THE WORLD HAIKU CLUB: 
Leys Farm
  Rousham,  Bicester
    Oxfordshire  OX25 4RA
   
                    England  Tel:  +44   (0) 1869 - 340261                   
  Fax: +44  (0) 1869 - 340619   
E-mail:

Central  Website:   http://www.worldhaikuclub.org  

Important Announcement!

 

R. H. Blyth Award at WHC

The World Haiku Club is pleased to announce the creation of an annual haiku-related award, called “R. H. Blyth Award” at WHC. This will be a top award among a number of high-standard awards which WHC will be introducing and will aim at becoming one of the most prestigious and important haiku-related awards in the world. Several other WHC awards are being planned, including the one which is under discussion with another organisation run by eminent haiku poets.

The “R. H. Blyth Award” will reflect what the bearer of the name represents, which is enormous, and will be given to those whose work will not only be excellent from their local characteristics and diversity but also will have certain bearings on the wider scope of world haiku. This will be taken into consideration when the guidelines for entry will be worked out. It is envisaged that a panel of judges will be formed from among the top international haiku poets and critics (not necessarily by fame only), part of whom will change every year, having different policies and perspectives for each year but following the same underlying principles.

Fees will be chargeable for participation in this competition, as in the case of most of the international haiku competitions and awards. It is hoped that the “R. H. Blyth Award” will be self-financing as the fee income will be used for prize money and for administrative costs. The “R. H. Blyth Award” will be widely advertised so that it will be able to have genuine world-wide coverage and scope. English will be used for entries and judging for the time being. Works written in other language, therefore, will have to have really good English translations (which, incidentally, is hoped to assist the development of good translation into English from all other
languages).

The first “R. H. Blyth Award” will be administered to coincide with the World Haiku Festival 2002 (a sequel to the WHF2000) which will be held in September this year in Yuwa Town, Akita, Japan. It will be incorporated into the 45th Rogetsu Short Verse Competition. Details will be announced in due course.

UPDATE: 17/04/02

Guidelines of WHF2002 World Haiku Competition & the First R.
H. Blyth Award

Herewith, the guidelines for your reference. The deadline is tight (end May) but you can do it. You can beat the deadline with your excellent works worthy of the name of R. H. Blyth. We aim at the highest possible standards and quality - a tremendous challenge for you but it's worth it. Appointment of the panel of judges for this year and the next is at an advanced stage and is soon to be announced.

Nearly all the preparations are completed and all that remains to be done is to receive the submissions of your best works for this new and important development in the world haiku scene. Watch this space for more announcements.

The World Haiku Festival 2002 Yuwa, Akita, Japan

World Haiku Competition

Commemorating the 130th Anniversary of the Birth of Rogetsu

and in Honour of Shiki, Basho & R. H. Blyth


HAIKU IN ENGLISH OR ENGLISH TRANSLATION COMPETITION
Incorporated into the First R. H. Blyth Award

Guidelines
These guidelines will apply to this particular competition only



Category

Haiku poems in any form, style, subject or convention. They can either have kigo or be muki (no season words). In other words, each poem will be judged in its own merit. However, they should reflect your understanding of what all, or some or one of these four great individuals mean to you: Rogetsu, Shiki, Basho & R. H. Blyth.

Standards & Quality

Highest standards and quality will be sought in this competition.

Language

English (haiku written in any other languages must be translated into English. Please, therefore, aim at top-quality translation. Other languages will not be considered)

Eligibility

Open to everybody in the world. Your works must be new, original, unpublished and not being considered elsewhere. By submitting them, you shall be deemed to have agreed to give permission that the works may be published in the announcement, publication or any other use which the organisers deem fit. The copyrights shall revert to the authors once their works are published. Any work in breach of these requirements, or any other normal practice of international haiku contests, including those under WHC, which the organisers deem reasonable, will be rejected and prizes awarded will be rescinded.

Submission of Works

You can submit up to 3 haiku. As already mentioned, they should be written in, or translated into, English. Type your works, your first names, your SURNAME (in capital letters), address, tel/fax, e-mail address, haiku pen name, if any, with a brief bio. How you lay your poems on paper may not necessarily be observed in the event of publication.

Deadline

Friday 31 May 2002 (Midnight your local time, or postmark). The deadline is tight because the works to be published must go to the printers by end June.

Fees

￡5 or US$ 10 or Yen1000 per entry regardless of the number of works submitted. Send International Money Order or sterling cheque drawn at UK banks in favour of “World Haiku Festival” to

Headquarters of the World Haiku Club
Leys Farm
Rousham, Bicester
England OX25 4RA.

Payment in cash (sending banknotes) is a preferred option to avoid high commission costs (no problems have been experienced so far, but make sure to put the banknotes within at least two sheets of your folded letter paper) but will be at the sender’s risk. The fees will be used to help finance prizes, publications and administrative costs but will not cover copies of the proposed anthology etc.

How to submit works

By e-mail:

Send your works to with the subject line “WHF2002 Haiku Competition” This is the preferred method. Even if you have not your own e-mail facilities, please try to send your works by e-mail with the help of your friends or at an Internet cafe, or work.

By post:

If you cannot use e-mail, send your works etc. by post (snail mail) to:

Headquarters of The World Haiku Club
Leys Farm
Rousham, Bicester
OX25 4RA, England.

The submission must be typed, otherwise it could be rejected.

Judges

A panel of judges shall consist of leading international haijin (to be announced)

Announcement and award celebrations

On 20 September 2002 in a ceremony during the Lord Mayor’s Reception of the World Haiku Festival 2002 at Yuwa, Akita (venue: Yuwa Town Gymnastic). No individual enquiries regarding works submitted to be answered.

Awards

The World Haiku Club has created an important annual award, called the “R. H. Blyth Award”. This year, considering the fact that the WHF2002 is partly dedicated to R. H. Blyth, it has been decided that the R. H. Blyth Award will be appropriated to WHF2002 Haiku in English and English Translation Competition. The details will be finalised by the panel of judges. There is a possibility for other awards or prizes to be considered as well.

Anthology

All submissions will be considered for publication in the proposed World Haiku Festival Anthology 2000 & 2002.

For further information and/or invitation, please contact Head Office, The World Haiku Club (see letterhead.

THE WORLD HAIKU CLUB:
Honorary President, James W. Hackett; Chairman, Susumu Takiguchi

World Haiku Festival: Patrons, His Excellency Mr. Sadayuki Hayashi, Japanese Ambassador;   Sir Peter Parker, KBE LVO

Supporting Organisations:   Poetry Society, Global Haiku Festival, Haiku Society of America, Modern Haiku Association of Japan, Haiku North America, Oxford Brookes University, National Poetry Day, Ehime-Ken Matsuyama Declaration, Gunma Prefectural Museum of Literature,  Constantza Haiku Society-Romania,  Association of Croatian Haiku Poets,  Obayashi Seisakusho, Japan Festival Education Trust, Barbican Centre, British Library,  SOAS, Donnington Grove Society, Embassy  of Japan, BBC,

Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Japan Foundation, Japan Society, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation