Annandale Campus Library Haiku Contest Winners

Thank you to all who participated in this year’s Annandale Campus Library “Socially Distant” Haiku Contest. Considering the “Socially Distant” aspects of this year’s contest, we are pleased that there were 17 entries (4 Student and 13 Faculty/Staff). The theme for this year’s contest was Nature/Seasons, which you will see wonderfully depicted in the winners’ haikus.

We would also like to thank this year’s judges, Annandale English Professor Nicole Tong and Annandale LASS Dean Jen Daniels. Both judges agreed the quality of this year’s entries made it difficult to decide winners. The main purpose for establishing the contest three years ago was to bring students into the Annandale Campus Library to experience its collections and organization in, what was hoped to be, a fun and interesting way: browse the shelves to pick three books and or videos that when stacked on top of one another, their titles would create a three-line haiku poem. Normally, the haiku “stacks” are displayed in the library without authors’ names, so judges could collaborate while considering the best entries and for the public to pick their favorite poem.

From the beginning, we have taken elaborate steps to assure authors’ names are kept secret with only the winning authors identified. Only the contest coordinator has access to the authors’ names and, therefore, are not eligible to participate in the contest. This year, our judges could not see a display because our campuses are closed, so our “Socially Distant” winners were actually decided by a double-blind assessment of the poems through a form sent to each judge that included only if the poem was from a student or faculty/staff. For both the Best Student Haiku and the Best Faculty/Staff Haiku, the judges were unanimous.

Here are this year’s winning haiku:

Best Student Haiku, 2020, Abigail Mills. People and nature/ Endless forms most beautiful/ A place to call home.

Best Faculty/Staff Haiku, 2020, Paula DeRoy. Living on the wind/ Conjuring the universe/ Nature is enough.

People’s Choice Haiku, 2020 (selected from a total of 93 votes), Renee Moody. The River at Night/ Ice Ages: Past and Future/ The Climate Revealed.

Each winner will receive a Rocketbook reusable smart notepad. We look forward to next April and the 4th Annual Annandale Campus Haiku Contest for the whole NOVA community to enjoy.