Second Honorable Mention, 2009 HSA Renku Awards
Nijuin written at Onawa, Maine
John Stevenson, NY
Hilary Tann, NY
Paul W. MacNeil, FL
Yu Chang, NY
Judges: Jerry Ball and Patricia Machmiller
* * *
Gunnysack
a gunnysack
by the kitchen door
autumn dusk
js
moonlight from the lake
caught up in the pines
ht
wild cheering
for the World Series
home team
pwm
four fortune cookies
left untouched
yc
the recording engineer
accepts her last take
with reservations
ht
limo, show,
and hotel shower
js
a long blonde hair
exactly like
my wife’s
yc
lion tails denote
tribal authority
pwm
the sign that says
“thin ice”
is half-submerged
js
surprise gift
of an overcoat
yc
a thundersheet
accompanies
the deus ex machina
ht
cloud shadows
graze the mountainside
js
Will the wine
and chocolates
be enough?
pwm
they eloped
on Independence Day
ht
after the fireworks
we walk back
with the moon
yc
a crow’s hop
changes to strut
pwm
finest grade
of sandpaper
in Geppetto’s shop
js
distant relatives gather
for her confirmation
ht
apple blossoms
are coming into view
beyond the fallow fields
pwm
choosing a high spot
to fly a kite
yc
Judges’ Commentary:
Grand Prize was awarded to: “Circles of Strangers,” a summer kasen renku by Christopher Herold & Carol O’Dell. “Circles of Strangers” was awarded a Grand Prize because of the consistently high quality of its verses, the variety of subject matter which gives a liveliness to the poem, and adherence to the renku form.
Honorable Mention went to: “Streaks of Dawn,” a winter kasen renku by Allan Burns, Christopher Herold, & Ron Moss. Good quality of verses and an effective ending sequence (verses 34 through 36).
Second Honorable Mention went to: “Gunnysack,” a summer nijuin renku by John Stevenson, Hilary Tann, Paul MacNeil, & Yu Chang. This renku has an exceptionally strong opening sequence (verses one through three) and a good variety in subject matter.
Criteria for selection were five: adherence to the renku form; quality of the opening and closing sequence; quality, originality, and variety of verses; variety in tone, rhetoric, and person from verse to verse; and effectiveness of the links.
Upstate Dim Sum 