Write a Humanist Haiku for National Poetry Month

Poetry has the power to transform minds and bring forth powerful moments of introspection. In 2020, we started the tradition of holding an Annual Haiku Contest, now held in April to celebrate National Poetry Month. This year, the staff of theHumanist.com hopes you will submit your entry for our Third Annual Humanist Haiku Contest.

To refresh your memory, a haiku is a seemingly-simple form of poetry in three lines: five syllables for the first line, seven syllables for the second, and five syllables for the third. The challenge is to capture a “now” moment in seventeen total syllables. The best haikus should convey evocative imagery through words. A title is optional—and some say a skilled haiku writer 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 and staff. We’ll publish our favorite haikus on theHumanist.com during the last week of 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 Wednesday, April 20^th.

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The Third Annual Haiku Contest is now closed! Look for our favorite poems next week.