From November 2010 to January 2011, a total of 176 haiku and 18 tanka were submitted by 48 authors for this selection. The deadline for entries was January 15, 2011. Each participant could send in up to 5 haiku or tanka.
The works were anonymized before the selection began. The jury consisted of Gerd Börner, Georges Hartmann and Helga Stania. Claudia Brefeld was in charge of the coordination. The members of this selection group did not submit their own texts.
All selected works (22 haiku and 2 tanka) are listed below alphabetically by author's name.
“A haiku / a tanka that appeals to me in particular” - under this motto, every jury member has the opportunity to choose a work (still anonymized) and to present it here and also to comment briefly.
A haiku that particularly appeals to me
Selected and commented by Gerd Börner:
Sunset -
I only discover the moon
when the jackdaw calls.(not included in the selection)
The brightly colored light disappears behind the horizon. The spectacle of this glowing sunset fascinates the observer so much that another event is not yet noticed. It is only through the call of the jackdaw that we spontaneously search the sky and the treetops with the author - and in amazement we discover the quiet rise of the moon. When the little raven bird croaks, we turn away from the noise of the colors and enjoy the emerging fine silence of the evening. Despite the traditional syllable structure, there are no superfluous words, no fillers that serve the syllable number. The haiku is composed in powerful images and inspires with its synaesthesia, which, as if by the way, appeals to several senses.
Selected and commented by Georges Hartmann:
Nativity play Maria adjusts her stomach
Humor is a matter of caution in the haiku scene. Teasing antics, joking or producing like a comedian does not have a particularly good reputation because it is considered to be fleeting art that inspires for the moment, but does not stick and thus remains rather insubstantial. And then one line and only 12 syllables ... The haiku
Nativity play Maria adjusts her stomach
describes a scene played by children in church in front of an audience. The immaculate conception, which some people wonder how it works, and then this innocent gesture of a girl straightening her stomach. So grown-up and skillful in acting, I think first, only to recognize the other dimension. Nothing divine is underlined with this gesture, but the normal incarnation. It is terribly painful in the stomach, labor begins and Maria suspects that it will soon start. I instinctively feel how the pastor freezes in disbelief, the first restlessness spreads in the pews and then a first soft laugh can be heard, which is held in front of the mouth, becomes louder and then abruptly falls silent again. I also perceive the haiku as a question to the church superiors to explain the seemingly extraterrestrial procreation in a comprehensible way, while the child adjusts the answer that we all know with his gesture. A haiku that I laughed at first, before I started to applaud in silence. It fulfills two criteria that I greatly appreciate, even if the author doesn't mean it: A humorous observation and a very thought-provoking question hidden in it, with the subliminal criticism that belief always includes something not knowing is ...
Selected and commented by Helga Stania:
I am listening.
We talk together,
I am listening.
I like the short, emotionless tone in which the haiku is held. The arguments may be unevenly distributed. Why does a partner choose to listen? Does he have no other choice?
Are there two or more interlocutors, only one of whom is listening?
Here you don't just hear but listen. A rare gift, a gift for the conversation partner (s).
The selection
Summer morning - no
A breath of wind prevents the feather
to float down.
the water drops
listen
how the time flies
Nativity play Maria adjusts her stomach
Early spring.
Between bare tribes
the sky.
Look along the track,
until the bend takes it away.
Clouds.
The blue of the sky
unfathomable in the evening
still.
on the way
to the horizon - the feather
verloren
The chicken is confused -
lie with his eggs
three chestnuts
frosty wind
between willow posts
a heron
Distance train Transit
stays in the provincial train station
a touch of the world
unexpected
die wärme
in your voice
Under the cloud moon
down the usual path
... yellowed pictures
Hahn Early
in the reeds
Autumn whispers
Back to night -
in my eavesdropping
clicks a lighter
along the river
his picture of the sky
will never finish
evening sun
in the field
light crumbs
on road
at so many train stations
I do not arrive
candlelight
the black painted eyes
of the pianist
I am listening.
We talk together,
I am listening.
maroon
her hair flows
over his shoulder
As if she was listening
the flower, the wing beat
of butterflies ...
One is too sad
new day without words
in the wet morning
at least I write it down
underage poem.
Sun hides,
makes the fog shine,
lures blue to the snow.
The falling evening
plays its own colors.
