It is with great pleasure that we announce our #Babishai2020 haiku longlist. The Chief Judge, Kariuki wa Nyamu, who also won the 2017 haiku prize, agrees that it was with careful deliberation that the list was made, with such astounding and unparalleled talent. He shall share more, in an extended interview.
To all the poets on the longlist, warm congratulations. It’s always a pleasure and paradise, to read from such highly imaginative work, and again, thanks for bearing with us as we navigate how to excel and make positive impact, in online spaces.
Let’s continue to extend out creativity from within, to spaces where we can make a difference.
Below are the top ten haiku winners, of the #Babishai2020 haiku prize.
total blackout…
street lamps glow with
mating fireflies
Name: Ali Znaidi
Country: Tunisia
……………………………………………………
the morning rain falls
endlessly hugging thy sleep
frozen ideas die
NAME: Andrew Herbert Omuna
Country: Uganda
……………………………………………………
the wind plays
every tree sways to its song–
nature’s musical
Name: Praise Osawaru
Country: Nigeria
……………………………………………………
my child’s eyes
can still see trees run past
our small moving car.
Name: DEVIS THE POET
Country: UGANDA
……………………………………………………
bitter kola
grandpa breaks into
a new tale
Name: Ahmad Holderness
Country of origin: Nigeria
Country of residence: Nigeria and United Kingdom
……………………………………………………
delicate mounds
parting soil in the night
to die out soon
Name: Akello Charlotte
Country: Uganda
……………………………………………………
garden opera
in the moon’s spotlight
a frog leads chorus
Name: Justice Joseph Prah
Country: Ghana
……………………………………………………
suffocated roots
peep out of garbage dump
where is fresh air?
Name: Rose Wangari Kinyanjui
Country: Kenya
……………………………………………………
ringed with its papers
and tracked like jailbird on bail
the immigrant lands…
Name: Adipo Sidang’
Country: Kenya
……………………………………………………
in the wall
deep opening abandoned
geckoes’ room
Name: Osho Tunde Matthew
Country: Nigeria
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Details of award-giving shall be shared in due course.