanity seems
to have forgotten
you seek me out
in my sun-dusted
writing room
but I have
already left my body
behind
windows rolled down
my fingers
splayed against the wind
a rooster tail
of prairie dust is all
I ever leave behind
Tempslibres - Free Times: Bilingual Project, 2017 - 2020
Translated into French by Serge Tomé with commentary including deep analysis of the structure of these haiku at:
March 1, 2020
bus window fog
the heart someone
left behind
Stardust Haiku 38, March 2020
February 2, 2019
rusted gate
old lilacs blooming
for no one
Selected Haiku, 2015 Yamadera Basho Haiku Contest
January 2, 2017
fly fishing
a rainbow arcs across
evening
Creatrix 33, June 2016
(Nominated by the editors for a Touchstone Individual Award 2016)
bus window fog
the heart someone
left behind
Stardust Haiku 38, March 2020
February 2, 2019
rusted gate
old lilacs blooming
for no one
Selected Haiku, 2015 Yamadera Basho Haiku Contest
January 2, 2017
fly fishing
a rainbow arcs across
evening
Creatrix 33, June 2016
(Nominated by the editors for a Touchstone Individual Award 2016)
Tanka Origins, Issue 3, April 2020
My thanks to the editor, an'ya, for her lovely commentary!
the autumn wind
whispers a lament
of longing
I wonder again
why you let me go
"Ah, another excellent tanka by a well liked popular poetess, Debbie Strange in Canada. Again an example of how to start with nature and end with a human element. This one is also an example of a "question tanka" which leaves the reader wondering. The words "longing" and "lament" make this tanka flow smoothly as well. Fine work as usual Debbie!"
the autumn wind
whispers a lament
of longing
I wonder again
why you let me go
"Ah, another excellent tanka by a well liked popular poetess, Debbie Strange in Canada. Again an example of how to start with nature and end with a human element. This one is also an example of a "question tanka" which leaves the reader wondering. The words "longing" and "lament" make this tanka flow smoothly as well. Fine work as usual Debbie!"
Seashores - An International Journal to Share the Spirit of Haiku, Vol. 4, April 2020
tree shadows
the stories you tell me
grow longer
sunless day
the sparks of mica
under our boots
the stories you tell me
grow longer
sunless day
the sparks of mica
under our boots
Our Best Haiga: Black & White Haiga/Haisha, March 2020
Curated by Lavana Kray
March 8, 2020
Note: this tanka art originally appeared in Ribbons 13.2, Spring/Summer 2017
March 22, 2020
Note: this monostich originally appeared in #FemkuMag 19, December 2019
March 22, 2020
Note: this haiga received 1st Honourable Mention in the Mixed Media Category of the 2017 Jane Reichhold Haiga Competition
March 26, 2020
Note: this tanka art originally appeared in Skylark 6.2, Winter 2018
March 29, 2020
Note: this haiga originally appeared in Ephemerae 1A, April 2018
#FemkuMag: An E-zine of Womxn's Haiku - Issue 22, March 2020
a halo around
the long night moon . . .
I find
another strand
of mother's light
Winner, 10th Annual Moonbathing Tanka Contest, 2018
Coming Undone
She always wore the same sweater. I've kept it all these years, and I wear it whenever my memories of her start to fade. Today, the last button came off, and I put it in the sweater's frayed pocket for safekeeping. When it slipped through a hole, and dropped between the floorboards, I finally realized that she was never coming home.
heirloom quilt
sparrow prints embossed
on new snow
2nd Publisher's Choice Award
KYSO Flash Haibun and Tanka Prose Contest, 2016
the long night moon . . .
I find
another strand
of mother's light
Winner, 10th Annual Moonbathing Tanka Contest, 2018
Coming Undone
She always wore the same sweater. I've kept it all these years, and I wear it whenever my memories of her start to fade. Today, the last button came off, and I put it in the sweater's frayed pocket for safekeeping. When it slipped through a hole, and dropped between the floorboards, I finally realized that she was never coming home.
heirloom quilt
sparrow prints embossed
on new snow
2nd Publisher's Choice Award
KYSO Flash Haibun and Tanka Prose Contest, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)