Pure Haiku is OPEN to submissions of 5-7-5 syllabic haiku on the theme of Encircling.
Please remember to EMAIL your haiku to purehaiku@gmail.com
If you send in your haiku via the comments form or as a link to your blog or elsewhere, your entry WILL NOT be counted!
The deadline is 31st October 2025 2359 UK time.
Thank you to everyone who has already sent in their haiku on the theme of Encircling. If you’re still composing your haiku, please remember to check the guidelines, so that your entry isn’t automatically rejected.
How do I select the haiku submitted to this site?
The process of selection is unbiased. I have learnt much over the years, and continue to learn, about writing haiku.
Preparation
At the beginning of the reading period I assign a number to each person who has submitted haiku.
I then cut and paste all haiku submissions into one document, assigning the correct number to each person’s submission – this means I can look at each haiku in an unbiased fashion, without knowing who the entrants are.
Please note that if you send more than 5 haiku in one email, your submission is automatically rejected. And if you send your 5 haiku in separate emails, only the first email will be considered.
First Round – basic requirements
If a writer has not provided me with a copyright name, their haiku won’t be considered. This is to ensure that I am not publishing other peoples’ haiku on this site without their permission.
Then I check the number of syllables are correct in each haiku – if they’re not, they are rejected. (This site only publishes 5-7-5- syllabic haiku).
Are the haiku written in the English language? If not, they are rejected.
If it is apparent that any haiku have been AI generated, they are rejected at this point.
Does each haiku make sense? Is the use of English good or have the words been put together in an unnatural way? Any haiku that does not make sense or is awkward to read, is discarded.
Does each haiku consist of 3 separate but complete lines? (The lines needs to be linked in some way). Haiku with lines that run into each other are excluded at this point.
How many words are there in each haiku that end in -ing? Any haiku with two or more words ending in -ing is rejected. This is because using -ing is an easy way of getting the syllable count right. Be inventive!
Second Round – delving into each haiku
This is the test of theme, contrast and imagery.
First of all I check that the title of the theme isn’t in any of the haiku. If any of the haiku use the theme title (either in the singular or plural) in the haiku title or within the body of the haiku, they are rejected. I like haiku that imply rather than state.
Does each haiku reflect the current theme? This is why I do so many readings before I get to this stage – to discover the haiku that are subtle in their use of the current theme. Any haiku that does not speak about the current theme or is not inspired by the current theme in some way is dismissed.
I then look for haiku that present a vivid image, have a contrast/juxtaposition and/or provide an ah-ha moment. Any haiku that doesn’t contain at least one of these things is set aside.
Those entries with less than 5 haiku at this point are set aside while I prepare the shortlist for the Artist’s & Curator’s Choices.
Third Round – Short List for the Featured Haiku Writer
Those entries that still have 5 haiku are sent to the artist (still without revealing who the writers are) for the artist to make his or her choice.
While the artist is selecting their favourite entry, I go back to the entries with less than 5 haiku in them, and choose the best one from each submission to be published. I then look at the shortlist myself and decide who I will choose and usually have a 2nd choice in mind, in case the artist chooses my favourite entry. (This has never happened, as my tastes are very different from other people’s preferences!)
Next I go through the shortlist again and select the 2 best haiku in each entry in preparation for scheduling.
When the artist informs me of their choice, I then make my choice so that we have the Artist’s Choice at the beginning of the published collection, and the Curator’s Choice at the end of the collection. Both entries that are selected by the Artist and Curator have all 5 of their haiku published.
I look forward to reading your work!
Freya Pickard, Curator
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