| When haijinx started, we intended to focus on the role of humor in haiku. The idea was to directly challenge a frequent misconception about haiku in the West that humorous verse could only be senryû. The “hai” in haiku is “playful” or “humorous” and we wished to highlight this particular feature. There is simply no hai in haiku without some sense of humor, lightness, or playfulness. Hence our slogan putting the hai back in haiku.
john crook was a great friend and an early supporter of haijinx. He was in hospice care during the production of our first issue and he and his wife Celia worked with us to create john’s spotlight. At the time, we discussed a plan for a memorial award to partly benefit the hospice. They loved the idea. The john crook award in 2002 sought out haiku that show the pre-requisite humor of the haikai spirit. We evaluated over 100 entries to create a short list for the judges, Celia Crook, Robert Gilliland, and Alan Summers. Independently, they received a set of anonymous entries and were asked to rank their favorite five. These results were then compiled to find the top haiku. We are honored to present the results of the john crook award and we thank all of the contestants for their poetry and haikai spirit. The john crook award was discontinued after the suspension of production of haijinx. |
