Tucsonans can take in the downtown scenery while experiencing the beauty of poetry this spring when the annual Haiku Hike returns on March 20 along Congress Street and Stone Avenue.
The hike features 20 clear acrylic signs printed with haikus from the winners of the Haiku Hike literary competition held by the Downtown Tucson Partnership and the University of Arizona Poetry Center. The signs, which are stationed in planters, will remain in downtown Tucson from March 20 to June 1.
This year’s competition theme is “Metamorphosis.” Previous themes include “Living in the Present Moment” and “Life in the City.”
“Just reading something silently or out loud to yourself, I feel is a great way to destress and just to be in the present moment,” deputy director of Downtown Tucson Partnership, Zach Baker, told the Star in 2021.
The literary competition is still accepting entries for the Haiku Hike until March 10 at 11:59 p.m., according to the Downtown Tucson Partnership’s website.
Individuals can submit a maximum of three original haikus through the online submission form.
This poem about life in the city, on display in downtown Tucson, was one of the winners of the 2019 Haiku Hike. Submissions are now being accepted for the 2022 contest.
The submissions for this year’s literary competition will be judged by Tucson's poet laureate, TC Tolbert.
Tolbert was one of 13 poets laureate across the U.S. who won a fellowship award from the Academy of American Poets in 2019. The $100,000 award was used to help implement LGBTQ+ workshop civic programs in Tucson, the Star reported in 2019.
During the second annual Haiku Hike in 2021, 712 haikus were submitted to the literary competition, 572 of which were from individuals from Tucson. Other submissions came from 14 different states and eight countries, according to the Downtown Tucson Partnership’s website.
The Haiku Hike is also a great way for locals to get acquainted or reacquainted with downtown.
“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,” the Downtown Tucson Partnership’s website states.
For more information about the Haiku Hike or to submit your own haiku, visit the Downtown Tucson Partnership’s website.
