Announcement from The Haiku Foundation:

“In 2022, as part of its mission to expand possibilities for English-language haiku, The Haiku Foundation added The Touchstone Award for Individual Haibun to the two other awards in its Touchstone Award Series: the Touchstone Award for Individual Poems and the Touchstone Distinguished Books Award. Collections of or including haibun have always been eligible for a Distinguished Book Award; this new Award allows for the recognition of individual pieces.”

“All awards seek to reward excellence and innovation each calendar year. Results are determined through a year-long nomination and selection process and are released the following year on April 17, International Haiku Poetry Day. Award recipients are selected by independent panels comprised of authorities in the field.”

(For details about the selection process and the panelists, see: Touchstone Award for Individual Haibun.)

A few weeks ago, at the end of July, I was surprised and delighted to receive an invitation to nominate haibun that were published in MacQueen’s Quinterly in 2022, for the new Touchstone Award.

As stated in the guidelines, journal editors may nominate up to 24 haibun, depending on how many they’ve published overall for the year. The number an editor may nominate from each issue is based on the total number of haibun they published in the issue.

I’m thrilled for this opportunity to nominate a total of 16 haibun from the 70 that were published in MacQ this year. These 16 poems are listed below; in the first list by alphabetical order of author’s last name, and in the second, by Issue. There are no reprints included on the lists, since haibun that were first published elsewhere are not eligible. Also not eligible, haibun written by this year’s Touchstone Panelists: Marietta McGregor, Renée Owen, and Keith Polette.

(I was happy to learn that the Awards Committee will also consider nominations from individual poets. For details, see Entry Form for Individuals’ Touchstone Award Nominations.)

With much appreciation to the following authors for publishing with MacQ, I’m so pleased to post my nominations here for the Touchstone Awards for Individual Haibun. Results will be announced next Spring.

Nominations Listed in Order of Author’s Last Name:

1. La Buena Vida by Cynthia Anderson
   
   
2. But We’re Family by Roberta Beary
   
   
3. Into the Can by Rick Christiansen
   
   
4. Vocation by Cherie Hunter Day
   
   
5. When a Tree Falls by Margaret Dornaus
   
   
6. That Plus Fifty Cents by Kari Gunter-Seymour
   
   
7. The Queen of Soft Distant Animals by Kyle Hemmings
   
   
8. Energy Shift in the Storage Shed by Kat Lehmann
   
   
9. Long Exposure by Kat Lehmann
   
   
10. On the Day the Supreme Court Hears Arguments on the Case That Might Overturn Roe v. Wade by Dotty LeMieux
    
    
11. An Epistemological Aside by Bob Lucky
    
    
12. Scribble Away: Notes from Bahrain, March 2022 by Bob Lucky
    
    
13. Megafauna by Peter Newton
    
    
14. Rosebud by Peter Newton
    
    
15. Anathema by Lew Watts
    
    
16. Posing for Degas by Harriot West

Nominations Listed by Issue:

1. Issue 11, January 2022:
   
   “Into the Can” by Rick Christiansen
   
   “Long Exposure” by Kat Lehmann
   
   “Anathema” by Lew Watts
   
   


2. Issue 12, March 2022:
   
   “But We’re Family” by Roberta Beary
   
   “Vocation” by Cherie Hunter Day
   
   “On the Day the Supreme Court Hears Arguments on the Case That Might Overturn Roe v. Wade” by Dotty LeMieux
   
   “Rosebud” by Peter Newton
   
   


3. Issue 13, May 2022:
   
   “Scribble Away: Notes from Bahrain, March 2022” by Bob Lucky
   
   


4. Issue 14, August 2022:
   
   “That Plus Fifty Cents” by Kari Gunter-Seymour
   
   “Energy Shift in the Storage Shed” by Kat Lehmann
   
   “An Epistemological Aside” by Bob Lucky
   
   “Megafauna” by Peter Newton
   
   


5. Issue 15, September 2022:
   
   “La Buena Vida” by Cynthia Anderson
   
   “When a Tree Falls” by Margaret Dornaus
   
   “The Queen of Soft Distant Animals” by Kyle Hemmings
   
   “Posing for Degas” by Harriot West