Winning Haiku 2 - Kiwi Summer by Lola Fisher, graphic by Elise Goodge
For several years Whanganui based community group the Guyton Group Trust has organised an event to celebrate National Poetry Day, marked annually on August 27.
This year the trust took a different approach and decided to run a competition to encourage wordsmiths to turn their hand to the art of haiku.
The competition, ironically, couldn't have come at a better time, with level 4 lockdown giving people extra time to work on creative projects. This was reflected in the number of entries to the competition, totalling more than 200.
Entries came from all over New Zealand and as far afield as Croatia. Entire classes from schools entered, encouraged by their teachers. Some people entered multiple haiku. Entries came from people of all ages and the trust received feedback from families that it was a great lockdown activity.
"We have been overwhelmed by the response and the quality of entries," says Guyton Group Trust co-chair Elise Goodge. "This is the first time we have run a competition for poetry day and based on the response to this one it is likely we will run one again."
The Guyton Group Trust enlisted the help of Aaron and Saori Scythe to judge the competition.
Aaron and Saori met while Aaron was working and living in Japan. Upon returning to Aotearoa, they settled in Whanganui. Aaron is a ceramicist and illustrator who draws on Māori and Japanese cultural influences in his work.
Given their arts pedigree and appreciation of haiku the Guyton Group Trust felt, as a judging team, they were uniquely qualified to pick a winner from the many entries.
After much deliberation, Aaron and Saori were left unable to settle on just one winner. They had narrowed the many hundreds of entries down to just two and found it impossible to choose between them.
An anonymous donor came to the rescue and donated $100 to the Guyton Group Trust. Thanks to this donation the trust was able to award both entrants as winners and both haiku will eventually feature in the Guyton St poetry trail.
The winning entries are by Lorraine Brasch, from the Wairau Valley, and Lola Fisher (aged 13), from Whanganui.
"The piece written by Lorraine Brasch was chosen because it was a very classical haiku piece, and the imagery was quite clear and beautiful through the words used.
"The piece by Lola was chosen because it holds what and why haiku is popular still. The joy of life and a moment in it," says Aaron. "We especially enjoyed that it was not trying to be a traditional haiku as such."
Lesley Stead of the Guyton Group Trust says she was still getting late entries up until last week.
"We said we'd use the winner in our poetry trail, and we've now got two winners because it was a tie, but there were others that we could use. There was a gorgeous one in there about a cupcake. We want the trail to be for children as well, so the cupcake haiku would be perfect."
Lesley says if there are any businesses that would like to sponsor a poem on the trail, it would be gratefully received.
"It's for the good of the community: I envisage schools coming and walking the poetry trail, children will learn about haiku and it will be healthy. People will be out walking the trail. It will be great for retailers too."
Lesley says it will be the length of Guyton St and they can keep adding to it with the work of local poets. She says they would like to get started within three months.