Golden Haiku: 2024 Winners

The 2024 Golden Haiku competition was another record-breaking year. Around 4,000 haiku were received worldwide, with entries from 88 countries. More than 1,100 haiku were submitted by DC, Maryland and Virginia residents, including over 150 from talented poets under the age of 18 who participated in our new youth sub-category for the DC-area. Winning haiku can be seen on colorful signs throughout the Golden Triangle into early May.

All entries were reviewed and judged by a distinguished panel of published haiku experts including Abigail Friedman, Lenard Moore, Kit Pancoast Nagamura, and John Stevenson.

Golden Haiku follows the Haiku Society of America’s guidelines for modern haiku, which does not require the traditional 5-7-5 structure. Removing the strict structural requirements for syllables frees the author to use evocative language to capture a moment or expression of beauty in a short, descriptive verse.