UK schoolgirl beats Japanese poets at their own haiku
A 14-YEAR-OLD British girl has become a celebrity in Japan after becoming the first non-japanese person to win a prestigious haiku competition.
Gracie Starkey’s entry beat 18,000 others written in English at the annual contest. Her winning haiku – a threeline Japanese poem that traditionally evokes images of nature – read: Freshly mown grass clinging to my shoes my muddled thoughts
She was encouraged to enter by her Japanese teacher at Wycliffe College in Gloucestershire. Her win involved attending a prize ceremony in Tokyo, where she was met by photographers and camera crews.
The competition attracts two million entries overall. Gracie said she took inspiration from her school grounds when devising a theme.
The judges praised the poem as “unique and fresh”, saying: “Thinking about life while walking across the lawn, the author happened to notice the pattern created on their shoes, and comes to think of it as reflecting their own complicated thinking. The expression ‘muddled thoughts’ is especially skilfully used.”
The prize includes Gracie’s winning haiku appearing on millions of bottles of Ito En green tea drinks.