Details

Wiesław Karliński

(1950 – 2026)

Wieslaw KarlinskiWiesław Karliński (born 25 June 1950 in Głuszyna, Poland – died 10 January 2026 in Namysłów, Poland) was a Polish teacher, translator, traveller, journalist, and renowned haiku poet, known also under the pen name Wilhelm Karud. A graduate in Russian language and literature from the University of Opole, he spent many years teaching before devoting himself to writing, translation, and travel.

Over the course of his life, Karliński published more than 300 articles in travel and culinary journals, drawing inspiration from the Polish countryside as well as his journeys through Scandinavia, Ukraine, and the Balkans. He combined a passion for culture and nature with precise, imagistic verse that reflected the simplicity and depth characteristic of haiku.

A founding member of the Polish Haiku Association and board member from 2022 to 2025, Karliński played a key role in developing the haiku movement in Poland. His poems and haiga appeared widely in both Polish and international publications, including The Mainichi Haiku in English, Asahi Haikuist Network, Daily Haiga, Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal, Papierowy Żuraw, WHA Haiga Contest, and VSANA. He was also a co‑author of the trilingual anthology Opada Mgła / The Fog is Falling / Der Nebel fällt (2024), written with Krzysztof Kokot.

Karliński achieved broad international recognition as a laureate in numerous contests, among them:

  • The Mainichi Haiku Contest (2013),
  • Indian Kukai (2015, 2021),
  • Caribbean Kigo Kukai (2021),
  • The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai (2021),
  • Polish International Haiku Competition (1st Prize, 2023),
  • European Kukai (2013; 3rd place 2023),
  • Maya Lyubenova International Haiku Contest (2025),
  • Bashō Memorial English Haiku Contest (2025).

He received the Ewa Tomaszewska Poetry Award for the best haiku in Polish (2021) and was shortlisted for the same award in 2018 and 2024. His haiku, tanka, and haiga earned recognition in Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Croatian, and Japanese competitions. From 2013 to 2017 and again from 2020 to 2025, he was included eleven times in the prestigious European Top 100 Most Creative Haiku Authors list.

As a juror of the Nysa Poets’ Nights haiku contests and of the 9th National Haiku Competition Wiśnie i Wierzby (Cherry Blossoms and Willows, 2025), he supported new voices in Polish haiku. His later years in Namysłów were filled with literary activity, travel, amateur theatre, photography, and the joy of cooking.

Wiesław Karliński’s poetry continues to reflect the landscapes and quiet observations that inspired him throughout his life — the fields of Poland, the mountains of the Balkans, and the light of the north. His contribution to contemporary haiku in Poland and beyond remains lasting and deeply admired.

Selected work:

willow catkins
in the evening wind
notes of Chopin

— Honorable mention, The 16th Mainichi Haiku Contest, 2013

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half of February –
old northern birch
slopes to the South

— Honorable mention, Diogen, Winter Haiku, 2013

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short Siberian summer
a haste of plants and bees
time is honey

— Third place, European Quarterly Kukai, 2nd Edition, 2013

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lazy afternoon
unpunished mosquito
on my foot

— The Mainichi, June 11, 2014

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lot czapli—
szare parabole
na ścianie lasu

heron’s flight—
grey parabolas
on the forest wall

— Haiku Anthology, Second International Haiku Conference, Kraków 2015

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a harvest soon
miller’s wife washes
white shirts

— The Mainichi, July 18, 2015

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autumn in the field
under a pumpkin leaf
children’s ball

— Second prize, The 11th Pumpkin Festival Haiku Contest, Croatia, 2015

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return
so much fruit
on the cherry tree

— Winner, The 13th Polish International Haiku Competition, 2023

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ptasi śpiew
milknie na chwilę
siekiera drwala


birdsong
falls silent for a moment
woodcutter’s axe

— 四季+ / Seasons+ / Pory Roku +, Third International Haiku Conference, Kraków 2024; Cold Moon Haiku Journal, April 17, 2024

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wczesna jesień
bogata w kolory
moja ścieżka


early autumn
rich in colors
my path

— Second place, Third International Haiku Conference contest, Kraków 2024

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wkrótce żniwa
wszystkie strachy na wróble
w mundurach wroga

almost harvest time
all the scarecrows
in enemy uniforms

— Ptaki Wędrowne 6 / Migratory Birds 6, 2025; The Mainichi, January 14, 2023

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para gołębi
na parkowej ławeczce
otwarte szachy

a pair of pigeons
on a park bench
open chessboard

— Ptaki Wędrowne 6 / Migratory Birds 6, 2025; Stardust Haiku Journal, February, 2023

With deep gratitude to Robert Kania, Marta Chociłowska, and Krzysztof Kokot for providing invaluable information about Wiesław Karliński.

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