International Golden Haiku Contest Accepting Entries to Brighten DC's Business District as Workers Return

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) announces the start of its ninth annual, internationally recognized Golden Haiku poetry contest. Poets and aspiring poets of all ages from around the DC region and the world may submit their original, self-authored verse.

Winning haikus will be shared digitally and displayed in hundreds of tree boxes around the central business district, adorning some of Washington, DC's most iconic streets from mid-March through early May 2022.

This year's theme is "Reboot and Rebloom." Through a collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, haiku submissions are being accepted from around the world. Last year, the BID received submissions from 60 countries, 49 states and the District of Columbia. A youth category, first introduced in 2021, invites students to explore haiku and take part in the competition.

"We're excited to bring back this familiar literary art contest that brings smiles to people's faces as they walk along our streets," said Leona Agouridis, Executive Director of the Golden Triangle BID. "This year's Golden Haiku theme unites our global community as we reflect on challenges and spread hope for the future. We look forward to enlivening our sidewalks with words of inspiration as more workers return to the office."

Golden Haiku follows the Haiku Society of America's guidelines for modern haiku, which does not require the traditional 5-7-5 structure. Removing the strict structural requirements for syllables frees the author to use evocative language to capture a moment or expression of beauty in a short, descriptive verse.

All entries will be reviewed and judged by a distinguished panel of published haiku experts. The panel will select first, second, and third place winners, a regional favorite, and youth category winners.

The authors of the winning haiku will receive:

• First place - $500
• Second place - $200
• Third place - $100
• Regional winner - $200
• Youth Category winners:
• High School: $150
• Elementary/Middle School: $75

The expert panelists are:

Abigail Friedman is an award-winning author of numerous works on haiku, including The Haiku Apprentice: Memoirs of Writing Poetry in Japan (Stone Bridge Press), I Wait for the Moon: 100 Haiku of Momoko Kuroda (Stone Bridge Press), and Street Chatter Fading (Larkspur Press). She is a former diplomat and is on the Board of Trustees of the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C.

Lenard Moore has been authoring haiku for more than 20 years. He was the first African American President of the Haiku Society of America. His published poetry has been translated into multiple languages and includes Poems of Love & Understanding (Carlton Press), The Open Eye (NC Haiku Society Press), and Desert Storm: A Brief History (Los Hombres Press).

Kit Pancoast Nagamura has been a columnist for The Japan Times for more than a decade and appeared as a regular on NHK World's Haiku Masters and Journeys in Japan programs. She has won one of Japan's prestigious Ito-en Oi Cha Haiku Contest prizes and is a member of the Haiku International Association. Her book, Grit, Grace, and Gold, was published in 2020. She will be judging from Japan.

John Stevenson is managing editor of The Heron's Nest. A former President of the Haiku Society of America, he has served as editor of Frogpond. He is the author of books such as Quiet Enough, Some of the Silence, Live Again, (d)ark, and Emoji Moon.

Submissions for the ninth annual Golden Haiku poetry contest will be accepted through February 6, 2022. Winners will be announced in mid-March. Participants may submit a maximum of two self-authored haikus on the BID's website at goldentriangledc.com/haiku. 

About the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District

Formed in 1998, the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) enhances Washington, DC's central business district, the 44-square-block neighborhood stretching from The White House to Dupont Circle. For more information, visit: goldentriangledc.com on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Golden Triangle Business Improvement District