Competitions for the Herb Barrett Award, “an annual prize for poetry in the haiku tradition,” were held from 1996 through 2000, sponsored by the Hamilton (Ontario) Haiku Press, in memory of the founder of the press, Herb Barrett (1912–1995).
Competitions for the Herb Barrett Award, “an annual prize for poetry in the haiku tradition,” were held for five years, from 1996 through 2000. The international contests were sponsored by the Hamilton Haiku Press, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in memory of the founder of the press,Herb Barrett (1912–1995), distinguished poet, painter, editor, and publisher.
The competition attracted entries from throughout North America, atthough Canadian poets were best represented among the award winners. In addition to Sandra Fuhringer, the founder of the Hamilton Haiku Workshop, two other residents of the city, Margaret Saunders and Mary Partridge, were among the laureates. Prizes of Can$150 for First Place, $125 for Second, and $100 for Third.
Contest adjudication was handled by a single judge selected by the sponsors. The judge also edited the award anthology for the given year—see the list of publications under Sources below. These anthologies included not only the winning haiku but a selection of other entries as well.
Herb Barrett Award, 2000
| Judge | Denver Stull | |
| First Prize | Joanne Morcom | prairie sunset the old shed leans into it |
| Second Prize | Patricia M. Benedict | Lop-sided swing — The broken seat supports one yellow leaf. |
| Third Prize | Hans Jongman | deertracks around the snowman his carrot-nose gone |
| Honourable Mention (3) | Becky D. Alexander | riding the grapevine through the wind — a flock of blackbirds |
| Louise Beaven | among the antiques an ivory elephant. tuskless | |
| L. DeVar Dahl | first snow the paperboy’s path from house to house |
Herb Barrett Award, 1999
| Judge | Hans Jongman | |
| First Prize | Sandra Fuhringer | from table to table the cafe waiter sweeping leaves |
| Second Prize | Harry R. Gilli | tiny pie-billed grebe— its wake the width of the river |
| Third Prize | Dorothy McLaughlin | field of ripe pumpkins, their orange vanishing into twilight |
| Honourable Mention | Dorothy McLaughlin | in father’s garden we pick his last tomatoes, dew chilling our hands |
Herb Barrett Award, 1998
| Judge | Michael Dylan Welch | |
| First Prize | Timothy Russell | cold morning— the sparrow’s twitch ripples through the spirea |
| Second Prize | A. C. Missias | city park— the wind takes a leaf from the chessboard |
| Third Prize | Ferris Gilli | white sand— the injured wasp draws another loop |
| Honourable Mention (2) | Izak Bouwer | longer days— behind the icicles a little spider |
| Sandra Fuhringer | midnight rain the vacancy sign is turned off |
Herb Barrett Award, 1997
| Judge | Margaret Saunders | |
| First Prize | Giovanni Malito | cold morning — the man at the bus stop swallowing his neck |
| Second Prize | Elizabeth St Jacques | Spring break my old tomcat limping home |
| Third Prize | Sandra Fuhringer | in a backyard two women folding sunlight into sheets |
| Honourable Mention (3) | Winona Baker | horse’s muzzle melts the moon in the trough |
| Ann Goldring | on my knees — the taste of that first strawberry | |
| Myra Stilborn | Clear ice on the pond — the skater cuts figure eights on moving clouds |
Herb Barrett Award, 1996
| Judge | LeRoy Gorman | |
| First Prize | Jeffrey Witkin | gathering light … one swell of the sea becomes another |
| Second Prize | Brian David Johnston | fox sparrow disturbing dead leaves … reading your epitaph |
| Third Prize | Mary Partridge | Two miners still trapped we wait through another commercial break |
| Honourable Mention | Margaret Saunders | step by step from the river’s roar the river’s hush |
Sources / Further Reading
The Herb Barrett Awards anthologies:
- Gorman, LeRoy, ed. Gathering Light, an international haiku anthology: the winning poems of The Herb Barrett Award, 1996. Illustrated by Gilda Mekler. Hamilton, Ont.: Hamilton Haiku Press, ©1997.
- Saunders, Margaret, ed. Cold Morning: an international haiku anthology: the winning poems of The Herb Barrett Award, 1997. Illustrated by Gilda Mekler. Hamilton, Ont.: Hamilton Haiku Press, ©1998.
- Welch, Michael Dylan, ed. Through the Spirea, an international haiku anthology: the winning poems of The Herb Barrett Award, 1998. Illustrated by Gilda Mekler. Hamilton, Ont.: Hamilton Haiku Press, ©1999. Black-and-white illustrations.
- Jongman, Hans, ed. Sweeping Leaves, an international haiku anthology: the winning poems of The Herb Barrett Award, 1999. Illustrated by Gilda Mekler. Hamilton, Ont.: Hamilton Haiku Press, ©2000.
- Stull, Denver, ed. Prairie Sunset, an international haiku anthology: the winning poems of The Herb Barrett Award, 2000. Illustrated by Gilda Mekler. Hamilton, Ont.: Hamilton Haiku Press, ©2005.