A total of 261 haiku from 96 authors and 59 tanka from 27 authors were submitted for this selection. The deadline for submissions was April 15, 2020. I anonymized these texts before the selection began.

Each member of the DHG has the option of naming a submission that should be published on the member's own page if the jury disregards it.

Can be submitted only previously unpublished texts (also applies to publications on blogs, forums, including the forums on HI HAIKU,  social media and workshops etc.).

No simultaneous submissions please!

Please Haiku / Tanka collected in one operation Enter yourself in the online form on the DHG website HI HAIKU:

https://haiku.de/haiku-und-tanka-auswahl-einreichen/

Otherwise by email to:

Wahlen@deutschehaikugesellschaft.de

The next deadline for the Haiku / Tanka selection is the July 15, 2020.

Please note the following change:

Each participant can take up to six Texts - three haiku and three Tanka - submit.

With the submission, the author consents to a possible publication in the DHG's Agenda 2021 as well as to http://www.zugetextet.com/ and for a possible presentation on the website of the Haiku International Association.

Haiku selection from HTA

The jury consisted of Ruth Guggenmos-Walter, Erika Hannig and Taiki Haijin. The members of the selection group did not submit their own texts.

All selected texts - 52 haiku - are published in alphabetical order of the author's names. There are max. added two haiku per author.

"A haiku that particularly appeals to me" - this is the motto for each jury member to select up to three texts (still anonymized), to present and comment on them here.

Since the jury is made up of changing participants, I would like to cordially invite all interested DHG members to participate as a jury member in upcoming selection rounds.

Eleanor Nickolay

A haiku that particularly appeals to me:

Weeping willow
Leaves in the water
who caresses whom

Annette Bernold

The weeping willow by the flowing water: an old, almost nostalgic picture and always beautiful ...

And again and again it captivates you how the branches touch the water and are moved by it. But the branches and leaf tips also change the surface of the water, their ripples, the play of shadows and light on them ...

This not-stopping ability, this how-to-be-hypnotized - whether that's what puts you in such a special dreamlike state of mind and spirit that you yourself begin to drift away, that it suddenly actually appears as would the leaf tips and water caress each other?

Where you think something is possible for a moment ...

But on the other hand, what do we know about the diverse, secret relationships - even people?

A haiku that I like to be enchanted by.

Selected and commented by Ruth Guggenmos-Walter

next to the puddle
two little ones add the ice cubes
to the puddle

Bernadette Duncan

The puddle - a temporary small body of water.

Puddle - a word that you can hardly pronounce without spitting funny.

Sometimes you get the impression that puddles are also threatened with extinction. Some already miss her like B. the yellow-bellied toad, and I think the children too.

The puddles of ice, however, are small, diverse works of art with frozen leaves, streaks and air bubbles. And they tempt everyone, including adults, to step on it until it crashes!

In the haiku here the word "puddle" appears mirrored. It occurs on the first and third lines. In between - on the second line - are the acting children.

You build ... You put together a small area from pieces of ice like a puzzle

But for the children it is more. For them it is a “real” puddle that they “made” there.

They can imagine it with ease, but not only imagine it is real for them.

For me, the haiku is a bit a symbol of the magic power of the children.

The shattered, reflecting ice becomes a new mirror. And the new mirror is not fictional, it may actually be able to recognize and read the blue of the sky. The trampled is put together again, but in a different form.

In my opinion, the haiku stands for the (magic) power of the children and thus also the young generation, which may protect puddles ... and appreciate.

Selected and commented by Ruth Guggenmos-Walter

Cherry blossom in Kyoto -
we skype
with pink face mask.

Manfred Georg Karlinger

This haiku easily builds a bridge between tradition and current today.

It pauses for a moment at the cherry blossom in Kyoto and then - after a dash - turns to the person sitting in front of the computer and skypt. The Skypende feels connected to the cherry blossom and his computer counterpart.

The connecting element is the color pink.

Over the curfew and perhaps also across continents, the two "celebrate" the cherry blossom festival together by wearing the color of the cherry blossom.

While the "cherry blossom" and "pink" refer to spring and the bond between the two makes one optimistic, the last word in haiku then points: "mouth guard" - to corona, even if the "mouth guard" is cheerful and means "pink" shows carefree.

So the haiku contains both: the joy and confidence of spring and the dark, hidden threat of the virus.

For me, this is exactly what is impressive about this haiku, as behind pink and apparent light-heartedness - incomprehensible black shimmers ...

Selected and commented by Ruth Guggenmos-Walter

Hike in the fog
now is the moss
the blue sky

Petra Klingl

Corona. A topic that was a frequent topic of the Haiku sent in this time. Is this post a corona haiku too?

I imagine the scene actually described. Someone is walking through the fog - I think of forest involuntarily when it comes to moss - and does not see the blue sky. But the hiker is not disappointed and complains because of this, but changes his perspective. He prefers what is now available to him with a restricted view and - I understand it - is delighted to see it. Here I can see a message that I like. It is also possible that the hiker is resignedly aware that he only gets moss where he longs for the blue sky - but with all the openness of the haiku, I can choose the interpretation that I like better.

I find the contrast between top and bottom, freedom and limitation, the hereafter and this world, particularly appealing. The "hiker over the sea of ​​fog" presses me Caspar David Friedrich on. There you can see a hiker who has laboriously risen above the intangible fog and is looking into the light. The hiker in haiku is not ready yet, he might not want to climb a summit at all, since he can already gain a lot of positive points from his situation in the here and now.

From here it is not far to the present and the lockdown. Even if the haiku does not mention the Corona crisis - unlike so many other submissions - I think the idea is very topical: Even if the path is not clearly recognizable and familiar joys are not available, a change of perspective can take a look at judge other beauty that would otherwise have been overlooked. These days it can be a family gathering, a book, a conversation or even literally even moss in the forest that you would not have visited outside of the crisis. And in the end it is comforting that the fog has to go away and then we will be standing in the sun with the hiker again.

All in all, a classic-looking and very successful haiku for me, with a positive current message.

Selected and commented by Taiki Haijin

social network
on the windowsill
the elbow pillow

Markus Heep

When I read this haiku, a picture from my childhood appeared immediately. I see my mother leaning on the windowsill, waiting for her children to come home from school. The neighbor is also waiting. They chat together, lunch is ready. With this memory I feel security that I felt then. I am welcome, she laughs at me.

Today, in times of Corona, some things are the same again. People stop, talk, listen, listen to each other. The exchange from window to window, from balcony to balcony, lively, close to people, face to face.

This haiku gives me security, time, serenity, talking to each other without rushing, being there, listening, perceiving other people. There is nothing more important to do right now. A street scene that I like and that can only be found in villages where it is the elderly who look out the window.

The digital network is also important. You quickly sent a small message, posted a picture, shared something nice.

The parallels between today's corona pandemic and my childhood have spoken to me.

Selected and commented by Erika Hannig

The selection

Contact lock
only the spring wind
touch me

Christa Beau

the titmouse
something from Mozart
the erzähl

Martin Berner

Construction Market
the silence as they screw
Calls nails

Martin Berner

Hop after me
the golden robin
mowing the lawn.

Thomas Berger

Hangover breakfast
the kissed lady
stays in the dark

Christopher Blumentrath

gestrandeter
rolls over the camp
the new day

Christopher Blumentrath

her farewell in the evening ...
there was still light from the day

Horst Oliver Buchholz

the sky over the sea ...
like life
endless

Horst Oliver Buchholz

This gust!
The withered beech leaves are falling ...
now yes.

Werner Buschman

Alone on the night train
the crime trail begins
To start driving.

Beate Conrad

Your smile
Maybe my next one
Waterloo

Michael Deisenrieder

this mosquito
how she hides
in the hum of the fridge

Frank Dietrich

house demolition
the windmill turns lonely
on the balcony

Hildegard Dohrendorf

the soft scolding
the tit - its bonnet sits
a little crooked

Bernadette Duncan

next to the puddle
two little ones add the ice cubes
to the puddle

Bernadette Duncan

window seat
no opposite
More

Hans Egerer

look
happen wordlessly
im park

Hans Egerer

Midnight sun.
An empty boat tied up
in the sky.

Volker Friebel

Easter
The grandson's mail
virus free

Hans-Jürgen Goehrung

It's icy come in
you mini fly
in front of the kitchen window

Peter Gooss

Weeks after
he looks for on the pillow
Her laugh

Matthew Gysel

a strange perfume
I'm checking that
minimum distance

Gabriele Hartman

wedding day
your smiling eyes
over the mask

Gabriele Hartman

Lung sick
two old people in the mountain village
hand in hand

Birgit Heid

social network
on the windowsill
the elbow pillow

Markus Heep

Evening run
my shadow with
Dream figure

Anne Holtz

his morning greeting
now i see too
from blauen Himmel

Angelica Holweger

Cherry blossom in Kyoto -
we skype
with pink face mask.

Manfred Georg Karlinger

Hike in the fog
now is the moss
the blue sky

Petra Klingl

Walk across the cemetery
over and over again
the laces open

Petra Klingl

the cicada
hollowed out on the branch -
Beginning of winter

Gerard Krebs

Valkyrie ride -
the metallic sound
of their stilettos

Klaus Kornexl

Hour of death -
let's come again
talk about the snow

Eva Limbach

equinox
he kisses her pregnant belly

Ramona Left

fill the brush
with emptiness
become bamboo

Ramona Left

Couch sitting -
a sluggish in the pool
Full moon.

John Matye

Curfew -
the blackbird collects
Cherry blossoms.

John Matye

dusk
the mourning card
still white

Ruth Caroline Mieger

Photo album
the hugs
from last year

Eleanor Nickolay

hiccup
i go in thoughts
through the address list

Sonja Raab

news
who did I have last week
shook hands?

Sonja Raab

Neutral
from the infusion bottle
time is dripping

Evelyn Schmidt

freshly renovated
die Spinne
moves in again

Evelyn Schmidt

icy spring -
on the clothesline
the brackets chirp

Angelica Seithe

Needle scent and moss
Warm the forest floor
Grandmother's hand

Shulamith Sommerfeld

quarantine of the puzzle thousand pieces

Helga Stania

anywhere in the house
Traces of the grandchildren
Corona silence

Brigitte ten Brink

Little bird child
landed - the trampoline
without resonance

Melita Thomas

bloomed too early, oh -
in frozen dew
the peony clinks

Traude Veran

Like a cat
I plague you velvet paw:
Please donate!

Birgit Wendling

every morning
the delicate wake-up call
her hand

Friedrich winemaker

Between tubes of paint
a white rose
her scent still in the room

Gisela K. Wolf

HTA tanka selection

A tanka that particularly appeals to me:

Cave painting
when I have the trajectory
of the arrow
think to the end
the bison dies

Frank Dietrich

Did the author look at and read a book? Did he or she visit a cave? Was he or she standing in a cave copy in front of a copy of this cave painting? The famous original caves have not been accessible to the public for years; Exhalation gases and other imported items would permanently destroy the works of art.

The five lines of the tanka are used to set the subject in line one, to formulate an assumption in lines two to four, and to name the sequence in line five. It starts with a flying start in the first line. The description follows 'if - then'. A description like an arrow shot, I would like to say: tension in the first line, shoot down with lines two to four and hit with line five.

This striking correspondence between content and form appealed to me in the second place. The fact that the event depends on the lyrical ego and then on his thinking - this trick that immediately puts me in the middle of the hunting scene of prehistoric times, initially appealed to me. The Tanka seems to me to be ingenious: The ego, its thinking, is said to have power over life and death.

Selected and commented by Peter Rudolf

 The selection

Cave painting
when I have the trajectory
of the arrow
think to the end
a bison dies

Frank Dietrich

also in this year
I hide colored eggs
for my grandchildren
as if it were only Easter
and everything would be fine

Gabriele Hartman

maybe you want
stay a little longer
now that the snow is falling -
how to knit warm socks
I'm sure I'll still learn

Eva Limbach

Easter walk
Children and parents at the lake
with Sunday rolls
Ducks and swans
chatter in confusion

Helga Schulz Blank

Special contribution by René Possél

René Possél chose a haiku from all anonymized submissions that particularly appeals to him.

Photo album
the hugs
from last year

Eleanor Nickolay

Many haiku have been written about this period of the corona crisis. Few have convinced me. This is one of them. The starting point here is simply looking at a photo album - a first indication of the unexpectedly given quarantine time at home ?!

Who knows what you would otherwise notice when looking at this ... At the moment the view is sharpened by the current distance rule. The photos from the past show physicality. In the "last year" there were spontaneous hugs at family celebrations or friendly encounters. That makes the difference.

It shows the changed time in a human detail. It is now often said: After the Corona crisis, nothing will be the same as before. This is already evident here. We meet differently now - and we will meet differently in the future with this experience ...

The whole thing reminds me of wisdom sayings from the book of Kohelet (preacher) of the Old Testament. You can read them (beyond their individual meaning) as a reference to what now has its time and hour collectively:

"Everything has its hour. There is a specific time for every occurrence under the sky. […] A time to hug and a time to release the hug… ”
(Ecclesiastes 3,1 + 5)