Poetry Contest: Write a Humanist Haiku for National Poetry Month

Photo by Samuel Ramos on Unsplash

Poetry has the power to transform minds and bring forth powerful moments of introspection. In celebration of April’s designation as National Poetry Month, TheHumanist.com is running another haiku contest. Our first haiku contest in September 2020 resulted in more than 160 submissions—not to mention some wonderful poetry. So we’ve decided to move the contest to April and make it an annual event honoring humanist poetry.

To refresh your memory, a haiku is a seemingly-simple form of poetry in three lines: five syllables on line one, seven syllables on line two, and five syllables on line three. The challenge is to capture a “now” moment in seventeen total syllables. The best haikus will be able to convey evocative imagery through words. A title is optional—and some say a skilled haiku poet doesn’t need one.

We invite you to express your thoughts about humanism and humanist values while adhering to the haiku format. Your submissions will be reviewed by our editors. We’ll publish our favorite haikus on TheHumanist.com during the last week in April. And we’ll also publish them in the Summer Issue of Humanist magazine.

But don’t think about it too long! The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 19th. Submit your best haiku (or several of them) below.


Apr 29, 2021This contest has now closed! Read our winning selection of haikus here.