2024 Porad Award Winners

Alan S. Bridges, Judge

Angela Terry, Contest Coordinator

Sponsored by Haiku Northwest

First Place ($100)

on my knees

to see the underside of things . . .

hellebore bloom

David Berger

Seattle, Washington

I am immediately drawn to this poem for its multiple facets and potential interpretations. In the first line I visualize someone bent in prayer or supplication, as they examine their surroundings, perhaps meditatively. A hellebore is often the first flower to blossom in spring, so possibly the writer is looking forward with a hopeful but cautious eye to the future. l love the euphony of the concluding line and the way the author has subliminally included the word “hell” in conjunction with a reference to the dark side or underbelly of life, from which we know ugliness and evil so that we may understand beauty and goodness, as instructed in the teachings of Daoist philosopher Laozi.

Second Place ($50)

winter fog

the frayed remnants

of a sailor’s knot

Paula Sears

Exeter, New Hampshire

There are multiple types of sailor’s knots, including loops at the end of a rope, bends to join two ropes together, and hitches to attach a rope to a fixed object. I am most familiar with the cleat hitch to fix a line from a boat to a dock cleat. Generally, sailor’s knots are a means of securing something with a rope, except when it becomes frayed and ultimately fails, or in this haiku the metaphorical allusion to winter fog as it dissolves its surroundings. One can imagine the way the cold fog is loosening our connection to reality.

Third Place ($25)

lichen blooming

on the lighthouse granite—

distant thunderheads

Kristen Lindquist

Camden, Maine

This poem shares both tactility and visual resonance—lichen, granite, and thunderheads. What also strikes me is the powerful linkage between the image of close-up lichen and distant thunderheads, in shape and form, indeed blossoming. This is another haiku that effectively uses euphony to accentuate the delivery and raise it to a level that is praiseworthy.

Honorable Mentions (unranked)

sweetgrass . . .

braiding summer

into a basket

Carole MacRury

Point Roberts, Washington

With roots in Africa, sweetgrass basketry is an artisanal tradition in the South Carolinian low country where bulrush reeds thrive. This haiku is woven like a basket itself, with tightness, precision, and texture, and a musicality that draws us into the rich history of the Gullah craftspeople who have continued this time-honored practice.

..................................................sandpiper

petro c.k.

Seattle, Washington

There were a few innovative-form haiku submit[1]ted to the contest and this one stands out because it is both a single word and concrete poem. I first read it on my cellphone and the dots, or footprints, led me off the screen to find that I was following a shorebird!

lost in the rain

the line between

sea and sky

Ravi Kiran

Hyderabad, India

Another exemplary haiku, this poem posits that someone is lost in the rain and then paints the picture that the sea and sky have become one. Perhaps the lost person finds himself in a netherworld where there are no boundaries. The alliteration and echoing sounds work in concert to invite us into this mysterious place.

Judge’s Thanks

I am pleased that Haiku Northwest invited me to judge the 2024 Porad Awards and was delighted to have had so many excellent examples from which to select. In retrospect I see that I primarily chose poems that included natural phenomena and atmospherics. I commend and thank all the participants.

Alan S. Bridges

Bellingham, Washington

Coordinator’s Thanks

A big thank you to Alan S. Bridges for judging the 2024 Porad Award, especially as the timing was less than stellar due to his imminent move from Massachusetts to Washington state. I enjoy his clear insight and commentary on the winning haiku. A thank you also goes to all the participants in this year’s contest. We had 623 haiku submitted by 129 poets from 26 states, four Canadian provinces and 11 additional countries around the world. We look forward to your participation in next year’s contest and invite you to join Haiku Northwest at our monthly meetings, as well as our annual Seabeck Haiku Getaway.

Angela Terry

Porad Award Coordinator