'Charcoal' haiku wins inaugural contest

Daniel, 29, reacting to the announcement that he won a poetry contest sponsored by the Fruit Street Free Press. Photo Credit: Linsey/staff photographer

FRUIT STREET -- In a haiku contest that drew more than 30 poems from throughout the country, a Michigan man with little known poetry-writing experience emerged the winner, a five-person judging panel announced Monday night.

Daniel, 29, won the Fruit Street Free Press Haiku Contest in its inaugural year with an untitled poem. The poem's first line -- and first five syllables -- are "Charcoal glowing white." It continues: "Cocktails going down with ease/living the good life."

"It really reminded me of summer days out on the porch and of summer nights," Emily G, who lives in Wisconsin and was one of five judges, said. "And that is something I am very interested in right now since I'm snowed into my apartment. When I read it, I could feel a warm breeze in my hair."

Dan's haiku received a second-place vote from Emily and two first-place votes, one from Shaina, a biology teacher living in Quincy, Mass., and another one from Kim, a nurse from Mount Pleasant, Mich., who is also Daniel wife.

Kim, in a phone interview, said she did not know which poems her husband wrote.  

Another one of Dan's poem's -- which focused on the growth and then destruction of an oak tree at the hands of his father -- also received a first-place vote.

Other's receiving first place votes in the contest were Hank, 54, of Farwell, Mich., and Linsey, 25, of Newburyport, Mass. Hank earned a top vote for his haiku about nooses and decapitation, which one judge called "dark." 

Linsey earned a first-place vote for a haiku about a pig named "Killer."

The judges included Emily, Shaina, Janelle, Kim and Nick, the husband of Shaina. Each of the judges were given copies of the haikus without naming the authors. It is unclear how seriously they took their judging responsibilities. 

Haikus, in their most simple form, consist of three lines with the first and the third each with five syllables. The middle line calls for seven syllables. 

The poems should not rhyme.

Dan, reached at home by phone just minutes after he was named the winner, said he had never written a haiku before learning of the Fruit Street Free Press contest.

"I'm kind of surprised I won because there was some really tough competition out there," Dan said.

Dan, who has bright red hair but chose not to write about it, said his inspiration for the winning poem came from reminiscing about summer days and nights, just as Emily had imagined.

"I was sitting here and it was starting to get cold out and I started thinking about fun days," Dan said. "And a fun day for me is grilling out with friends and having some drinks." 

The father of one -- who is expecting a second child later this month -- said he actually likes his haiku about the oak tree more than the winning poem. He said it has special meaning because it is an inside joke.

"I think I liked the oak tree poem because it is funny to me and to people who understand our family," he said, adding that his father, Hank, often falls trees to make fire wood to heat his home.

Dan then added: "This kicks ass, really/I am glad to have won this/can't wait for next year."