During the COVID-19 crisis, we reached out to the public and asked them to submit haiku–3-line, 17-syllable Japanese-style poems–that described their experience with the pandemic, the closures, and the impact of both on their daily life. The response was terrific! We received over 160 original haiku from people all over the world, ranging in age from 9 to ??? Here is what our judges had to say about the submissions:
“We were struck by the universal themes of fear, love, anger, joy, surprise, sadness and loneliness, and we were intrigued by turns of phrase that demonstrated heart, humor and imagination. In nearly all cases, the haiku were heartfelt and intimate, and some were truly exceptional.”
We are very pleased to announce the winners of our haiku contest:
Children
3rd-4th Grade Winner: Arielle Levy, Greenwich, Connecticut
5th-6th Grade Winner: Jingmi Chen, Old Greenwich
7th-8th Grade Winner: Sophia Singh, Denver, Colorado
Teens
First Place: Penelope (Penny) Duran, Frankfurt, Germany
Second Place: Yurika Sakai, Greenwich, Connecticut
Third Place: Divya Shenoy, Riverside, Connecticut
Adult
First Place: Heidi Stein, Mahopac, New York
Second Place: Michael Dudley, Ontario, Canada
Third Place: Susan Russo, Arlington, Virginia
Congratulations to all the winners, and a huge thank you to all those who participated, including our judges who gave of their time and expertise. We will publish all the haiku in a booklet, which will be available in printed form and as a pdf on our web site.
If you have any questions, please contact Judy Sgammato, head of Circulation Services, at 203-637-1066 or at jsgammato@perrotlibrary.org.
