Poet Details

Božena Zernec

A retired fashion designer, educated in fine arts, Božena Zernec writes poetry, and designs and produces traditional souvenirs representing the past times of Krapina and Hrvatsko Zagorje, for which she has received numerous awards and commendations. She has published haiku in Croatian and the Kajkavian dialect since 2003.

Awards and Other Honors: Second Prize, Haiku Day, Dubravko Ivančan, Krapina (2004); Commendation, Kloštar Ivanić, Croatian Language category (2004); Best Haiku, The 40th A-Bomb Memorial Day Haiku Meeting (2006); First Prize, Haiku Day Dubravko Ivančan, Krapina (2006); Haiku Award, Kumamoto "City of Artesia Waters" International Kusamakura Haiku Competition (2008); haiku selected to appear in Among the Lilies, A White Lotus Anthology (Shadow Poetry: USA, 2008); World Haiku 2010 No.6, World Haiku Association; Commendation, Kloštar Ivanić, Croatian Language category (2009); Second Prize, Haiku Day - Dubravko Ivančan, Krapina (2009); Award, IRIS haiku magazine No. 5/6 (Ivanić Grad, Croatia) [A Little Haiku Contest, Theme: "2010 – International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures"]; Selected Haiku, One Thousand Cranes, The International Haiku Contest within The International Festival Origami Peace Tree, Romania (2009); Honourable Mention, 13th Mainichi International Haiku Contest (2009); Commendation, Kloštar Ivanić Haiku Contest, Croatian language category (2010); Honorable Mention, 14th Mainichi Haiku Contest, Japan (2010); named one of the top 100 European haiku poets by haiku.forum.pl.;Honourable Mention Summer Haiku, an award by Diogen pro culture magazine, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012).

Books Published: GLE!/ LOOK! Haiku poetry in Croatian and English (Pučko otvoreno učilište Krapina: Krapina, 2005); Šaran u oblacima / Krap h oblakima / A Carp Among the Clouds [Haiku poetry in Croatian, Kajkavian dialect, and English] (Matis d.o.o.: Pregrada, 2007).

a bombed roof
patched with a piece
of starry sky

moonlight
tiny waves sway thick walls
of the castle

whistling
the wind turns a snowy
merry-go-round

a castle on the shore.
around centennial walls
sliding carps

around the mulberry tree
a boy catching chickens
with purple legs

under the eaves
on the harp made of ice
muses the Sun

Credits: "a bombed roof" - Best Haiku, The 40th A-Bomb Memorial Day Haiku Meeting (2006); "whistling" - Mainichi Daily News, Haiku in English (2008); "around the mulberry tree" – Commendation, Kloštar Ivanić, Croatian Language category (2009); "moonlight" - Among the Lilies, A White Lotus Anthology (Shadow Poetry: USA, 2008); "a castle on the shore" - Kō 22:10 (2008); "under the eaves" - First Prize, 8th Haiku Day Dubravko Ivančan, Krapina (2006); A Carp Among the Clouds: Haiku Poetry (Matis d.o.o.: Pregrada, 2007).