Poetry is no longer the preserve of literary figures. At the 38th edition of the haiku competition, those with scientific backgrounds largely came out on top, winning the majority of the awards and challenging preconceived ideas about the boundaries between disciplines.

The first prize was awarded to Mouhamadou Sy, a science teacher, whose poetic sensibility won over the jury. Even more striking, scientists almost entirely dominate the top of the rankings, with only one candidate from a humanities background among the top five.

 

This unexpected result illustrates the haiku's ability to transcend academic divides. Of Japanese origin, this short poetic form consists of three lines totaling 17 syllables and seeks to capture, with extreme concision, an emotion, an image, or a fleeting moment, often linked to nature or the seasons.

 

Presiding over the awards ceremony, the Japanese ambassador to Senegal, Takeshi Akamatsu, praised the growing success of the competition. According to him, this cultural initiative "has become firmly established in Senegalese schools," demonstrating a growing interest among young people in this form of artistic expression.

 

This year, more than 450 haiku were submitted, with contributions coming not only from Senegal, but also from other countries in Africa, Europe, America, and Asia. This international participation confirms the reach of this competition and the universality of haiku.

 

“The haiku is considered one of the shortest poems in the world, but it can contain an entire universe,” the diplomat noted, emphasizing the expressive richness of this poetic genre. He also evoked the legacy of the Japanese master Matsuo Bashō, an emblematic figure of haiku.