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Haiku Hike | Planting Seeds

Now On Display in Downtown Tucson!

Presented by The Downtown Tucson Partnership (DTP) and the University of Arizona Poetry Center, the 4th annual Haiku Hike literary competition showcases twenty winning haiku poems printed on acrylic signage in planters located on Congress Street and Stone Avenue. Tucson's poet Laureate, TC Tolbert, selected this year's winning haiku. These signs will provide visual and cultural interest during the spring season, through June 1. This year's theme is Planting Seeds.

 

 Winning Haiku 2023

 

4th annual Haiku Hike 2023

Theme: Planting Seeds

1,556haiku were submitted

1,114submissions came from Tucson

28different states represented in the submissions

23different countries represented in the submissions

 

Locations of the Winning Haiku 2023

Click on the numbered points in the map below to read each Poet's haiku, where they're from in the world, and where their haiku is displayed in Downtown Tucson.

 

Printable Map

Read The Press Release

Photo Gallery

 


 

Guidelines

A participant may enter the competition once, submitting a maximum of three original haiku. We will only consider haiku that follows the three line, 5-7-5 syllable count format of American haiku. Submissions that don’t follow this format won’t be considered. Submissions were only be accepted through the official online submission form by March 9, 2023. Poets were encouraged to submit haiku reflecting this year's theme: Planting Seeds

Judging

Haiku entries were judged by Tucson's poet Laureate, TC Tolbert. Click here to learn more about how to write a haiku. Twenty winning poems were selected from hundreds of haiku submissions. Only one winning entry per person. All 20 winners receive public recognition and their work featured on public signage downtown, online and in the media.

 


 

About

Presented by The Downtown Tucson Partnership (DTP) and the University of Arizona Poetry Center, the annual Haiku Hike literary competition showcases twenty winning haiku poems printed on acrylic signage in planters located along Congress Street and Stone Avenue. These signs provide visual and cultural interest throughout the spring season, beginning March 20 and ending June 1. An urban poetry hike through downtown following the haiku trail is the perfect opportunity for the public to get reacquainted with all that Tucson’s urban center has to offer.

20winning haiku poems

displayed throughout the Spring season

selected by poet laureate of Tucson, TC Tolbert

1,000approx. footsteps on the Haiku Hike

 

Previous Competitions:

 

3rd annual Haiku Hike 2022

Theme: Metamorphosis

1,056haiku were submitted

635submissions came from Tucson

29different states represented in the submissions

28different countries represented in the submissions

Winning Haiku 2022

 

2nd annual Haiku Hike 2020 (postponed to 2021)

Theme: Living in the Present Moment

712haiku were submitted

572submissions came from Tucson

14different states represented in the submissions

8different countries represented in the submissions

Winning Haiku 2020/2021

 

1st annual Haiku Hike 2019

Theme: Life In the City

977haiku were submitted

825submissions came from Tucson

12different states represented in the submissions

5different countries represented in the submissions

Winning Haiku 2019