Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition (2020– )

The Society of Classical Poets, which describes itself as “a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 2012 as a group of poets dedicated to the revival and proliferation of good, new poetry,” inaugurated an online haiku competition in 2020. Conducted blog-style on the SCP website, the annual competitions have attracted submissions from hundreds of haiku poets from around the world and with a wide range of experience.

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Regulations and Procedures

(Adapted from information for the 2025 competition from the Society of Classical Poets website.)

Eligibility: Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate. Membership in the Society of Classical Poets is not required. SCP members directly involved in judging the contest are not eligible, but all others may participate.

Submit traditional haiku: Each competitor may submit up to three haiku of traditional form: three lines per poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second, and 5 in the third. Entries should also conform to other traditional haiku requirements as outlined in the article “How to Write Haiku” by Margaret Coats on the SCP website.

Entries that do not meet basic traditional haiku requirements may be deleted. Anyone who submits more than three entries will have ALL his or her entries disqualified unless excess entries are clearly withdrawn by a later Comment.

By submitting haiku to this contest, the contestant declares that the poems are his or her own work, and that they were written in the last twelve months and therefore are not a repeat submission from a previous year. Poems written using artificial intelligence (AI) are not allowed. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names.

Submission procedures: The SCP Haiku Competition is conducted openly on the Society website (i.e., not blindly judged). The new competition is announced at the end of July, and during the ensuing six-week period, poets submit their work in the form of Comments on the online announcement. The accumulating Comments form a string that is visible by all participants. The discussion is moderated by a coordinator, who calls attention to violations of the regulations, points out deviations from traditional-form haiku, and accepts or rejects poets’ changes in previous submissions.

Adjudication: Judges are selected by the Society and announced in advance of the competition.

Results are announced on the SCP website a few weeks after the closing of the contest. Archives of past competitors and winners are also available on the website.

Prize: In 2025 the competition winner received $200. If not a U.S. resident, the winner must have a PayPal account or an account with a bank that accepts U.S. checks in order to receive prize money.

Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition, 2025

Judges	J. Thomas Rimer and Margaret Coats
Number of entries	1292
Results announced	Society of Classical Poets website, August 28, 2025
Winner	Rifka Kaplan-Peck	Pine shadow stretches A spine on the grassy field Unobtrusively
High Distinction (3)	David McMurray	aloha print shorts on a wave riding the moon to a bamboo hut
	Mike Johansson	Mist lifts from the sea The pohutuwaka burns On a salt-kissed shore
	Shofiqure Rahman	stillness in the pond a dragonfly splits the light without making sound
Runners-up (27) in seasonal order	David Drizner	I, food for the worms Worms become food for the birds Birds, beauty and song
	Ron C. Moss	reincarnation . . . the late gardener’s seed packets ready for planting
	Cezar Ciobîcă	graduation day . . . a baby grasshopper jumps through the barbed wire fence
	Ryan McCartney	after the first rain a boy buries his sandals beneath the wet field
	Andrew Shimield	bank holiday beach barely room for flesh to tan between the tattoos
	Daril B. Bentley	Yellow crab spider on a beach of greenery— mayflies the seagulls
	Matias Basso	Two chairs in the sun, your hand brushing mine slowly, ice melts in the glass
	Zvonko Jurčević	little night music— Mozart in the canopy cricket on the leaf
	Scott Mason	field of lightning bugs for an instant one perfect moment of darkness
	Scharlie Meeuws	My eighty-two years Sailing still in calm waters Breathe among the frogs
	Sam Kauffman	indian paintbrush spikes like crimson firecrackers— seeds of prairie fire
	Rita Pomade	in sweltering heat the sudden screech of sirens stilled streets jolt alive
	Paul Engel	behind glass, seals dive wide-eyed kid watches bubbles … red snow cone mustache
	Louis Groarke	A dead grasshopper All around in withered grass Its neighbors still sing
	Nuala Carr	Lord, I’ll pursue you as the swift wave does the shore, breaking as I go
	Priscilla Pittington	Desert sands at dusk The hourglass empties again Into starry sky
	Kseniia Klesova	the warm summer sea does not ask who I once was it just lets me float
	Meera Rehm	old age wanderlust— a slug stretches its eyestalks into summer sun
	Gigi Ryan	weary trees drop leaves crispy from the heat of drought aching for autumn
	Emily Meng	Old and enduring, white light shines on dusty road— pilgrims and the moon
	Vera Kochanowsky	red leaves and yellow falling on the woodland path slow me on my way
	Eduard Țară	one by one falling the chestnut leaves making room for the milky way
	Kindall Kirby	empty autumn beach I write your name on the sand waves forget for me
	Rich N.	Miniscule cell walls I wish our prison had plants I’d break every pot
	Simar Sodhi	Sleep slowly dances On a frosty window sill Inviting the night
	Grishma Ruiya	Footprints in the snow, leading where I cannot go, melt before I learn
	Portly Bard	dingy, splotchy white winter tiger’s toothless fight shadowboxing light

Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition, 2024

Judges	J. Thomas Rimer and Margaret Coats
Number of entries	393
Results announced	September 29, 2024, on the SCP website
Winner	Jason Mackey	middle of winter— an old friend and I part ways before a black bridge
Runners-up (19) in seasonal order	Emily C. A. Snyder	five red petals fall stain Demeter’s sobbing snow; pomegranate Spring
	Jeffrey Ferrara	the first drop of sap hitting softly the bottom of an old steel pail
	Sebastian Chrobak	the start of spring break all those heavy books stay still deep in the backpack
	Koichi Kazama	a leaf and a worm lying wet on the wayside after a spring storm
	Aaman Lamba	Foam, flashing white, red Spirit over the waters Ten thousand fishes
	James Presley	standing smug and louche the dandelion strikes a pose on my well-coiffed lawn
	Catherine Posey	Meadow daisies bow. Eagles soar, clouds pause, taps play Rain mingles with tears.
	Mantz Yorke	hands scratched and juice-stained after blackberry picking spiders re-spin webs
	Halli Steinberg	A flash of lightning In awe of Mother Nature, I count the seconds …
	Cindy Greene	I sprint to dinner warm rain spatters my sweater leaving cheetah spots …
	Nitu Yumnam	submerged paper boat the toddler retrieves his tears from the puddle’s edge
	Alvin B. Cruz	waves unearthing shells deeply buried in the sand— those words left unsaid
	Talbot Hook	Resinous bombshell Explodes my hammocking daze A falling pinecone
	David John Etchell	where stubbled fields wait cloying mists haunt low hollows slow plows brow the earth
	Mary H. Sayler	Pumpkin orange moon perched alone on a tree branch— nothing rhymes with you
	Miodrag Kojadinović	Swooshing from red woods train hoots at curved viaduct near my parents’ grave
	Hannah Xman	Souls lost in shadows, Chasing echoes through the dark, Fires fade, cold remains.
	Ngo Binh Anh Khoa	mother’s braided hair the exposed roots of an oak covered in fresh snow
	Skye Campbell	Stiff cracks split cold glass Breaking wintry calm under Furry moccasins

Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition, 2023

Judges	J. Thomas Rimer andMargaret Coats
Number of entries	492
Results announced	September 29, 2023, on the SCP website
Winner	Alena Casey	Swallow, an arrow bursts across the burnished blue I cannot catch time
Runners-up (22) in seasonal order	Keith A. Simmonds	Splinters of sunshine piercing the morning silence … icicles crumble
	Lucia Haase	oh I cannot touch that branch of cherry blossoms that is touching me
	Andrew Shimield	on Easter Sunday a great tit out and about in his smart black cap
	Hla Yin Mon	mid-monsoon showers the sound of daily footsteps turns into splashes
	Stefanie Bucifal	as I walk barefoot my footsteps are filling up with rain, then sunshine
	Barbara Strang	twilight gardening a grey and white mosquito flits ever closer
	Gigi Ryan	Waked to August rain Soothing in its constancy With it my heart beats
	Richard Matta	In the oar’s eddy swirling on a maple leaf one ant near the edge
	Maura H. Harrison	Peaches picked, not ripe Sit on the sill and sweeten Aging, we summer
	Ruddy Gordon	The old man sits there Watching the magnolias— Lost in yesterday
	Paul A. Freeman	Patient desert winds grain-by-grain shift a sand dune. Thus mountains are moved.
	Portly Bard	cracking desert crust skies reclaiming silent clouds summer humbling earth
	Sharon Mueller	Solstice Summer in decline In my bones I can feel it Earth’s tilt and turning
	Carey Jobe	Out of parched corn-rows fly fat, black ears—the wind reaps a harvest of crows
	Neena Singh	a cold lonesome night through the half-open window climbs the harvest moon
	Sheila Barksdale	swans, having cast off their indigo hakama share grey skymantle
	Jacquie Pearce	abandoned farmhouse collapsing into itself if not for the vines
	Alex Malley	moon in a puddle the wet and dark reverse side of a fallen leaf
	Marcellin Dallaire-Beaumont	leafless cherry trees— the same world as yesterday but with no more love
	Eduard Țară	snowy train station my window stopping slowly to frame the silence
	Ian Richardson	Huddled in holly cold sparrows without a neck. Winter seclusion.
	Urszula Marciniak	the crowded ballroom and snowflakes swirl quietly outside the window

Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition, 2022

Judge	Margaret Coats
Number of entries	612
Results announced	August 30, 2022, on the SCP website
Winner	Ngo Binh Anh Khoa	a cicada’s husk grandfather in his best suit hands folded, eyes closed
Runners-up (21) (in seasonal order)	Hannah Lee	New blooms on black trees veiled in quiet bone-white fog spring’s dirge to winter
	Oluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina	blossoms of the spring two high school students fighting for the window seat
	Mia P. Solomonides	Delicate white wings dance over sun-kissed petals tipsy with nectar
	Michael Lowenberg	Yes, there is a dove sitting in a tall oak tree. I hear a high coo.
	Mantz Yorke	Cerulean sky above yellow sunflowers The smell of burning
	Raymond C. Roy	mushroom multitudes popping up after the rain a refugee camp
	Michael David Eaton	Turtle, a green leaf blown slowly over the ground by a lazy breeze
	Benjamin Bläsi	lost in perfumed air a small skipper is crossing the wildflower sea
	Ezeifedi Chibueze	The night condenses into black brown coffee drops. They stain the morning.
	Jyi Jyo	Wet cement sky leaks the hills melt into red sludge banana plants mould
	Srini	high-rise balcony the perfect panorama of summertime smog
	Bentley Brock	Secrets long buried Beneath this rushing river Now breathe summer air
	Urszula Marciniak	a hot summer night only a slice of the moon for my refreshment
	Natalie Tokita	the last fallen rose wilts sweetly, lightly, slowly blushing so faintly
	Stefanie Bucifal	blue morning-glories mirroring a cloudless sky blue morning-glories
	Andrew Shimield	Halloween party The devil’s fork in his hand bigger than he is
	Mihael de la Montagnes	Autumn spider spins Silk threads overwintering Her offspring within
	John Sheills	Fall’s artillery Acorns spatter on my roof Rat! Tat! Winter comes
	John Kolyav	Concentration camp From the bottom barbed wire hangs Skin scrape frost-encased
	Brianna C	Winter grips us still Icicle soul siesta Drip me back to life
	Rose Jakubaszek	Let’s meet, you and I Under winter cherry trees Love won’t wait till spring

Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition, 2021

Judge	Margaret Coats
Number of entries	807
Results announced	September 5, 2021, on the SCP website
Winner	Joe Tessitore	Fog enshrouds the night Woven in the heavy mist A thread of fireflies
Runners-up (20) in seasonal order	Sean Hickey	Spring in the hedgerows Magpies busy canceling Fresh twitter accounts
	Germain Droogenbroodt	How short is freedom gained by the cherry blossom released from the branch
	Tracy Davidson	wearily she waves the white flag of surrender cobwebbed butterfly
	Ravi Kiran	Wisteria bloom Along a sidewalk café Coffee in the air
	Rachel Nel	Boughs froth with new blooms when the monsoon rain sweeps through trees toss their bouquets
	Roy E. Peterson	Bear cubs watching men Walking through a sylvan glen The forest shudders
	Lisa White	Hundreds of faces Turning to sun and to seed Imperceptibly
	Bruce Dale Wise	The young boy splashes in the backyard swimming pool facing subs and sharks
	Darrell Lindsey	watermelon patch I let the weathered scarecrow try on my straw hat
	Mark Philip Stone	Issa, tonight you hold the honored place at my table, hungry fly
	Stuti Sinha	Looming laden clouds Blanket Bombay’s bustling streets And storms paint the sky
	Toshiji Kawagoe	A minute’s silence for the atomic bomb day The wind also dies 原爆忌風も静かに黙祷す
	Vita	Falling August stars The sky is full of beauty So many wishes
	Marek Kozubek	end of the summer— the calm surface of a lake absorbs the twilight
	Martin Elster	Curious concert— crickets croon to a cornfield of indifferent ears
	Mia P. Solomonides	As winter draws near Fabulous floral worlds bloom The solace of books
	James Ripley	one lone(ly) mallard ignored by his own echo quacks again, hoping
	Spencer Green	black skyscrapers scratch at something beyond the gray as white flakes drift down
	Daniela Misso	taste of morning tea the delicate ray of sun through an icicle
	Linette Eloff	Dark branches stripped bare cold and sad, quite unaware stirrings down below

Society of Classical Poets Haiku Competition, 2020

Judges	Mike Bryantand  Susan Jarvis Bryant
Number of entries	401
Results announced	August 15, 2020, on the SCP website
Winner	Savannah Leahy	Thunder-bellied clouds Move slow over heathered hills, Pregnant with June’s rain
Runners-up (16) (in seasonal order)	Rob Crisell	With soft clicks and clucks, the hens watch the full moon rise— the night’s great white egg.
	Oluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina	snapping the cherries and crocuses all day long … the moon walks us home
	Emory D. Jones	The insect monarchs Skimming with orange and black wings Holding court in spring.
	Cindy Lou Bechtold	in the birth of spring snow gilds the tips of tulips lingering for a time
	Sharmon Gazaway	tiny white phlox blooms exhale a whole hay field’s scent cupped in your two hands
	Patricia A. Marsh	Footsteps approaching; calling birds fall silent: sh-h! The willows whisper.
	Sondra Rosenberg	two moons this clear spring night—one drifts among the stars. one floats in the lake
	Shourya Vardhan Agarwal	The vibrant canvas Flutters on a sea of light— Sailing Butterfly
	Lucia Fisher	A winter zephyr, Fluttering the falling flakes, Whispers wistfully
	Ernesto P. Santiago	backyard birds gather at the old baptismal font splashes of summer
	Dave Whippman	Footsteps on hard snow, Intense as soft-voiced secrets, Whispers of winter.
	Vanessa Valencia	Falling like snowflakes The smell of cherry blossoms The vision of blood
	Toni Newell	Sheep flock in the sun Water doesn’t quench their thirst The dam is empty
	Douglas J. Lanzo	White cherry blossoms Tinged pink by the setting sun Gently drift to sleep.
	Mia	Jungle feverish A sleek, yellow jaguar stuck in traffic jam
	Yvonne Longden	Green buds soon bursting Birds are anticipating Raspberries for tea

Compiled by the Society of Classical Poets

Sources / Further Reading

• Society of Classical Poets website.