A haiku (meaning: humorous, unusual poem) is just like a pebble thrown into a still lake – the reader’s consciousness: it sets off subtle waves, calling forth associations from the richness of memory. Instead of admiring the poet and the poem, it invites the reader to participate creatively: the 3-line, 17-syllable poem close to nature can truly be transformed into a haiku by him.

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Detail
Now, at the ball, I manfully hugged my teacher and hummed into her shapely, fragrant little ear in a raspy adolescent voice:

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This is how many colorful novels are woven
in Mexico in the middle of the night...

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I felt rather than saw her blush. “You tango so well… monkey face!” By the time she said this, she had already restrained herself from showing her smile, then snuggled back into me with her heated body.

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…and by the time the morning light comes,
hope – and love – are gone…

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Many, many years later, I happened to stumble upon an unexpected dance class:

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A hundred men step back
from a hundred women
in tango

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World Haiku Festival - ginko award
Ferenc Bakos was an invited participant of the World Haiku Festival in Pécs, which was closed by ginko (a haiku competition following a joint walk): twenty-four Hungarian and foreign participants each submitted a poem written in English. The second prize of the competition was won by Ferenc Bakos' haiku:

ginko walk
unworn shoes of my father
died a year ago

ginko walking in my father's new shoes,
who died a year ago

(author's translation)

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Ferenc Bakos: Desert Wind - News in the World
A collection of haiku by a Hungarian author
Ferenc Bakos, a contributor to our magazine, achieved great success with his haiku written in English at this year's prestigious "New Haiku" competition of the Japanese Ito En Tea Company: in the English section, he placed in the top 9 out of 13,000 applicants from 31 countries and received the "Worthy of Honor" award.

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The Japanese green tea and tea products company holds its annual competition for authors writing in Japanese and English, this time for the 20th time. It is a nice gesture – and also a fruitful PR move – that the winning haikus are printed on the labels and packaging of the teas. This way, the customer also receives a haiku with the tea in the store:

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autumn dusk
in my boots' depths
a lone ladybug

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(the original award-winning haiku)

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autumn darkness
hidden in my boots,
a lonely ladybug

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(Translated by Ferenc Bakos)

(NAGYVILÁG, 2009/11 issue, page 1021)

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Mainichi Tournament Results - The author doubled up
The Japanese national newspaper Mainichi Daily News announced the results of its 2009 International Haiku Competition at the beginning of the new year. The prestigious competition is open to poets from all over the world who compose haiku in English or French, without an entry fee. According to the announcement, entries were expected that boldly deviated from the classic form – using the word “season” and having 5-7-5 syllables – and according to Professor Toru Haga, chairman of the jury, this expectation was met by quite a few excellent haiku.

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Ferenc Bakos received one of the 12 “second prizes” for his haiku written in English. The author, according to him, has been regularly submitting applications for this competition for ten years, but “Mainichi has never responded.” He was all the more surprised when, on the day of the announcement, he opened the website and saw his name and poem:

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old cherry tree:
knotty branches embrace
full-bosomed moon

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old cherry tree:
gnarled branches
embrace a full-breasted moon

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