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See New Australian Haiku Society Website
Go to the new Australian Haiku Society Website at
This website is now closed.
Go to the new Australian Haiku Society Website at
This website is now closed.
Members of the Australian Haiku Society - and all others interested in haiku in this country - are hereby advised that the AHS will be operating a new website, effective as of this date (Tuesday, 21 June, 2016).
This new site can be accessed through the following link:
Members of the AHS are likewise advised that notifications – as previously sent out by email on the first day of each month, listing postings made on the HaikuOz website during the previous month – will not continue with the advent of this new website.
Instead, anyone wishing to be advised of postings on the new Australian Haiku Society website is most welcome to become a follower – see Follow Blog via Email, at the top-right, on the main page of the new site.
As a follower, you will receive updates whenever they are posted.
In the meantime, everyone is encouraged to visit this new AHS website at any time.
Rodney Williams
Australian Haiku Society
With the following poem, Australian haiku poet Simon Hanson has won first prize in the Jane Reichhold Haiku Prize, as recently announced at the 14th Annual Ukiah Haiku Festival in the United States:
hallway mirror
a vase of flowers
made of light
Annette Makino of California came second in this contest, with Scott Mason of New York third.
Sandra Simpson and Elaine Riddell from New Zealand both featured among the Honourable Mentions.
The upstairs room of The Children's Bookshop at Beecroft was filled to capacity on Saturday 28 May with an appreciative audience attending back-to-back afternoon events celebrating collaborative poetry and the tanka form.
In the first event Vanessa Proctor, President of the Australian Haiku Society, launched A Shared Umbrella. This joint project by Beverley George and David Terelinck is a collection of ten tanka sequences and thirteen rengay written over several years of collaboration.
Vanessa elaborated on the title metaphor, illustrated so enchantingly on the book cover by South African artist Tumi K. Steyn. The cover, in a pleasing shade of gold with autumnal notes, features a traditional Japanese umbrella, or wagasa. To quote Vanessa:
"To share such an umbrella with someone, you need to stand close in order to be able to share the space together, to walk in step. That walking in step is an art which Beverley and David have mastered beautifully."
'White Heron: The Authorized Biography of Janice Bostok' by Sharon Dean has gone up on The Haiku Foundation website as the 'Librarian's Cache' for the week.
It can be accessed at this link:
As noted by Lorin Ford, 'this is a piece (a major work!) that will be welcomed and applauded by all Australians at all interested in haiku.'
As we did last year, the group met at Federation Wharf for our winter meeting, this time on a day full of umbrellas and continuous mizzling rain, which had the effect of muting the colours of the city and the river, but enhancing those of the deciduous leaves and the soft ochres and pinks of the Fed Square paving. Cormorants on the vacant tour boats hung out their wings despite the rain. The ever-present sparrows just shrugged it off.
We found a sheltered table outside one of the cafes by the river, where Robyn Cairns presented a copy of her recently published chapbook, 'In Transit' (Picaro Poets Series, Ginninderra Press) to each of the other seven members present, then we moved on to our discussion.
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group Ginko & Meeting #8" »
A regular weekly winner of the "re" Virals" feature on The Haiku Foundation website, Jo McInerney has been successful once more.
Following her response to a haiku by Gary Hotham ('evening loon call'), Jo has chosen a poem by a fellow Australian haiku poet – Ron C. Moss – for discussion in this week's upcoming posting of "re: Virals":
on wet sand
the crab's skeleton
reaches out to sea
- from 'Last visit' (2002)
With further details provided below, readers are encouraged to respond, with guidelines to be found at this link:
Continue reading "Australians featuring in "re: Virals" once again" »
Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group met on Saturday 4th June 2016 from 12 to 2pm at the Box Factory.
Present: Members Sara Abend-Sims, Lyn Arden, Lee Bentley, Dawn Colsey, Margaret Dingle, Julia Wakefield-Houghton.
Welcome: to new prospective member Pauline Smith.
Informal presentations on the subject of haibun were made by Lyn and Julia. We all read out haibun from examples found in various publications by members, and then workshopped some by Sara, Julia, Lyn, and haiku by Pauline, Margaret and Dawn.
The meeting closed at 2pm.
Next meeting: Saturday 6th August at 12 for 12.30.
Report by Dawn Colsey
Included in the Expositions section of the final edition of 'A Hundred Gourds' – just released – is a review of 'Windfall 4', written by Australian haiku poet Jo McInerney, who is becoming increasingly respected as a commentator on haiku.
Through accessing the following link, readers will be able to appreciate Jo's response to the latest edition of 'Windfall', an annual selection of Australian haiku edited by Beverley George and published by Peter Macrow's Blue Giraffe Press:
The 19th issue of 'A Hundred Gourds', a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry, is now available. This June 2016 issue is our final issue. All issues of 'A Hundred Gourds' will remain available for the foreseeable future and we hope readers will continue to find them useful resources. We thank all of our contributors for the wonderful work AHG has been able to publish.
As well as our Haiku, Haibun, Haiga, Tanka and Expositions sections, AHG 5:3 presents two Features, plus a range of Expositions: further details can be found below.
Continue reading "A Hundred Gourds 5.3 released – Lorin Ford" »
First prize - Ruth Powell, Prince George, BC, Canada
Second prize - Owen Bullock, Canberra, Australia
Third prize - Liz Fenn, Wellsville, NY, USA
Two of Rodney Williams' haiku received Honourable Mentions.
Limit: 3 haiku - while the theme for this competition is "pumpkins", no explicit mention of pumpkins needs to be made in the haiku entered.
Closing date: July 31.
Entry fee: free.
Email entries to Djurda Rozic at firstname.lastname@example.com – entrants must include the word "pumpkins" in the subject line.
Poets from the region of the former Yugoslavia are welcome to submit their haiku in their language; their work will be translated into English and judged in the international section.
With results to be published in "Iris" haiku journal, this competition is organised by the tourist board of the town of Ivanić Grad in Croatia and the Three Rivers Haiku Association.
Limit for number of entries: 10 haiku.
Entry by email: email@example.com
Closing: July 31.
Fee: entry is free.
Winning haiku will be published in book form - with results to be announced on October 12, so as to mark the anniversary of Basho's death - but copyright will remain with the competition's sponsors.
Judge: Koko Kato.
Full guidelines can be accessed through this link:
Entries close: July 31.
Cost: £12/$US20 per entry (with payment able to be made online).
This competition welcomes entries of unpublished short collections of haiku, tanka, short poetry and short haibun.
Such collections should be comprised by 8–24 short poems (of any genre).
Individual poems can be of any length from 1–25 lines (including any blank lines between stanzas). Prose poems (and haibun) should not exceed 200 words. Poems may be titled or otherwise.
Poems may be published or unpublished, but must not have previously appeared as – or in – a published collection.
With further details given here below, full guidelines can be accessed through the Snapshot website, at this link:
Entries close: July 20.
Guidelines: haiku must be previously unpublished, and not submitted or entered elsewhere.
You must type the "World" in the subject-line of your submission email.
Enter by email only: email@example.com
Winning haiku (including honourable mentions) will be posted on the Lyrical Passion website.
Entry fee: $US3 per haiku or $US10 for 5 haiku, with other options (see the website for full details about making payment).
Grand prize - $200 (USD) & certificate; 2nd prize - $70; 3rd prize - $30.
Full entry details can be accessed through this link:
Please find the details of this competition at the link.
Lesley Walter, valued member of the Red Dragonflies, sadly passed away on 21st May. Lesley came from a background of mainstream poetry where she was a very well-respected poet. With this grounding, she brought a fresh and innovative spirit to haiku. She had a wonderful sense of humour and was rigorous both in her questioning of haiku 'rules' and in her comments on others' work. The group greatly appreciated her frankness. We will miss her poetry, her insight and her friendship.
Vanessa Proctor
blue-sky day
the way that little girl skipped
when her mum said yes
Lesley Walter
'A Shared Umbrella: the responsive tanka & rengay of Beverley George & David Terelinck' will be launched by Vanessa Proctor, President of the Australian Haiku Society, at The Children's Bookshop, 6 Hannah Street, Beecroft NSW (opposite Beecroft Station) on Saturday 28th May 2016 at 1 pm.
Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head NSW
Thursday 5 May 2016
This was no ordinary ginko. Earlier in the year the committee of the Australian Haiku Society, with Vanessa Proctor as president, resolved to honour John Bird with recognition of the invaluable role he has played, not only in the formation of the society, but for his initiative and application in developing and promoting Australian haiku. The AHS requested the presentation be made at the autumn ginko of the Cloudcatchers, on the Far North Coast of NSW.
This is where John lives, where he was first drawn to the genre and to an early association with Janice Bostok, (the acknowleged pioneering haiku poet in Australia), where they together edited the first and subsequent editions of the Australian Haiku Anthology. This is where, over ten years ago, John drew together haiku poets in the area to form the Cloudcatchers group, of which he remains the patron. All members owe a great deal to John for his input into their sensitivity, their craftsmanship and into their lives.
Continue reading "Cloudcatchers Ginko No. 41 (autumn) 2016" »
Congratulations to Simon Hanson for being named as the latest weekly winner in the "re: Virals" segment on The Haiku Foundation website.
Yet commentaries by two other Australian-based writers – Janet Marsh and Cynthia Rowe – were also posted in response to the haiku given below, along with a further comment from Canadian Garry Eaton.
Written by Rodney Williams, this poem was selected by fellow Victorian Jo McInerney, after she had been named the previous winner in "re: Virals 33":
glimpse of dolphin
beyond the river mouth …
friends a youth ago
- Rodney Williams
As the latest winner of "re: Virals", Simon Hanson has selected a bi-lingual haiku from Ireland for comment by THF readers, with responses encouraged through The Haiku Foundation website:
Continue reading "Australians featured in THF's "re: Virals 34" " »
Congratulations to Australian haiku poet Simon Hanson for gaining First Place in the Shiki Monthly Kukai for April 2016, with the following one-liner:
both sides of the border autumn moon
- Simon Hanson
Polling twenty-eight points – two more than the second-place winner – Simon was a clear winner in the Kigo section (where the set theme was migration), in a competition which attracted entries from over a hundred poets, across a range of countries and continents.
One voter's comment about Simon's winning haiku read as follows: "Definitely topical in 2016, but also universal in its implications. And certainly about migration, all the more powerfully for its stillness. A very strong haiku."
Continue reading "Simon Hanson wins Shiki Monthly Kukai – April 2016" »
As the latest weekly winner for the "re: Virals" feature on The Haiku Foundation website, Australian haiku poet Jo McInerney has selected a poem by another Australian for comment in next week's segment:
glimpse of dolphin
beyond the river mouth …
friends a youth ago
— Rodney Williams
Stylus Poetry Journal 28 (2008)
Readers are encouraged to respond.
Continue reading "Australian haiku poets in THF's "re: Virals" " »
The following report comes from Lyn Reeves, on behalf of Ron C. Moss and the Watersmeet haiku group in Tasmania: this piece – accompanied by photographs – can also be accessed through this link:
To mark International Haiku Poetry Day in Hobart, Ron Moss and I held a ginko in the Royal Botanical Gardens. We chose to meet at the site of the Japanese Gardens, where the haiku group Watersmeet had its beginnings. This was an opportunity, not only to celebrate the day, but also to bring together poets who may be interested in continuing to share haiku activities.
Fourteen people turned out to take part, some of them old hands at haiku, some relative beginners and some entirely new to the form but with a keen desire to learn more about it. We were honoured to also have the company of Lee Bentley, co-coordinator of the Bindii Japanese Poetry Genre Group, who was visiting from South Australia.
Continue reading "International Haiku Poetry Day Ginko – Hobart" »
Congratulations to Australian haiku poet Marietta McGregor for two recent successes.
She has had four poems chosen among the best haiku included in "The Mainichi" in Japan during 2015:
the black around us
- July 1
a flash of white wings
in the corner of my eye
gone in one blink
- August 13
our measure
of summer days
- September 10
aircraft landing
a sparrow hops
- December 16
Full details can be accessed through the following link:
Congratulations to Australian haiku poet Jan Dobb for gaining second place in the 2016 Wild Plum Haiku Contest:
drifts of leaves
we listen to the colours
of grandma's tales
- Jan Dobb
Another Australian haiku poet – Jayashree Maniyil – gained the First Honourable Mention in the same competition:
crackle of twigs
everywhere the smoke
gathering the sky
- Jayashree Maniyil
Full results – with comments from the judge an'ya – can be viewed through this link:
Simon Hanson is to be congratulated for having one of his poems short-listed in The Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems, as recently posted on The Haiku Foundation website, viewable at this link:
desert stones
slowly their shadows
change sides
— Simon Hanson, Wild Plum — a haiku journal 1:2
Another leading Australian haiku poet – Ron C. Moss – was one of the panelists for these awards, after his book "The Bone Carver" had received a Touchstone Award last year (just as it received an Honourable Mention in the Mildred Kanterman Book Award, as a Merit Book Award for 2015 – for books published in 2014 – through the Haiku Society of America).
Rob Scott's Masters thesis, "The History of Australian Haiku and the Emergence of a Local Accent" has been archived (in full) on The Haiku Foundation website, after being spotlighted there - in Garry Eaton's 'Librarian's Cache' feature - earlier in this month of April: it can viewed through this link -
An extract from this work - under the title "Australian Haiku in the Global Context" - had been published as a feature in "A Hundred Gourds" 4:1 December 2014:
As the Managing Editor for "A Hundred Gourds" – Lorin Ford – notes, "It's an important piece, quoting many haiku by Australians."
211 entrants from 43 countries participated in 13th European Quarterly Kukai Spring 2016 Edition, on the theme "people". No 13 saw the largest number of entrants in the global kukai.
Tash Adams from Perth, Australia won first place: this is the third time an Australian author has won (after Simon Hanson – 11th Kukai; and Cynthia Rowe – 8th Kukai) –
leaving him
one kilo
at a time
- Tash Adams – first place
mountain peak
the rising edge
of a muezzin's call
- Jayashree Maniyil – sixth place
For a full report, please visit http://europeankukai.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/results-of-european-quarterly-kukai-13.html
Please consider participating in the next quarterly kukai, while also enjoying these remaining entries from Australia below:
Continue reading "13th European Quarterly Kukai Spring 2016 Edition" »
Nine Bindii members met at the kiosk near the lake in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens at 11 am on 2 April for a ginko led by Margaret Fensom. On such a beautiful autumn day there was plenty to experience and participants immersed themselves in this beautiful place for an hour of walking or quiet contemplation before returning for the kiosk for lunch.
Continue reading "Bindii April 2016 Ginko in Adelaide Botanic Gardens" »
The Autumn 2016 edition of 'paper wasp: a journal of haiku', featuring more than 40 poets, is now available for $8 within Australia and $US9 overseas (posting & handling included).
'paper wasp' will cease publication as a quarterly print journal in July.
'paper wasp' will re-emerge in a new form online and produce occasional haiku anthologies in hard copy.
The last Winter issue is intended as a collector's edition.
In keeping with the beginnings of 'paper wasp' more than 20 years ago, it will publish haiku only.
Submissions are restricted to a maximum of six haiku.
The deadline is 1 May.
As an update, please note that this last, winter-based edition of 'paper wasp' is expected to be published later than usual, in mid-July.
This delay will result from a bigger than expected number of submissions – and that is even before the deadline closes on 1 May 2016!
The Winter edition will be sent free of charge to existing subscribers.
It will be available for $A10 within Australia and $US10 overseas, postage and handling included.
Enquiries/submissions: firstname.lastname@example.com
Continue reading "Reminder: submissions close on May 1 for last hard-copy edition of Paper Wasp" »
Congratulations go to Australian haiku poet Marietta McGregor for winning the 5th Setouchi Matsuyama Photo Haiku Contest, with the following poem:
summer dusk
fishing boats set their nets
around the sun
- Marietta Jane McGregor
(Canberra, Australia)
As posted by David McMurray, this judge's comment accompanied Marietta's winning haiku:
"Poetically encompassing the circumference of the sun in a far-reaching wide-angle shot, this haiku won the 5th Setouchi Matsuyama Photo Haiku Contest sponsored by the Asahi Culture Center and The Asahi Shimbun. The Highest Award came with a 30,000 yen gift coupon and handicrafts from Matsuyama."
Full details can be gained by accessing the Asahi Haikuist Special website, through the following link:
Continue reading "Marietta McGregor – winner: 5th Setouchi Matsuyama Photo Haiku Contest" »
Entries are invited for the 8th Yamadera Bashō Memorial Museum Haiku Contest.
The entry period will commence on April 1 – entries will close on Saturday, 4 June 2016.
Poets may submit either one or two haiku, previously unpublished.
In making an entry to Division Four, non-Japanese entrants are not required to provide a translation.
No entry fee is payable.
Entries can be submitted by email to this address:
Continue reading "Entries welcome – 8th Yamadera Bashō Haiku Contest" »
Red Dragonflies met on Saturday the 5th March at Barbara Fisher's home for their summer gathering to workshop haiku and enjoy each other's company.
Present were Lesley Walter, Barbara Fisher, Cynthia Rowe, Dawn Bruce and their leader Vanessa Proctor.
Unfortunately Beverley George couldn't make it.
Vanessa had set some very challenging writing exercises, but everyone rose to the occasion and the haiku presented were varied and fresh.
Two marked haiku were placed in the bowl after lunch and read in turn. This is always a popular activity as everyone tries to guess the author.
The meeting finished at 1:30.
- Dawn Bruce
The long-term lack of rain down here in Victoria has left the water-level perceptibly low in the artificial lake beside the Terrace Tearooms at Melbourne's Botanical Gardens, prompting dusky moorhens to wade around pecking for food in exposed mud beneath the stone walls, exactly where eels could be seen swimming under normal conditions.
With a range of other people involved unable to attend for a variety of reasons – including our leader, Lorin Ford – four members of the Red Kelpie Haiku Group still managed to gather yesterday (Sunday, 6 March) for our autumn meeting. Even if civic gardeners would have appreciated rain, the weather was beautiful – warm and sunny – while group discussion was positive and fruitful to match.
The Red Kelpie Group members joining me yesterday – Janet Howie, Jayashree Maniyil and Earl Livings – had been invited to bring along a draft version of a new haiku that was proving to be challenging. Productive conversation followed, with constructive feedback and helpful suggestions appreciated all around within this work-shopping process.
A second element of the gathering involved group members having also been asked to share a valued haiku – written by another poet – as a prompt towards dialogue, with no particular theme or technical feature specified in advance.
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group – Autumn meeting & ginko #7 " »
I am honoured to take up the role of President of the Australian Haiku Society. Firstly, I'd like to pay tribute to those who had the foresight to found HaikuOz in 2000. The original mission to promote haiku within Australia and to bring Australian writers to the world haiku community has been so successful that Australian haiku is flourishing as never before. This is largely due to the many people who have worked tirelessly to promote Australian haiku, both in Australia and overseas. I look forward to a very bright future for HaikuOz and for English-language haiku itself.
Vanessa Proctor
Australian Haiku Society
The 18th issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry, is now available for your reading pleasure.
Please note:
1. AHG will cease publication with our next issue, AHG 5.3, in June 2016.
AHG 5.3, our 19th issue, will be published in June. It will be our final issue, so be sure to send all submissions by the deadline of March 15th. Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.
2. There will be no renku section in AHG 5.3
Otata mo aru hi wa kite kureru yama no aki fukaku
Otata will come again
one day
late fall in the mountains
— Santoka, as translated by Burton Watson
As Watson notes, "Otata was a woman who went around selling fish in the area of Santoka's cottage in Matsuyama."
An e-zine of haiku and other short poems, 'Otata' appears on the last day of the month.
The 'Otata' e-zine can be accessed through this link:
Continue reading "'Otata' – an e-zine of haiku and other short poems" »
Recently Beverley George became the fourth Australian haiku poet to be honoured as a Focus Poet in the respected British haiku journal 'Presence' (issue #54, February, 2016).
Along with other poems of hers which have previously gained recognition elsewhere, the following new haiku by Beverley have just been featured in Focus Poet # 39 in 'Presence':
the haiku books
I thought I would read again
the ones I do
key in the lock our dog's swift head count
Three other Australian haiku poets have likewise been honoured in the same way: Lorin Ford, Ron C Moss and Vanessa Proctor. Groups of both Australian and New Zealand haiku poets have also been featured in Focus pieces in 'Presence'. (See below.)
Continue reading "Beverley George the latest Australian to be a Focus Poet in 'Presence'" »
The 2015 Martin Lucas Haiku Award – conducted in the UK by 'Haiku Presence' – attracted 283 entries from 52 poets, with all three poems rated as Commended coming from Australian haiku poets:
newborn lamb
a first look towards
the stars
- Ron C Moss
full moon
she makes her butterpat
a perfect circle
- Marietta Jane McGregor
falling leaves
the open book
as you left it
- Barbara A. Taylor
Full results – with the judge's comments – can be accessed through this link:
While further poets are encouraged to offer selections of their work, the following Australian haiku writers already have portfolios of their haiku represented in 'The Living Haiku Anthology':
Dawn Bruce, Jan Dobb, Lorin Ford, Simon Hanson, Myron Lysenko, Jayashree Maniyil, Ron C,. Moss, Cynthia Rowe and Scott Terrill.
Links to these various portfolios can be found below:
Continue reading "Portfolios for Australian Haiku Poets – 'The Living Haiku Anthology'" »
I'm very happy to be able to announce that the nine complete issues 1.1 through to 3.1 of the quarterly journal, 'Notes from the Gean', for which I was haiku editor, have been recovered and are now archived on Don Baird's website, 'The Living Anthology'.
You'll find them in TLA's 'Library Shelf' under the heading 'Journals':
Continue reading "'Notes from the Gean', Resurrected – Message from Lorin Ford" »
Conducted in Croatia, the Blood Donation Haiku Contest resulted in the following Australian poets having their entries recognised as Commended:
down the highway
blood cells with smiley faces
the Red Cross van
Simon Hanson
bloodline . . .
the two of us exchanging
Cynthia Rowe
On Thursday, 11 February, I spent an evening at the Halifax Café with a large and enthusiastic audience for the ten Bindii poets who read their work. We were also fortunate to have musicians Munetaka Umehara and Alexander Ask performing A Midsummer Walk, their original work for Japanese flute and didgeridoo. Munetaka's great niece Natsumi performed on percussion to accompany the other musicians. A great effort, as she had just arrived from Japan at 2.30 pm that day.
Continue reading "An Evening of Poetry and Music: Bindii readers at Halifax Café, 11 February 2016" »
After almost five years as President of the Australian Haiku Society, I have decided it is time to step down and hand over the office to someone who will further the development and growth of AHS.
HaikuOz is in the fortunate position of having a capable and highly respected haiku poet who has agreed to take on the role. Congratulations to Vanessa Proctor who is the new President of the Australian Haiku Society.
Australian writer Cynthia Rowe has offered her thoughts about defining what haiku is for her. Under the title 'Concision', it can be found on 'The Living Haiku Anthology' website, under 'Poets on Haiku', or it can be accessed directly through this link:
A portfolio of Cynthia's haiku has also been created: it can be accessed within 'The Living Haiku Anthology' website, through this second link:
Ten Bindii members met at The Box Factory for a workshop by Julia Wakefield on 'What Makes a Good Haiku'. Julia presented a thoroughly researched workshop, looking at examples of haiku that have been critically acclaimed, and members discussed what made them 'good haiku'. Julia focused not only on three-line haiku, but had plentiful examples of one-line haiku and also some four-line haiku. It was interesting for members to discuss the impact of the format of these haiku and why the author had chosen that particular format, instead of sticking to the more usual three line.
An Evening of Poetry and Music at Halifax Café on Thursday 11 Feb at 6.45.
This event has been organized by Bindii on behalf of the Adelaide City Council and the Box Factory Community Centre.
Continue reading "Report on Bindii Japanese Poetry Genres Group Meeting: 6 February 2016 " »
Ginko #40
Torakina Park, Brunswick Heads NSW
Thursday 4 February 2016
The tenth anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the Cloudcatcher haiku group was celebrated at the very same picnic table where the original gathering took place on 5 December 2005. Torakina Park, in Brunswick Heads, where the Brunswick River meets the sea, has been a favourite site for ginko, and this was the fourteenth assemblage there by the group. Janice Bostok, known as the haiku pioneer of Australia, was with us at that first meeting (as she was also at a number of subsequent ginko), inspiring participants with her astute comments and some impromptu haiku of her own.
In the latest weekly posting of the 're:Virals' segment on The Haiku Foundation's website, Australian haiku poet Jo McInerney features once again, this time through her response to the following haiku:
dry wheat grass . . .
the whiteness of
a child dying
— Robert D. Wilson, 'A Lousy Mirror' (2011)
As well as being reproduced here in full, below, Jo's response can be accessed at the following link:
Continue reading "Further haiku response from Jo McInerney - THF's 're: Virals 21'" »
Australian poet Simon Hanson has had one of his poems voted as the best haiku for the year in the Shamrock Haiku Journal Readers' Choice Awards 2015, as just published online in Shamrock No. 33 –
window ice
the garden thaws
in sparkles
- Simon Hanson
Full details about the 2015 Shamrock Readers' Choice Awards can be accessed through the Shamrock website:
The work of a range of other Australian haiku poets has likewise been recognised in Shamrock No. 33, especially within the IHS International Haiku Competition Results 2015, as found below, but also through this link:
Continue reading "Australian poets featured in Shamrock No. 33" »
Australian haiku poets are strongly encouraged to submit work towards the Living Haiku Anthology.
This is being compiled by Don Baird, Richard Gilbert and Hansha Teki.
It could become the largest international online repository of haiku.
The editors are seeking to include haiku from poets worldwide.
Representation is open to any poet who has a group of previously published haiku.
Full submission details can be found at this website:
A range of Australian haiku poets have been included in the latest edition of the 'cattails' haiku journal (from the UHTS), including the following three, whose work has been featured among the Editor's Choices:
only the moon
privy to a possum's
tightrope walk
- Madhuri Pillai
outer suburb
the length of a dog's
weekday voice
- Jan Dobb
first spring day
birdsong unravels
my knitting
- Hazel Hall
The Editor's commentary accompanying these three haiku can be accessed through the following link, as can the text for Marietta McGregor's haibun 'The Ten Millennium Tree', winner of second prize in the UHTS haibun contest:
Continue reading "Australian haiku poets featured in January edition of 'cattails'" »
For the third time this month, Australian haiku poet Jo McInerney has been honoured by having her response chosen as the winner in the 're: Virals' segment on The Haiku Foundation website. Jo's evaluation of Janice M. Bostok's 'envelope' monoku can be found below, preceded by another commentary from fellow Australian haiku poet Marietta McGregor.
As the weekly winner of 're: Virals', Jo has chosen the following haiku for comment:
dry wheat grass . . .
the whiteness of
a child dying
— Robert D. Wilson, 'A Lousy Mirror' (2011)
For posting on Friday morning (Eastern US Time) – as before – responses to Robert D. Wilson's haiku must be received online by midnight Tuesday (New York time). Contributors need to submit through the THF's Contact Box – using a subject header of "re: Virals" – with guidelines available through this link:
Continue reading "Jo McInerney's third success with 're: Virals' on the THF website" »
For the second time this month, Australian haiku poet Jo McInerney has been the winner of the weekly 're: Virals' competition on The Haiku Foundation website: Jo's response to a haiku by Charles Easter – 'dry heat' – can be found below.
In the meantime, however, Jo has again been given the chance – as the latest weekly winner – to choose a haiku to which other readers could respond: following on from her selection of Lorin Ford's 'cellophane' one-liner, earlier in January, this time Jo has selected a further monostich from another Australian haiku poet, Janice M. Bostok –
envelope my thumb opens the seal of his tongue
For posting on Friday morning (Eastern US Time), responses to Janice's one-liner would need to have been received online by midnight Tuesday (New York).
Guidelines for contributing through the THF's Contact Box – using a subject header of 're: Virals' – can be found through this link:
Continue reading "Jo McInerney chooses Janice M. Bostok haiku for new 're: Virals' response" »
Hearty congratulations to Quendryth Young for gaining 2nd Place in the Fifth edition Polish International Haiku Competition 2015 with
broken glass
some of the shards
Quendryth Young
Alstonville NSW
Commended haiku include the following Australians:
harbour light show—
a little boy points out
the half-moon
Owen Bullock
yellow blossoms
fall into a street
of yellow blossoms
Rob Woods
View results at:
As noted in a previous item here on 'HaikuOz', the following one-liner by Australian haiku poet Lorin Ford has been posted for comment in the 're: Virals' segment of The Haiku Foundation website:
their wings like cellophane remember cellophane
— Lorin Ford, 'Roadrunner' IX:2 (2009)
Lorin's monostich had been selected by another Australian haiku poet, Jo McInerney, as a result of Jo's own response to a preceding haiku having been chosen by The Haiku Foundation as the weekly winner in its 're: Virals' feature.
From five responses to Lorin's one-liner selected – in turn – for inclusion on The Haiku Foundation website, two of those newly posted comments have been written by Australian haiku poets: Jo McInerney herself once again, accompanied by Cynthia Rowe.
Responses by Jo and Cynthia to Lorin Ford's haiku can be read below, with all five comments about her 'cellophane' one-liner able to be accessed through the following link:
Continue reading "Australian poets featured in 're: Virals' responses chosen by The Haiku Foundation" »
The deadline for the next edition of paper wasp is 1 February 2016.
Please note that the address for submissions has changed. It is now:
If you have already sent a submission to another address please resend it to the email address above.
Likewise all enquiries, including any regarding snail mail, should be referred to Jacqui Murray.
With thanks and warm regards
Jacqui Murray
Founder: Paper Wasp
Founding Editor: paper wasp: a journal of haiku
Australian haiku poet Jo McInerney has just been honoured as the winner of the weekly 're: Virals' segment on The Haiku Foundation website, which provides the opportunity for readers to respond to a particular haiku of note, as chosen by the previous winner.
Jo's response to a haiku by English poet John McManus can be read below.
Looking ahead, however, it should be noted that Jo is not only the first Australian to have a piece of haiku commentary adjudged to be a winner of 're: Virals' – with her choosing the following haiku by Lorin Ford for the next set of comments, it has also meant this is the first time that the work of an Australian haiku poet has been featured for comment:
their wings like cellophane remember cellophane
- Lorin Ford, 'Road runner', IX: 2 (2009)
The Haiku Foundation website strongly encourages readers to comment – guidelines are provided through this link:
Continue reading "Jo McInerney a winner with THF's 're: Virals' haiku comment" »
The submission period for this year's running of the Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest will be between February 1–28.
Poets are welcome to offer one (1) haiku not previously published.
Any form of haiku allowable (no strict syllable count). No set theme. No entry fee.
Using the entry form provided online (see the link below), poems should be submitted in English, but poets may also submit a variation in their own native language.
Continue reading "Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest 2016" »
Edited by Beverley George (Blue Giraffe Press, 2016).
In Australia: $A15 for one issue a year for 2 years, postage included; elsewhere: $A25, postage included.
Review by Elaine Riddell.
There will be many looking forward to this fourth annual issue of 'Windfall'. The first time I was shown a copy of 'Windfall', my response was delight. Issue 4 is a worthy successor to the previous three issues. Like its predecessors, Issue 4 has the lovely, understated Ron C. Moss cover design and a simplicity of layout. Despite being small (A6), it uses a good sized font and gives each haiku breathing space on the page. The translucent papers, which separate the cover from the body of the work, seem to say, 'This is a treasure. Hold it with care.'
Continue reading "'Windfall', Australian Haiku, Issue 4, 2016 – review by Elaine Riddell" »
After much consideration Peter Pike, managing editor FreeXpresSion magazine, has decided, regretfully, not to go ahead with the FreeXpresSion Literary Competition in 2016. Consequently the Haiku Section of the competition, well-received and popular internationally, will not take place this year.
Cynthia Rowe
President Australian Haiku Society
Editor Haiku Xpressions
'Windfall: Australian Haiku' Issue 4 2016 has now been mailed to all subscribers.
The issue features the work of 56 Australian poets and is published by Peter Macrow's Blue Giraffe Press, edited by Beverley George, with a cover design by Ron C Moss.
The annual submission window for 'Windfall' is July only.
Send up to six haiku relevant to life in Australia to firstname.lastname@example.com
Selected by Jon Baldwin & Margery Newlove
Edited by Graham High
Ramsgate, Kent, The British Haiku Society, 2015 [265 pages]
This carefully selected anthology brings together fifty of the major articles published in The British Haiku Society's 'Blithe Spirit' between 1992 and 2014. The selectors considered between three hundred and four hundred articles before making their choice of fifty, with no more than one by a single author. Its publication was made possible by The Sakaguchi Literary Studies fund which supports the production of special publications, and by the personal benevolence of Akiko Sakaguchi.
Continue reading "'A Silver Tapestry: The Best Of 25 Years Of Critical Writing From The British Haiku Society': book note - Beverley George" »
Submissions are open for the Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar 2017, which will be published by Snapshot Press in 2016.
Deadline: Entries should be emailed or postmarked by January 31, 2016.
Overseas (non-UK) entries mailed in the month up to and including this closing date must be sent by airmail.
Full guidelines – including procedures for making payment for such entries – can be accessed at the following link:
Continue reading "Submissions open till 31 Jan 2016 for the Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar 2017 " »
The 12th European Quarterly Kukai Winter 2015 Edition attracted haiku from 186 poets from 38 countries, including 8 from Australia.
Australian entrants were: Samar Ghose and Tash Adams, both from Perth, WA; Jo McInerney, from Boolarra, VIC; Cynthia Rowe, from Sydney, NSW; Barbara A Taylor, from Mountain Top, NSW, Simon Hanson, from Allendale, SA; Lynette Arden, from Norwood, SA; and Marietta McGregor, from Canberra, ACT.
Continue reading "12th European Quarterly Kukai Winter 2015 Edition " »
The 2016 Setouchi Matsuyama Photo x Haiku Contest is now open for applications.
Entries must be received by 12 January 2016.
Australian poets may enter the set theme section in English.
For the set theme, five photographs taken by a local photographer in and around the Inland Sea near Matsuyama, Japan, are provided, and poets are asked to write a haiku inspired by each one.
Continue reading "2016 Setouchi Matsuyama Photo x Haiku Contest " »
Winners of the Irish Haiku Society International Competition 2015 include the following Australian haiku poets:
Honourable Mentions:
a cowrie's mantle
Marietta McGregor (Australia)
empty ocean
the shearwater's belly
catches the sun
Greg Piko (Australia)
winter's afternoon
a golden pheasant weaves
through bamboo
Cynthia Rowe (Australia)
sunset valley
a line of merinos
melds into the gold
Barbara A. Taylor (Australia)
Please visit
Modern Haiku Press in the United States has released 'Haiku 2015', edited by Lee Gurga and Scott Metz, a selection of '100 notable ku from 2014'. Australian haiku poets represented include:
islands of ice
the moon
without an oar
- Lorin Ford, 'frogpond' 37:2
entrance strobe lit
- Simon Hanson, 'DailyHaiku' March 17
new leaves
the old forest
finds its voice
- Rob Scott, 'A Hundred Gourds' 3:3
Continue reading "Australians poets included in 'Haiku 2015' – Modern Haiku Press" »
On Sunday December 13th, we held our summer meeting at The Terrace Tearooms in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Everyone else in Melbourne seemed to have had the same idea. We had to raise our voices considerably during our discussion on the topic of the haiku technique of juxtaposition; a topic which is well worth revisiting from time to time.
The day was fine, reaching a warm 27 degrees. The sunny blue of Jacarandas matched the weather, Canna lilies and Red Hot Pokers blazed from across the lake, ducks and swans spent much time bottoms-up and three juvenile water hens followed an accommodating 'foster mother' seagull around the lakeside lawn. Every dog's body language seemed to convey that the day was especially theirs and exuded friendliness and good will.
We were delighted to welcome Marietta McGregor, from Canberra, as our guest, and Madhuri Pillai, from Melbourne, as our newest member. Before we separated for our silent ginko, Jennifer Sutherland gifted each of those present with books that had been given to her at October's Haiku North America conference by Lee Gurga and Jim Kacian for that purpose. Santa came early for us this year!
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group Meeting & Ginko # 6" »
Australians have been featured on The Haiku Foundation across the month of December 2015. People interested might like to view the daily postings of per diem haiku, placed in random order after being selected from a larger body of work of Australian haiku.
warmer days . . .
balloon-vine tendrils twist
between the floorboards
- Barbara A Taylor
a field of wishes
blows away
- M L Grace
windy morning
my pavement shadow
has some crazy hair
- Alex McKeown
Australian poets who received Honorable Mentions in the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival – 2015 Haiku Invitational include:
snow-heavy blossoms
their hands
share a pocket
Nathalie Buckland (Nimbin, NSW)
late afternoon . . .
touching the blossom
with the tip of her cane
Jo McInerney (Boolarra, VIC)
sharing the bench
the old busker
and cherry petals
Mark Miller (Shoalhaven Heads, NSW)
sharing an umbrella
with a stranger
cherry blossom rain
Vanessa Proctor (Sydney, NSW)
blossom moon
the pregnancy line
turning to pink
Cynthia Rowe (Sydney, NSW)
On the 5th December Red Dragonflies, Vanessa Proctor, Cynthia Rowe, Barbara Fisher and Dawn Bruce, met for a ginko of the Great Masters Exhibition at the NSW Art Gallery. Members Beverley George and Lesley Walter were unable to attend and were sorely missed.
After the ginko, lunch was enjoyed on the café patio and haiku writing exercises read and workshopped. Small Christmas gifts and good wishes for the 2016 writing year were exchanged over coffee.
Dawn Bruce
For our final meeting of 2015, nine members of the Bindii group met at the Box Factory in Regent St South, Adelaide to workshop some of the recent work of members and later enjoy a lunch at the Cibo Café in Hutt St, Adelaide.
Reading event
Bindii group is preparing readings for an event sponsored for us by the Adelaide City Council and the Box Factory Community Centre, at the Halifax Café on 11 February 2016.
Continue reading "Report on December meeting of Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group" »
The 17th issue of 'A Hundred Gourds', a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry, is now online for your reading pleasure.
Renku News – Guest Editor for AHG 5.2, Kala Ramesh
Due to unforeseen circumstances, William Sorlien is not available to receive renku submissions for AHG 5.2, the March 2016 issue. Kala Ramesh has kindly agreed to be our Guest Renku Editor for the forthcoming March issue. Please read the AHG news page for further details and send your renku submissions to this address: email@example.com with 'Renku Submission' in the title bar.
Haiga News – New Haiga Editor, Sandi Pray
With this issue we farewell Aubrie Cox and welcome Sandi Pray as our new Haiga Editor. Please read our news page for further details.
The Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems are bestowed annually on haiku and senryu that represent noteworthy additions to English-language haiku in the estimation of a distinguished panel of haiku poets, editors and scholars.
The Awards are open to any English-language haiku or senryu published in the current calendar year.
Any individual who had at least one haiku or senryu published during the award year may nominate two haiku or senryu, one of which may be his or her own.
Free of cost, submissions are due by Dec 31 – an entry form must be used.
Such a form, plus further details, can be accessed through the Touchstone website via this link:
Format: To enter the Martin Lucas Haiku Award 2015, submit all haiku on one sheet of paper, with your name and address included, and also a second copy of the same sheet without your name and address.
No record cards, and no multiple sheets (but no limit on the number of haiku on the single sheet).
All entries to be original, unpublished, not under consideration elsewhere.
Deadline (in hand): 31 December 2015
Send to:
Chris Boultwood, 6 King Street, Chester CH1 2AH, England, UK
or email Haiku Presence.
Entry fee: £5 for up to 5 haiku. Additional haiku at £1 per haiku.
Following her recent trip to the HNA 2015 Conference in the United States, Australian haiku poet Marietta McGregor has offered the following extra information:
"The long-established California-based Yuki Teikei Haiku Society has announced its 2016 Tokutomi Memorial Contest, which commemorates Kiyoshi and Kyoko Tokutomi, a Japanese immigrant couple who "wanted to teach their American friends the joy of the haiku life".
The Society follows the strict classical traditional usage of 5-7-5 and a kigo.
A list of kigo is provided for the contest.
Their season word list on the site is interesting, although it's primarily written for a North American audience.
At HNA 2015, Patrick Gallagher from the Society spoke about the long traditions of Yuki Teikei from its beginnings 40 years ago."
Continue reading "Yuki Teikei Haiku Society – 2016 Tokutomi Memorial Contest" »
Submissions towards the next northern winter edition of the World Haiku Review (the official magazine for the World Haiku Club) are open until Sunday, 20 December.
Themes – Peace or Winter subjects (yet these are only suggestions – you do not have to follow them).
Maximum number of haiku to be submitted – ten (10), not previously published or under consideration elsewhere.
Haiku poems may be offered in English, or in English translation, traditional or non-traditional in approach, on any topic, in free or formal style, kigo or muki.
Submit to both of the following email addresses please:
Susumu Takiguchi, Managing Editor & Acting-Editor-In-Chief:
Kala Ramesh, Deputy-Editor-in Chief firstname.lastname@example.com
Continue reading "World Haiku Review – submissions open till 20 December" »
"Prospect" is an annual poetry journal, with longer poems written by Australians and published in Australia by Blue Giraffe Press, owned and managed by Peter Macrow. "Prospect Five" is devoted to haiku and tanka, with Beverley George as guest editor. Beverley was president of Haiku Oz, the Australian Haiku Society. She edits and publishes "Eucalypt," a tanka publication, conducts workshops, and writes essays and children's books. Her tanka and haiku have earned awards, and some have been translated into Japanese. The cover image and design are by Ron C. Moss, and Rebus Press had charge of layout.
The journal as a whole is unmistakably and delightfully Australian. While some of the vocabulary is special to that country, the themes and emotions are universal. With a few exceptions, I was able to understand and appreciate the poems without resorting to a dictionary, though I did look up some words for their precise meaning and enjoyed this verbal visit to a country and continent so far away.
Haiku, usually three-line poems, are here arranged four to a page, while tanka, which have five lines, are three to a page. They are divided, ten pages of haiku, twelve of tanka, and twelve haiku, with the final two pages given to Blue Giraffe Press 2nd Australian Haiku Competition's three winners and three commended haiku.
Continue reading "Review of "Prospect Five" – Dorothy McLaughlin " »
A full set of results for the 8th Kokako Haiku and Senryu Competition will be published - in New Zealand - in the next edition of "Kokako", accompanied by comments from the judge Catherine Mair.
In the meantime, the following entry by Australian haiku poet Barbara A Taylor was included among the poems rated as Commended:
in wild Kakadu
tourists take selfies
with a crocodile
The Haiku North America (HNA) 2015 Conference was held from 14-18 October at Union College, a liberal arts college founded in 1795 with a classically-inspired campus near the foothills of the Adirondacks in upper New York State. Appropriately for the setting, this year's conference, Autumn Term was themed around the teaching and learning of haiku. After a welcome by HNA's principal organisers Michael Dylan Welch, John Stevenson and Hilary Tann (other hard-working committee members were Yu Chang and Tom Clausen), 130 poet delegates each recited one of their own haiku/senryu.
The two Australians, Jennifer Sutherland and Marietta McGregor, along with poets who travelled from Japan and India, received a special welcome, a round of applause in appreciation of their long journeys. Jim Kacian launched proceedings with Realism is Dead, posing the question that, if haiku was no longer rooted in the real world, what might then ground it? The keynote address by Dr Randy Brooks examined some of the issues with teaching haiku in the American education system.
Australian haiku poet Cynthia Rowe has won the Grand Prize: 1st Place in the 2015 World Haiku Contest, with the following haiku:
bare branch
the wild persimmon
Another entry by Cynthia was one of five haiku to gain an Honorable Mention in the same competition:
old railway track
a tumbleweed skips
through wild grass
Comments about Cynthia's winning poem – provided by the judge for this contest, Alan Summers – can be read below:
Continue reading "Cynthia Rowe: winner – Grand Prize: 1st Place in 2015 World Haiku Contest" »
Kokako is New Zealand's only journal dedicated to haiku and other related forms – it is published twice a year.
Submissions will open for its April edition 2016 on November 1, 2015: deadline – February 1, 2016.
Contributors are welcome to offer haiku, senryu, tanka, renga, haibun and reviews – preferably by email – with only one submission per contributor per issue, comprising no more than 8 poems/ pieces.
Submissions should be inserted into the body of an email (not added as an attachment) and sent to editors Patricia Prime and Margaret Beverland at:
Continue reading "Kokako submissions open November 1, 2015 – deadline February 1, 2016" »
The Akita International Haiku Network has announced the results of its 4th Japan – Russia Haiku Contest, where poets were invited to write haiku on the theme of lakes.
From a range of international contributors, Australian haiku poets Marietta McGregor and Simon Hanson were first- and second-listed among a set of 10 entrants to receive Honourable Mentions:
a family of teals
breaches the lake ice
receding winter
- Marietta McGregor
heading home
crossing the lake
the shadows of pines
- Simon Hanson
Continue reading "Results – 4th Japan-Russia Haiku Contest 2015" »
Ginko No. 39 (spring)
Botanic Gardens Lismore NSW
Date: Thursday 22 October 2015
Cloudcatchers gathered at the Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens, which were established on wasteland on the fringe of the city in the late 1990s. Since then a lush rainforest has re-emerged, nurtured by volunteers, growing only native plants endemic to the region. Right next to this is an area featuring eucalypts, where the sharp-eyed may spy a koala or two; and nearby is a 30-year-old stand of hoop pine. The pine forest enclosed poets in an ambience of calm, with its soft quiet footfall, its towering giants, and an invitation to 'Sit & Ponder'. In the rainforest species were well identified, with a variety of form and foliage, and there were scattered seats for relaxing, absorbing the atmosphere and recording images. In a more open area, those who witnessed a small honeyeater flitting in and out of its nest, well-camouflaged among rushes, felt this was the highlight. The venue abuts the city's Recycling Depot, and this juxtaposition was not lost on those who were observing the natural turnover of life within the gardens. Ten poets partook of this delightful experience, and later shared lunch together.
Quendryth Young
Australian haiku poets Beverley George and Simon Hanson have been announced as successful entrants in the haiku competition that will be incorporated into the 11th Pumpkin Festival, to be held in Ivanić-Grad, Croatia, over October 18-19, 2015.
The competition – in English – had the theme of haiku about pumpkins.
Beverley George was one of four international entrants to share joint third prize, with the following haiku:
"butternut, please"
each week she orders one −
just to say their name
Continue reading "Results from the 11th Pumpkin Festival haiku contest, Croatia, 2015" »
On Saturday 3 October, a beautiful sunshiny day, although a little warmer than expected, seven members of Bindii group left the Box Factory at noon to take the brief walk through back streets to Himeji Gardens.
Poets are invited to participate in a haiku contest on the theme of blood donation that is being conducted in Croatia.
Entrants may submit up to three (3) haiku on this subject.
Entries should be included in the body of an email, to be sent to: email@example.com
Also included should be the poet's name, email address and postal address.
Entry is free.
The closing date is 30 November, 2015.
Australian haiku poets have been strongly represented in the first digital anthology from "Wild Plum Haiku Journal", called "Behind the Tree Line".
Featuring 11 haiku written by 8 Australian haiku poets, "Behind the tree line" is a selection of 45 haiku chosen by Gabriel Sawicki from all poems published by the journal in 2015.
It can be accessed at this link:
In order of appearance, work by the following Australian haiku poets is featured in "Behind the Tree Line" – Simon Hanson, Quendryth Young and Myron Lysenko (each with two haiku selected); plus Duncan Richardson, Jade Pisani, Mark Miller, Marietta McGregor and Barbara A. Taylor (with Barbara also represented in the haiga section):
Continue reading "Wild Plum On-line Haiku Anthology – Behind the Tree Line" »
Australian editor Amelia Fielden will collaborate with Japanese poet Noriko Tanaka and Australia/ Japan poet Saeko Ogi, to compile a new bi-lingual anthology of haiku and tanka – on the theme of things one wears – to be published in 2016.
Submissions are welcome from Australians writing poems "to wear", using Japanese-based short-forms, towards the Australian half of this joint book.
Submissions should be emailed to Amelia Fielden at firstname.lastname@example.com., following these guidelines:
Deadline: 30 November, 2015
Types of submissions acceptable: up to 6 haiku; or up to 6 tanka; or a mixture of the two, with no more than 6 pieces in total (but no sequences, haibun or tanka prose, please).
Theme: haiku and/ or tanka about things that people wear, including garments, footwear and accessories – hats, gloves, belts, jewellery, ribbons, make-up, umbrellas, etc.
Continue reading "Call for submissions: Haiku and Tanka anthology – Poems to Wear" »
Theme for Bribie Island Ginko: How observing details and writing haiku improves your craft
Location: Bribie Island Library, Moreton Bay
Address: 1 Welsby Parade, Bongaree
Ginko leader: Matt Hetherington
Date: Saturday, October 17
Time: 10.30 a.m – 4.30 p.m.
Bookings are essential for this seminar (with numbers strictly limited), but participation is free: places can be booked through -
Continue reading "Bribie Island Ginko: Queensland - Matt Hetherington" »
Haiku Walk: Canning River Ginko 2015 will be brought to you by the Mari Warabiny Haiku Group (West Australia).
Date: Saturday, 10th October
Time: 10.30am till approximately 1.30 p.m.
Venue: Canning River Eco Education Centre, Samphire Room
Address: Corner of Kent St and Queens Park Rd, Wilson (walking distance from Albany Highway).
RSVP: Please reply by email to email@example.com
or on auhttps://www.facebook.com/events/1522035881420431/ Administrators
Continue reading "Canning River WA Ginko 2015 - Mari Warabiny Haiku Group" »
Bindii Japanese Genres Poetry Group sponsored the four prizes awarded in this first year of the haiku competition. Ten schools from around South Australia participated. Fourteen teachers used the curriculum material provided by Bindii to the Langhorne Creek Festival organizers to teach haiku.
Continue reading "Langhorne Creek Writers' Festival: Young people's Haiku Competition 2015" »
Congratulations to South Australian Simon Hanson for winning first prize in the Autumn 2015 edition of the European Quarterly Kukai.
sardine catch
the flicker of moonlight
on the sand
158 authors from 37 countries participated.
Continue reading "Simon Hanson wins European Quarterly Kukai Autumn 2015 edition" »
For Red Kelpies' spring meeting, on September 13th, it was back to our 'home base' in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens and again we were lucky with the weather: fine with a warm breeze from the North.
Blue irises were out, azaleas blossomed in colourful banks; the large, white variety was the one that scented the pathway with a truly beautiful perfume. Shrub-sized prunus blossoms in a gaudy pink shouted at the subtler ranks of hellebores. Wild Elders from Africa waved their cloudy canopies of blossom. The eels, in large numbers, writhed along sleepily in the shallows of the lake and the little Black Ducks paddled over them, unfazed.
People taking the punt tours looked picturesque under the white paper umbrellas supplied to them.
Everything seemed to be basking luxuriously in the welcome sunshine. Spring at last, after a particularly cold, miserable winter!
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group Meeting & Ginko #5" »
The Red Dragonflies Haiku group met on Saturday, 12th September at 11.30 am at member Lesley Walter's home for their 2015 spring gathering. Cynthia Rowe, Dawn Bruce, Vanessa Proctor and Barbara Fisher were present. Apology from Beverley George, whose husband is ill. As usual there were some challenging exercises set by convenor Vanessa, which stimulated many fresh and interesting responses, and included much discussion and laughter. The meeting concluded at 2.30 pm.
Barbara Fisher
Congratulations to Simon Hanson for winning second prize in the 2015 Creatrix Haiku Prize, for the following haiku:
ah! even darker
at night
Competition judge Matt Hetherington made the following comments:
"… the second prize winner by Simon Hanson resonated with me for its starkness and dark joy. Like many others, it had a deep truthfulness hidden behind apparent simplicity."
Continue reading "Results from the 2015 Creatrix Haiku Prize" »
It's the first day of spring in Melbourne. Blossoms are blooming, peas and broad beans are shooting up and the snails are leaving ample evidence that they've come out of hibernation. In North America, the bushfire/wildfire season is waning and the milder days of autumn approaching. The world still turns.
Welcome to the 16th issue of "A Hundred Gourds", a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online for your reading pleasure.
The deadline for the 19th Mainichi Haiku Contest is 1 September, 2015.
Entrants in the International Section may submit a maximum of two haiku in either English or French.
Entries must be original haiku and must not have been published or submitted anywhere else.
No entry fee is required.
Poets wishing to submit should access the Online Entry Form available at this link:
Continue reading "Deadline close for 19th Mainichi Haiku Contest" »
Results for the New Zealand Poetry Society's 2015 International Poetry Competition saw Vanessa Proctor of Australia gain fourth prize in the Haiku Section, while entries from Jan Dobb, Cynthia Rowe and Greg Piko also received recognition from judge Elaine Riddell.
Vanessa's prize-winning one-liner reads as follows:
abandoned lighthouse a smudge of shearwaters
The complete text for other prize-winning poems – along with comments by the judge – can be read by accessing this link, and then by clicking on Elaine Riddell's name in blue:
Continue reading "NZPS 2015 International Poetry Competition Results" »
Haiku poets are encouraged to enter the 8th "Kokako" Haiku & Senryu Contest.
Closing date: 31 October 2015
The fee per entry is NZ$5, AU$5 or US$5 – cheques are acceptable (made out to "Kokako"); overseas entrants can send cash at their own risk.
With as many as three haiku/ senryu allowed per entry, submissions can be emailed to: email@example.com
Entries can also be posted to:
The "Kokako" Haiku Competition
Patricia Prime
42 Flanshaw Road
Te Atatu South
Auckland 0610
New Zealand
Continue reading "Entries open for 8th "Kokako" Haiku & Senryu Contest" »
Entries are welcome for the Polish International Haiku Competition 2015.
Entrants need to complete a digital entry form available at this link:
Submission period: 1 August – 31 October 2015
Number of haiku: one (1) not previously published in any form
Continue reading "Polish International Haiku Competition 2015" »
The 1 August meeting of the Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group was held at the Box Factory, Adelaide, from 12 noon to 2 pm. Eight members were present:
Kyle Kurihara – an intern with the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California – invites haiku poets from Australia and around the world to contribute work towards a project called Haiku for Peace, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
International haiku poets can post their haiku directly onto the Haiku for Peace project's Facebook event page, found here:
Non-Facebook users can send their haiku by email to email@example.com.
Continue reading "Haiku for Peace – 70th anniversary of Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings" »
Professor Oba has announced that the results of the 7th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest are now available on the Museum's website.
You can access them from this link:
21 Australians entered this competition.
Beverley George
Continue reading "Results – 7th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest" »
23 July 2015
On again, off again! With rain and even a thunderstorm predicted we took our chances and gathered anyway for the Cloudcatchers' thirty-eighth ginko. Yes, it drizzled most of the time, but with a few bursts of sunshine, a brilliant light on the waters at the mouth of the Richmond River in Ballina, along with the warmth of the camaraderie, we experienced another remarkable and productive day. Images of dolphins rolling wave-like up the river, the ever-optimistic fishermen silhouetted against a grey sky and raindrops on the tips of she-oak needles were recorded on damp pages. Lunch together wrapped up yet another morning of perception and empathy.
Quendryth Young
The following review has been written by Patricia Prime (NZ), editor of "Kokako":
"Haiku Bindii: Willow Light. Journal of Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group 2015: Volume 2" has been edited by Lee Bentley, with layout and design by Lynette Arden.
Payment can be made via Paypal to firstname.lastname@example.com 1. $10AUD; 2. $15AUD; 3 $24 AUD; 4. $30 AUD. 5 or more copies, please contact Lee for details.
"Haiku Bindii: Willow Light" is the Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group's second collection from Australian poets. Haiga inside front and back covers and throughout the book are by Belinda Broughton. The collection is composed of haiku, tanka, tanka prose and haibun.
Edited by Beverley George, 'Windfall' is published by Peter Macrow's Blue Giraffe Press.
The annual submission window for 'Windfall' is July only.
Send up to six haiku on an Australian theme to firstname.lastname@example.com
Please include your postal address details and a statement that your work is 'original, unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere'.
Continue reading "Submissions open in July for 'Windfall' Issue 4" »
Considering that June weather in Melbourne can be rainy, squally and generally miserable, we planned a venue with centrality and shelter in mind, so on Sunday the 14th we met down on the Old Melbourne Wharf, on the Yarra and now a part of Federation Square. Though a little cold, the day was surprisingly fine and sunny, with no wind.
Our discussion topic this time, inspired by Jaya's query into the differences between haiku and senryu and taking into account Charles Trumbull's insight into the growing preponderance of 'tankaesque' ku being written and published (see his 'Between Basho and Ban'ya (bypassing Barthes): A New Brand of Haiku?' in A Hundred Gourds, June 2015) was 'Haiku, Senryu or Tankaesque Ku ?' Each of us attending brought along examples of ku we thought fitted into each of these categories. A challenging topic! The discussion was enthusiastic, in-depth and very lively indeed.
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group Ginko & Meeting #4" »
Nine members and guests met at the Box Factory for Karin Anderson's talk on early love tanka, from as far back as ninth century Ise Monogatari. Karin then discussed kyoka, the humorous equivalent of the tanka form, also with examples.
Yesterday, Lorin Ford – Haiku Editor, Managing Editor for "A Hundred Gourds" – wrote:
Outside my window is the first rainbow of my Melbourne winter, which begins today. Those in the Northern Hemisphere will soon be welcoming summer. Wherever you are in the world, the 15th issue of "A Hundred Gourds", a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online for your reading pleasure:
Thanks to Lorin Ford for passing on the following message from Norman Darlington about the recent publication of John Carley's "Renku Reckoner", through Darlington Richards Press: as Lorin herself has noted, "This is the book many of us have been waiting for!"
Norman Darlington writes:
Darlington Richard Press are pleased to announce that John Carley's eagerly-awaited "Renku Reckoner" is now available at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/darlingtonrichards.
Carley's 186-page "haikai manifesto" includes descriptions, seasonal schemas, appraisals and examples of twelve traditional and modern renku forms, from the 36-verse kasen to the 4-verse yotsumono, and 19 chapters on renku theory and practice, including a series of carefully constructed exercises. This authoritative work will be a welcome addition to the library of any poet or reader, beginner or advanced, with a serious interest in collaborative poetry in English.
Continue reading "Publication of John Carley's "Renku Reckoner"" »
Cloudcatchers' Autumn Ginko 2015
The wild, wild weather at the end of April caused the postponement of our autumn ginko. However, two weeks later, on 14 May, atmospheric conditions were superb as we explored a new venue. Thursday Plantation (a tea tree plantation) is situated on the outskirts of Ballina and features the plantation itself, a maze and a rainforest remnant. We had been warned of an abundance of mosquitos, but a slight chill in the air kept them at bay, and the notices Beware of Snakes did not concern us.
The Red Dragonflies had a rewarding autumn meeting kindly hosted by Lesley Walter and her husband Terry. As well as Lesley, Barbara Fisher, Beverley George and Vanessa Proctor attended. The atmosphere was convivial as we sampled a delicious variety of cakes, drank Terry's excellent coffee and discussed haiku over an overflowing haiku bowl. Haiku for discussion were on the subjects of migrating birds, families and home-grown food. As always, topics for the haiku bowl were individually chosen and varied from travel to the streets of Sydney and from lighthouses to rabbits.
Vanessa Proctor
Congratulations to Australian haiku poets Vanesa Proctor (Sydney), Simon Hanson (Allendale) and Marietta McGregor (Canberra) for figuring prominently in the Wild Plum Haiku Contest 2015.
Vanesa won third prize with the following poem:
an open door
evening shadows reach out
to frogsong
Continue reading "Australians prominent in Wild Plum Haiku Contest 2015" »
Congratulations to Australian haiku poet Barbara A. Taylor for winning one of four prizes in the Genjuan Haibun Contest 2015 (Japan's only international haibun competition).
The Grand Prix was taken out by Sonam Chhoki (from Bhutan) for a piece entitled "Mining Memories".
Barbara A. Taylor's haibun "Cattle Dreaming" claimed one of three Cottage Prizes (along with Doris Lynch, USA, for "Inupiat Lessons"; and Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy, India/UK, for "A Cycle Ride").
Competition organiser and co-judge Stephen Gill advises that the four prize-winning pieces – as well as guidelines for next year's contest – will be made available on the Hailstone Icebox site in due course:
John Stevenson, Managing Editor of "The Heron's Nest", invites haiku poets to enter the Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award for 2015.
Entry fee: None.
Maximum number of haiku allowed: Five (5) haiku in English.
Deadline for entries: June 1, 2015.
How to enter: Email entries to John Stevenson at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Put "Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award" in the subject line.
Place haiku in the body of the email only (attachments will not be opened).
Include your name and your location, as you would like to see each listed.
Australian haiku poet Jan Dobb has recently been named as joint first prize winner of the 2014 With Words Summer Haiku Contest, for the following poem:
dry thunder
a freight train crosses
the drought
The work of another Australian haiku poet – Carole Harrison – is listed as Highly Commended (although the text of Carole's poem has not been posted online).|
Results of the 2015 With Words competition can be viewed through this link:
Continue reading "Success for Jan Dobb – With Words Haiku Contest" »
Beverley George, former President of the Australian Haiku Society, offers her essay - entitled "Haiku and the Seasons", also translated into Serbian by Sasa Vazic - for readers of "HaikuOz".
Beverley's piece was first published in the New South Wales Poets Union journal "Five Bells" 15 (1) in 2007-2008.
With both language versions posted in "Haiku Reality" vol. 11 no. 19 Winter 2014, Beverley George's essay about seasonal elements in haiku can be accessed at the following pair of links:
Patricia Prime (editor, "Kokako", New Zealand) wishes to advise Australian haiku poets who are contributors to the haiku anthology "A Vast Sky" that copies of this collection are now available.
Below, contributing poets will find the text of a message sent by Bruce Ross (from the United States), giving details about how to go about obtaining a copy of "A Vast Sky".
Please note, however, that the first print-run for "A Vast Sky" has already sold out, such that the anthology will be reprinted in mid-May.
Continue reading "Copies of haiku anthology "A Vast Sky" available" »
Further congratulations go to leading Australian haiku poet, Ron C. Moss.
Having recently won the Heron's Nest Readers' Choice Award for 2014, Ron has just become one of three recipients of a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award for 2014, for "The Bone Carver" (published by Snapshot Press) – his new haiku collection that features a wide range of prize-winning poems.
Ron C. Moss also had a haiku shortlisted in the Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems.
Details regarding this set of awards can be viewed at this link: http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/touchstone-awards-for-2014
Another Australian haiku poet - Jan Dobb - likewise received recognition in this same set of awards.
Continue reading "Touchstone Distinguished Book Award to Ron C. Moss" »
Main guidelines for entering the 7th Yamadera Basho Haiku Contest include the following points.
The entry period commenced on April 1 – entries must be postmarked by Saturday, 6 June 2015.
Poets may submit either one or two haiku, previously unpublished. (Non-Japanese entrants are not required to provide a translation.)
No entry fee is payable.
While entries can also be submitted by post or fax (as shown in the full details provided below), entrants may email their poems to this address: firstname.lastname@example.com
Noboru Oba
Continue reading "Entries open for 7th Yamadera Basho Haiku Contest" »
The Haiku Foundation has announced details for its inaugural EarthRise Rolling Haiku Collaborative, a world-wide poem to be written on International Haiku Poetry Day, April 17, 2015.
The theme for this year's collaboration is Light, in honor of 2015 being named the Year of Light by United Nations proclamation. On today's Troutswirl (the blog of the Foundation) you will find further details on how the rolling poem works. On Wednesday we will announce the seed poem for the collaboration.
Continue reading "THF EarthRise Rolling Haiku Collaboration" »
Five members attended the Bindii meeting at 12 noon on 11 April at the Box Factory in Regent St Adelaide. The speaker for the meeting, Karin Anderson, was unavoidably delayed, so it was decided to postpone her presentation on early Japanese poetry forms until our 6 June Meeting.
The group will launch their new anthology: Haiku Bindii Vol. 2: Willow Light at the Box Factory from 2 pm on Saturday 25 April. The Launch Speaker will be Rob Walker, who will also play his shakuhachi.
Continue reading "Report on the meeting of Bindii Japanese Poetry Genres Group for 11 April 2015." »
Submissions are invited towards the fifth edition of "Prospect" poetry journal, an issue that will focus specifically upon haiku and tanka by Australian poets with an emphasis on Australian themes.
To be produced by Peter Macrow's Blue Giraffe Press, this special edition will see Beverley George act as guest editor.
Submissions can be emailed to email@example.com during the submission period, between 1 April – 31 May 2015.
Contributors may offer up to 10 haiku and/or 6 tanka.
Continue reading "Submissions open for "Prospect" Poetry Journal" »
Congratulations to David Terelinck (NSW) – writing in collaboration with Carol Judkins (California) – for gaining second place in an international rengay competition conducted by the Haiku Poets of Northern California.
The piece concerned is entitled "A Spill of Moonlight".
This 2014 competition was judged by leading Australian haiku poets Beverley George and Ron C. Moss.
Their comments – along with the rengay itself – can be viewed at this link (just posted):
Now in its eighth year, the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award is open for submissions.
Presented by "Aesthetica Magazine", this competition is judged by industry experts, including Arifa Akbar, literary editor of "The Independent".
Deadline for submissions is 31 August, 2015.
To enter, visit: http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativewriting
Entry is £15 plus VAT (approximately $ 28.97AUD in total).
Continue reading "Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2015: Call for Entries" »
The first edition of "The Urban Halcyon" – an Indian journal focussing on haiga and shahai – can be viewed through the following link:
This online journal aims to present haiga or shahai of a contemporary nature which reflect on a range of themes, including changes in culture, climate, flora, fauna and human nature.
Continue reading "The Urban Halcyon: A Contemporary Haiga/Shahai Journal" »
Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group are delighted to invite you to the launch of Haiku Bindii Vol. 2: Willow Light
To be launched by Rob Walker
Please join us at the Box Factory: 59 Regent St South, Adelaide from 2 pm on 25 April 2015
Congratulations to Sandra Simpson for taking out First Prize in the Haiku Section of the FreeXpresSion 2015 Literary Competition. Rodney Williams was awarded Second Prize. Nathalie Buckland received Third Prize.
First Place - Sandra Simpson, NZ
planning her eulogy jars of carefully labelled seeds
Continue reading "FreeXpresSion Haiku Competition 2015 results" »
It was one of those warm, bright Melbourne autumn days in the Botanic Gardens, a perfect day for our ginko . . . had we all been stone deaf.
Yes, it was Grand Prix day and the sounds of racing motors circled our green refuge, news choppers roared back and forth and in the breaks between car races, the air show boomed overhead.
Black swans basked on the lake with their heads under their wings for the duration! Wattle birds and swallows put on their own air shows and the clear notes of bellbirds rang out during the quieter intervals.
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group Ginko & Meeting #3" »
The launch by Robyn Mathison of "Windfall" issue 3 took place at the Allport Library and Museum in Hobart, with the prior launch of a haiku book by Ron C Moss facilitating the use of this excellent location, and an interested and informed audience of about sixty people already in place.
Peter Macrow, founder and manager of "Windfall", was present, as was I as editor. "Windfall" poets in attendance included Marilyn Humbert, visiting Tasmania from Sydney, Lyn Reeves, Robyn Mathison, Ron C Moss, Sarah Clarkson, Judith E P Johnson, and Lorraine Haig.
The launch was expertly conducted by respected Tasmanian poet, Robyn Mathison.
Robyn expressed her appreciation to Peter Macrow and his Blue Giraffe Press for "offering poets the chance to be published in this tiny but stylish collection of haiku," and congratulated the fifty-three poets for moments shared in the sixty-three haiku included in "Windfall 3".
Continue reading ""Windfall 3'\ Launch in Hobart, February 20th 2015" »
A special call for submissions is being made by the online journal "KYSO Flash".
Genres sought: haibun and tanka prose.
Reading period: open now, through till April 15.
Maximum word count: strictly 1,000 words, including text and title.
Full details and submission guidelines may be found at this link:
Continue reading "Haibun and tanka prose sought by "KYSO Flash"" »
Australian haiku poets Simon Hanson and Jennifer Sutherland both deserve congratulations for winning prizes in the 19th Kusamakura Haiku Competition.
The following haiku by Simon was one of the entries sharing second prize:
left behind
skimming stones
moonlit ripples
The following haiku by Jennifer was one of the entries sharing third prize:
dandelion a wish lingers on the breeze
Further details about this haiku contest can be accessed at this link:
I am delighted to announce that Dr Jacqui Murray: Founder, Paper Wasp and Founding Editor, paper wasp: a journal of haiku, has accepted the position of Patron of the Australian Haiku Society.
Given the leadership she has shown in supporting and championing haiku writing in Australia, not to mention the extraordinary work done in co-founding paper wasp - the longest running Australian haiku journal still in print - we believe that as Patron she will be able to keep alive the ideals in furthering the development of haiku in Australia.
Dr Jacqui Murray will be a wonderful asset to HaikuOz and we look forward to working with her.
Cynthia Rowe
President, Australian Haiku Society
On Friday, February 20th, Hobartians welcomed the long-awaited arrival of Ron C. Moss's prize-winning haiku collection, "The Bone Carver" (Snapshot Press, 2014), at the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts.
In her launch speech, Beverley George – past president of the Australian Haiku Society – began by giving an overview of the nature of haiku and of its current practice, citing John Bird's description of the form:
"A haiku is a brief poem, built on sensory images from the environment. It invokes an insight into our world and its peoples."
Continue reading "Launch of "The Bone Carver" by Ron C. Moss " »
The seasons roll around. Today, the first of March, Australia and New Zealand welcome our first day of Autumn, whilst those of you in the Northern Hemisphere are anticipating Spring's arrival.
Wherever you are in the world, the 14th issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online for your reading pleasure.
Entries are invited for this year's Kaji Aso Studio Haiku Contest, conducted by the Boston Haiku Society (Massachusetts, USA).
Poets may submit as many haiku and/ or senryu as they wish (but should please mark senryu clearly as such) – all poems entered can be placed in the body of one email, or on a single sheet of paper, mailed in letter form.
Entries must be emailed/ posted by April 15, 2015.
After an entry fee of $2 USD per poem has been paid through Paypal, entries may be submitted via email through this address: firstname.lastname@example.com – please include HAIKU CONTEST in the email's title line.
Leading Australian haiku poet Ron C. Moss has won the prestigious Heron's Nest Readers' Choice Award for 2014 for the following haiku (included in the December issue):
old horses
endless days of rain
in their eyes
This haiku received 25 nominations, totalling 188 points.
Further details can be viewed at this link:
http://www.the heronsnest.com/awards/awards-2014.html
Continue reading "Ron C. Moss wins Heron's Nest Readers' Choice Award 2014" »
English-language poets are encouraged to enter the Iris Haiku Contest in Croatia.
Theme for this year's contest: Light
Deadline: December 31, 2015
Entrants should please email three (3) unpublished haiku/ senryu - in English - to: email@example.com
Please use the following subject line for emailed entries: Light - Iris Haiku Contest
The Tourist Board of the Croatian town of Ivanić Grad – working in conjunction with the "Three Rivers" Haiku Association from Croatia – welcomes entries to an international haiku contest with an English-language base.
Competition theme: Pumpkin/Gourd (although this need not necessarily be mentioned directly in haiku that are entered).
Entrants should submit three (3) haiku.
Deadline: June 30, 2015
Continue reading "Pumpkin Festival Haiku Contest – Croatia, 2015" »
The Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest will remain open until February 28.
Poets are welcome to offer one (1) haiku not previously published in any form – there is no set theme.
Poems should be submitted in English, but poets may also submit a variation in their own native language.
Continue reading "Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest" »
'Windfall: Australian Haiku' Issue 3 2015 has now been mailed to all subscribers.
The issue features the work of 53 Australian poets and is published by Peter Macrow's Blue Giraffe Press, edited by Beverley George, with a cover design by Ron C Moss.
The annual submission window for Windfall is July only.
Send up to six haiku on an Australian theme to email@example.com
For subscriptions and all other business, write with an SSAE to the publisher:
Peter Macrow
6/16 Osborne Street
Sandy Bay Tasmania 7005
Ron C. Moss' collection of prize-winning haiku The Bone Carver will be launched by Beverley George (former President of the Australian Haiku Society) on Friday, February 20.
To commence at 5.30 p.m., the launch will take place at Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts (Ground Floor, 91 Murray Street, Hobart).
RSVP to Ron C. Moss, firstname.lastname@example.com
Signed copies of The Bone Carver are available by mail by contacting this address.
Continue reading "Launching Ron C. Moss' The Bone Carver & Windfall 3" »
The new issue of Shamrock (No. 30) is now available online at:
It has a big selection of English-language haiku from all over the world, plus translated haiku (from Belorussian), as well as two haibun.
Australian haiku poet Simon Hanson has won second place in the Golden Triangle Haiku Contest in the United States with the following haiku:
midnight snow
whispers of light
in the darkness
The competition was winter-themed. Sixty poems were chosen for display in flower beds along the streets of Washington DC during the American winter.
Continue reading "Result from Golden Triangle Haiku Contest" »
Bindii Meeting: 7 February 2015 was held at the Box Factory, Adelaide from 12 pm – 2 pm.
The meeting, chaired by Lee Bentley, concentrated on organizational details for the launch of our new anthology: Haiku Bindii: Willow Light. The anthology will be launched on Saturday 25 April 2015 at the Box Factory Community Centre.
Continue reading "Report on the February 2015 Meeting of Bindii Japanese Genres Poetry Group" »
Ginko No.36 (summer)
Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head NSW
Thursday 29 January 2015
Cloudcatchers gathered at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head, for a summer ginko on Thursday 29 January. This venue is north of Ballina, with the surf on one side of the road, and the tea-tree-girdled fresh water lake on the other.
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2015. First Prize is $125 for the best single haiku, 2nd Prize $100.00, 3rd Prize $75.00. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
Continue reading "FreeXpresSion Haiku Competition 2015 - reminder" »
Submissions of unpublished collections of haiku, tanka, other short poems and haibun (or any combination of these) are invited to The Snapshot Press Book Awards 2015.
The last date for submitting manuscripts is Sunday, March 1.
The entry requirements have been considerably simplified from previous years – please see the guidelines for details:
Continue reading "Submissions due by March 1 for Snapshot Press Book Awards 2015 " »
Kokako is New Zealand's only journal dedicated to haiku and other related forms – it is published twice a year.
Submissions are still open for its April edition: deadline – February 1.
Contributors are welcome to offer haiku, senryu, tanka, renga, haibun and reviews – preferably by email – with only one submission per contributor per issue, comprising no more than 8 poems/ pieces.
Submissions should be inserted into the body of an email (not added as an attachment) and sent to editors Patricia Prime and Margaret Beverland at:
Entries for the next round of The Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition close on Saturday, January 31.
Haiku entries may be sent by email or by post – these must be emailed or postmarked by that date.
Prizes totalling £360/US$600 are on offer.
52 haiku will be selected for inclusion in The Haiku Calendar 2016.
Both unpublished and previously published haiku are eligible for entry.
Please see the entry guidelines for details:
Continue reading "Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition – entries due January 31" »
After a year of special issues in 2014, which culminated in a wonderful summer edition of Australian themed haiku in December, paper wasp is now back to its usual format and is accepting haiku and haiku-related forms for publication in 2015.
The deadline for the Southern Hemisphere Autumn (March) issue is February 1.
Submissions should be sent to Katherine Samuelowicz at:
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Postal: paper wasp, 14 Fig Tree Pocket Rd, Chapel Hill, QLD 4069, Australia.
Jacqui Murray
Haiku poets are invited to submit haiku on the theme of Summer.
Deadline: Sunday 15th February, 2015 (by midnight in all time zones).
All competition details that you will need – with links – can be found at:
All approaches to haiku writing are acceptable for submission.
Both previously published haiku, and unpublished haiku, are each acceptable for entry in this competition.
This contest will have a companion anthology entitled The With Words Haiku Book of Summer.
Continue reading "The With Words Summer Haiku Competition " »
Winners of the 7th Irish Haiku Society International Competition 2014 include the following Australian haiku poets:
Cynthia Rowe (Third Prize), Jan Dobb and Jan O'Loughlin (both Highly Commended).
Please feel free to visit the IHS site through this link:
Continue reading "IHS International Haiku Competition Results 2014" »
The editors of "tinywords" advise that the reading period – spanning from December 11th, 2014 until January 15, 2015 – has commenced for their next edition.
They expect to present "tinywords 15.1" in February 2015.
Continue reading "Submissions welcome for next issue of "tinywords" " »
The winner of the 8th European Quarterly Kukai Winter Edition 2014 is Cynthia Rowe, New South Wales, for this haiku:
neap tide
the old fisherman harvests
moon crystals
170 Poets from 40 countries participated in this kukai.
Continue reading "8th European Quarterly Kukai Winter Edition 2014" »
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2015. First prize is $125 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
Eight Bindii members met at the Box Factory for our last meeting for 2014. Members shared haiku, haibun and tanka on a seasonal theme, which they had brought. Some were by favourite writers and some had been composed by members. Members also presented work for general feedback.
There was general discussion of our plans for the group in 2015.
Continue reading "Report on Bindii Meeting 6 December 2014" »
With issue 4.1, A Hundred Gourds begins its fourth year of publishing haiku, tanka, renku, haiga and haibun along with essays, book reviews and features of interest. The 13th issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online.
Sunday 7 December 2.00-4.30 p.m.
$30 per person ($20 concession)
Woodend Neighbourhood House
47 Forest Street, Woodend
For bookings: (03) 5427 1845
The winners of the Blue Giraffe Press 2nd Haiku Competition (October 2014) were: Nathalie Buckland, Mark Miller and Rob Woods.
Commended: Lorin Ford, Lorraine Haig and Ron C. Moss.
Judge: Peter Macrow (Manager, Blue Giraffe Press)
Continue reading "Blue Giraffe Press 2nd Haiku Competition results" »
Results of 2014 World Haiku Competition include Australian Poets Carole Harrison and Cynthia Rowe, awarded First Place and Honourable Mention respectively.
1st Place Grand Prize Winner!
cicada dusk . . .
pine needles threading me
the moon
by Carole Harrison (Australia)
Following are the 2014 Annual Moon Viewing Haiku Contest 3 prize winning and 10 honorable mention haiku, which include haiku by Australian poet Cynthia Rowe.
First Prize:
full moon
the baby turns
under her hand
Vera Constantineau, Canada
The first muttering thunder annual has just been published, and it includes work by Australian poets Lorin Ford, Beverley George, Ron C. Moss, Greg Piko and Quendryth Young.
It's a collection of nature-oriented haiku and art available for free online viewing and download. This first annual, dedicated to the memory of Martin Lucas, collects approximately 100 previously unpublished haiku by almost 60 premier English-language haiku poets from around the world. It also features a reprint of Robert Spiess's cogent essay "Specific Objects in Haiku" and a wide-ranging interview with haiku and lyric poet Wally Swist.
On a sunny afternoon 8 haiku enthusiasts from the Mari Warabiny Haiku Group met at the Art Gallery of WA, in the vibrant Perth Cultural Centre, for a Spring ginko. The Art Gallery of WA provided the Manhattan Meeting Room where our Ginko leader (Shuzai) the esteemed haiku Poet, Maureen Sexton welcomed us. Maureen provided a handout and verbal instructions on how to conduct a Spring Ginko.
Continue reading "Mari Warabiny Haiku Group 2014 Spring Ginko" »
The haiku featured in Chen-ou Liu's 2014 'Butterfly Dream' series have now been collected and published as a free-to-read e-book, accessible from his 'NeverEnding Story: First English-Chinese Bilingual Haiku and Tanka' blog, through this link:
Australians Lorin Ford, Beverley George, Keitha Keyes and Marilyn Humbert are among those whose haiku have been translated and feature in this collection.
Continue reading "Butterfly Dream: 66 Selected English-Chinese Bilingual Haiku" »
Ginko No. 35 (spring)
Victoria Park, Alstonville
Date: Thursday, 30 October 2014
It was such a glorious day for our spring ginko, which felt more like summer, complete with the hum of a few mossies and March Flies. The rainforest was as alluring as ever, and in spite of the fact that it is the sixth time the Cloudcatchers have visited this venue since 2008, we managed to experience many fresh and different images.
We skipped a Winter meeting, due to long-awaited surgery on my feet, and planned a Spring meeting, for group members only, this time. Our second meeting was held on Sunday 26th October in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. The dramatic thunderstorms were postponed until around 1am on the 27th , the swans were parading their big, dove-grey cygnets, the eels were getting under their paddling feet, the air was scented with all sorts of delicious perfumes from flowering plants and trees and we were blessed and lucky with a fine, warm day, full attendance and great enthusiasm. An Eastern Water Dragon approached our table at the Terrace and seemed to take a special liking to Marisa, staring at her boldly and making her feel nervous enough to take off her lace earrings. The resident Purple Swamp Hen strutted busily between the Terrace and his reedy hideout by the lake.
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group Ginko & Meeting #2" »
The spring meeting of the Red Dragonflies was held on Saturday 25th October at Dawn Bruce's home in St. Leonards. Dawn kindly met us at the garage entrance so that we could all go up in the internal lift together.
The 2014 Italian International Haiku Competition saw 450 poets enter from all over the world, with 942 haiku received. Organisers extend their thanks to each poet who participated, as well as to all other people and organisations providing support in the promotion and judging of the contest.
Continue reading "Italian International Haiku Competition results 2014" »
The Fujisan Conservation Division of the Yamanashi Prefectural Government, Japan, is now accepting entries for its haiku contest, "Fujisan Haiku 2014". Submissions are welcome on the subject of Fujisan (Mt. Fuji) until December 17th, 2014.
The anthology of the 6th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest is available on this website: http://samidare.jp/basho/box/e-haiku%2026.pdf
Beverley George advises that the collection includes haiku by 22 Australians.
The IHS International Haiku Competition 2014 is open for submissions. Entries need to be postmarked by 30th November 2014, addressed to:
The IHS International Haiku Competition 2014
75 Willow Park Grove
Dublin 11
Continue reading "IHS International Haiku Competition 2014" »
Chrysanthemum 16 is now online and ready to be viewed at:
chrysanthemum - english - current issue
Many thanks to all contributors.
Beate Conrad, managing editor
Congratulations to Lorin Ford for taking out First Place, with the following haiku:
a last year's lambskin where mushrooms gather dusk
- Lorin Ford (Australia)
Seven Bindii members met at the Box Factory for a tanka workshop. Lynette Arden led a discussion on how to write a good tanka. Members read out tanka they liked and some background material was handed out to members and discussed.
Continue reading "Report of Bindii Meeting 4 October 2014" »
The Mari Warabiny Haiku Group will hold a Spring Haiku Ginko on Sunday, 26 October, 2014, commencing at 1.00 pm, at the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth Cultural Centre, James Street, Perth.
Continue reading "Mari Warabiny Haiku Group - Spring Haiku Ginko" »
We invite you to submit haiku poetry on the theme of Summer. All approaches to haiku are accepted for submission.
Previously published haiku, and unpublished haiku, are both accepted for this competition.
The competition is open until 2015 (February 15th 2015 midnight all time zones)
All the details you need are at: http://area17.blogspot.com
Continue reading "The With Words Summer Haiku Competition 2014 " »
Congratulations to the winners of the City of Perth Library Haiku competition!
1st Prize Jan Dobb, Mawson ACT
one lone cloud
a curl of duck –down
sails the lake
Continue reading "City of Perth Library Haiku Results 2014" »
Entries are invited for the second Blue Giraffe Press Haiku Competition. A maximum of 5 haiku can be submitted, each being the sender's original work that has not already appeared in print or electronic media – pieces entered cannot be on offer elsewhere either. The submission window is October 2014 only. Three prizes will be conferred, each valued at AUD $100 – no entry fee is required.
Continue reading "2nd Blue Giraffe Press Haiku Competition" »
Entries are welcomed for the Genjuan International Haibun Contest 2015. Entry is free. Prizes and certificates will be awarded to winners. Needing to arrive between 1 Oct. 2014 and 31 Jan. 2015, entries should be sent to: Ms Eiko Mori, 2-11-23-206 Jokoji, Amagasaki-shi, Hyogo-ken 660-0811, Japan.
Continue reading "Genjuan International Haibun Contest 2015" »
The new issue of Shamrock (No 29) is now available online at
on the re-designed website.
Submissions are now open for paper wasp's next issue for all things Australian. This last special issue for 2014 (December/Summer) is especially for haiku with an Australian flavour/theme – for which overseas contributions are very welcome. The deadline for the Australian haiku edition is November 1.
Entries for the 2014 British Haiku Awards need to be received by 31 January, 2015. Non-British entries can be sent by email to David Steele at email@example.com, along with payment by PayPal. Submissions must be in English, unpublished and not concurrently entered in any other competition. There is no limit on the number of submissions per competitor.
Hearty congratulations to Helen Davison for having achieved the highest distinction in her category – Best International Haiku in the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival - 2014 Haiku Invitational, with her haiku
bridge crossing . . .
the full moon sprinkled with
cherry blossoms
Continue reading "Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival - 2014 Haiku Invitational" »
Entries to the 2014 Katikati Haiku Contest should be in hand by September 26. Cash prizes (sponsored by Kings Seeds) total $NZ175. Submit 2 copies of each poem with 1 copy only including your name, address/email address and phone number.
The 12th issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online for your reading pleasure.
Workshop on Janice Bostok and her contemporaries: Lynette Arden handed out information on the life of Janice Bostok, including comments about Janice's impact on haiku poetry in Australia and USA.
Examples of work from Janice Bostok, Cor van den Heuvel, William J Higginson, Michael McClintock and Marlene Mountain were also distributed and read out by group members.
Adult section – Winner:
Clancy McDowell, Broome –
under a bright moon
salmon flipping
in the tin boat hull
Continue reading "Kimberley Corrugated Lines Haiku Contest" »
Owing to unforeseen circumstances, Paper Wasp regrets that this year's Janice M Bostok haiku contest cannot proceed. Apologies are due to those who have already entered the contest – your entry fees will be refunded.
For those of you who have been trying to contact Katherine by email further apologies – her box has been out of action. The problem is being addressed.
Kind regards
Katherine Samuelowicz/Jacqui Murray
The thirty-fourth ginko of the Cloudcatchers was held on Thursday 31 July 2014 at the site where it all began in December 2005; Torakina Park at Brunswick Heads. It was the mid-winter ginko, but a strange weather pattern had us absorbing the ambience of this beachside location in gloriously warming winter sunshine.
City Library Haiku Competition (City of Perth)
Submit your original haiku (limit of 5 haiku per person) by 5 pm Wednesday 27th August 2014 to City Library for the chance to win cash prizes:
In person: Level 1, 140 William St, Perth
Mail: GPO Box C120 Perth WA 6839
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Entries are now open for the 2014 Katikati Haiku Contest. The senior section (18 & over) offers cash prizes, thanks to the generosity of Kings Seeds - $NZ100 for first, $NZ50 for second and $NZ25 for third. Proceeds to the Katikati Haiku Pathway project. Further details are provided below.
Continue reading "Entries open for 2014 Katikati Haiku Contest" »
The committee of the Haiku Society of Australia (HaikuOz) would like to thank Greg Piko, who is stepping down from the role of Secretary of the Society after nearly four years of invaluable service and support. We wish him well in his future endeavours.
Congratulations and welcome to Rodney Williams who, I am delighted to announce, has accepted the position of Secretary Australian Haiku Society.
NZPS International Poetry Competition: Haiku Section 2014
Congratulations to the winner Vanessa Proctor (Sydney, Australia), followed by Katherine Raine (Milton, NZ), Laurel Astle (Sawtell, NSW, Australia), Lynn Tara Austin (Christchurch, NZ) and Charline Pocock (Eketahuna, NZ).
The Red Dragonflies, with the inclusion of guest, Bill Tibben, held their winter meeting on Saturday 19th July at Vanessa Proctor's home. With the smells of freshly baked bread and buttermilk cake with passionfruit icing wafting about us, we workshopped our pre-set exercises which had presented the usual challenge, i.e. to compose original haiku on topics including a night in the country, a winter plant, and International Friendship Day.
Lorin Ford has made her book of haiku, 'a wattle seedpod' (PostPressed, 2008) available to all as a free pdf download from the The Haiku Foundation Digital Library. As well as 109 haiku, 'a wattle seedpod' has a cover by Ron Moss and a foreword by John Bird, founder of HaikuOz.
'a wattle seedpod' won first prize in the 2009 HSA Mildred Kanterman Merit Book Awards, the first book by an Australian author to be awarded that honour.
Submissions are now open for paper wasp's September/Spring issue for senyru and/or humorous, droll, witty and amusing haiku, encouraging poets to again try something different. December/Summer will be devoted to haiku with an Australian flavour/theme – for which overseas contributions are very welcome.
Deadlines are Aug 1 for Senryu (Spring) and Nov 1 for Australian haiku (Summer).
Continue reading "paper wasp's September/Spring issue Submissions" »
The Bindii Group met at the Box Factory: 59 Regent St South, Adelaide for our June meeting.
Karin Anderson presented a very well researched workshop on senryu, haiku and also touched on kyoka.
Continue reading "Report on Bindii group meeting 7 June 2014" »
Windfall: Australian Haiku is a small annual print publication which seeks to publish fine examples of contemporary Australian haiku. Submissions are welcome in July each year.
Editor: Beverley George.
Founder and Manager: Peter Macrow.
Published by Blue Giraffe Press. ISSN 1839-5449. Hobart, Blue Giraffe Press issue 1, 2012-
Designed and printed for Blue Giraffe Press by Picaro Press.
Continue reading "Windfall: Australian Haiku (submissions during July 2014)" »
The eleventh issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online for your reading pleasure.
The Canterbury Writers Group in Melbourne is calling for submissions for their 21st anthology. The collection will include short stories, essays and poetry. Haiku poetry in particular will be considered favourably. Submissions are due by 30 June, with the book launch planned for November 2014. Acceptance will be notified individually in September via email.
Hard copy submissions can be posted to Canterbury Neighbourhood Centre, or submissions can be sent by email PDF to Rumi Komonz at: firstname.lastname@example.com
Further information is available at:
The Red Kelpies met on Sunday 4th May, 2014 at the Melbourne Zoo for our first meeting and ginko. We were honoured that HaikuOz President, Cynthia Rowe, and her husband Bruce, came all the way down from Sydney to be with us ... a most auspicious sign! Of course, Cynthia and Bruce are now Honorary Members.
It was one of those traditional Melbourne days, with the rain bucketing down one minute, blue sky and sunshine the next then ominous, leaden cloud-banks again.After introductions, we gathered at a table outside the cafeteria which was sheltered by an umbrella.
Continue reading "Red Kelpie Haiku Group Ginko & Meeting #1" »
A new haiga collaboration involving Beverley George, Mariko Kitakubo and Ron C. Moss can be viewed at:
The previously published or awarded haiku of Australian Central Coast poet and former president of the Australian Haiku Society, Beverley George, are translated into the delicate calligraphy of Tokyo tanka poet and performer, Mariko Kitakubo, and further enhanced by the skilled and sensitive sumi-e of Tasmanian poet and artist, Ron C. Moss.
The award returns in 2014 to celebrate the work of Australian haiku poet, the late Janice M Bostok with a First Prize of $250, a Second Prize of $75 and Third Prize of $25.
The closing date is 1 September 2014 and results will be announced in December when an award anthology will be published by the sponsor, paper wasp, of which Janice Bostok was a member for 20 years. All entries must be in the haiku form, in English and be the original, unpublished, work of the author.
It is with great sadness that we advise the passing of English haiku poet, Martin Lucas, who has been found dead on a beach at St Annes Lancashire after a search lasting many weeks.
Among other achievements, Martin held a PhD in the study of haiku and was editor of the haiku journal, Presence.
In 2009 Martin attended the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference held in Terrigal, New South Wales, where many Australian haiku writers had the opportunity to meet him, hear his thoughts on writing haiku and enjoy his company. Australian writers were also in regular contact with Martin through their contributions to Presence.
Martin's friendly manner and thoughtful approach to the writing of haiku will be missed by poets around the world. A New Zealand tribute to Martin can be found at:
Ginko No.33 (autumn) held at Meldrum Park, Ballina, 10 April 2014
The sun was out, the tide was out and the blue soldier crabs were out in abundance. The Cloudcatchers' autumn ginko was held on Thursday 10 April at Meldrum Park, in Ballina, on the banks of North Creek, which empties into the Richmond River just before its mouth.
The Red Dragonflies gathered on Saturday 12th April on a rainy afternoon at Barbara Fisher's home for our autumn meeting. All members were present. Over cups of tea and coffee and some spectacular cake made by Barbara, we workshopped poems on topics ranging from family pets, to the night sky, to the subject of happiness. Interestingly, the poems on happiness were all written in a particularly clear and accessible way and resonated strongly with our own personal experience of happiness. We left the meeting fulfilled after an afternoon of good company, good food and excellent poetry.
Vanessa Proctor
Five members came to the Ginko at Himeji Gardens on a very pleasant, sunshiny autumn afternoon. Margaret Fensom led the Ginko and was joined by Lyn Arden, Dawn Colsey, Maeve Archibald and Alicia Holbrook.
Continue reading "Bindii Ginko at Himeji Gardens 5 April 2014" »
The results of the 2014 Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition are now available. The winning haiku will appear in The Haiku Calendar 2015, to be produced by Snapshot Press.
Congratulations to Lyn Reeves who was one of the 12 monthly winners. In addition, Lyn received a runners-up award meaning that two of her haiku will appear in the 2015 calendar.
Congratulations also to Marisa Fazio and Cynthia Rowe who received runners-up awards and will each have one of their haiku appear in the calendar.
Chen-ou Liu from Toronto, Canada, has established NeverEnding Story - the first English-Chinese Bilingual Haiku and Tanka blog.
Apart from providing a daily blog on haiku and tanka, the site presents an anthology of haiku submitted in 2013 (Butterfly Dream), and another anthology of tanka (One Man's Maple Moon), both of which include poems by Australian writers.
The NeverEnding Story web site provides details of how to submit haiku and tanka for inclusion in the 2014 anthologies.
This haiku contest has been well supported by Australian writers in recent years. Entries for the 2014 Yamadera Basho Museum English Haiku Contest are welcome until 7 June. Submission guidelines for the competition are provided below.
Continue reading "6th Yamadera Bashō Memorial Museum Haiku Contest" »
Congratulations to Lorin Ford, Victoria, for taking out First Prize in the Haiku Section of the FreeXpresSion 2014 Literary Competition. Jennifer Sutherland, Victoria was awarded Second Prize. Vanessa Proctor, NSW received Third Prize.
Continue reading "FreeXpresSion Haiku Competition results" »
I'd like to invite you and your members to participate in this year's Kaji Aso Studio Haiku Contest. Details of the contest and how to enter are shown below.
John Ziemba
A Hundred Gourds 3:2 released
The tenth issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online for your reading pleasure.
As well as our regular Haiku, Tanka, Renku, Haiga, Haibun and Expositions sections, AHG 3.2 features:
In Memoriam – John E. Carley
John Carley, translator, creator of the zip form of haiku, renku master, author of 'the Little Book of Yotsumonos' and the forthcoming 'The Book of Renku', died on New Year's Eve after a four year battle with mesothelioma. We miss him dearly. As a renku sabaki, John was a superb composer, a generous teacher and an inspiration to so many. AHG renku editor, William Sorlien, provides a fitting retrospective of John's many contributions to haikai.
Haiku Guy: The Guy, the Books, and the Classroom
That haiku guy, David Lanoue, currently President of the HSA, is famous the world around for his dedication to translating Issa's haiku as well as for his novels about haiku and its community. AHG haiga editor, Aubrie Cox, allows readers further insight in her interview with David and also outlines how his novels have been incorporated into the teaching of haiku at college level and in high school years 7 – 12.
Submissions Deadline
The deadline for all submissions to AHG 3.3 (the June 2014 issue) is March 15th. AHG has an open submissions policy: any submissions received after the deadline will be filed for consideration for the September 2014 issue. Please check our submissions page for details and editors' guidelines.
Lorin Ford – Haiku Editor, Managing Editor,
for the Editorial Team, A Hundred Gourds
Our first meeting for 2014 was a follow up haibun workshop run by Maeve Archibald in November 2013. This gave members the opportunity to get and give feedback on haibun that had bee written subsequent to the November workshop.
Continue reading "Report on Bindii Meeting 1 February 2014" »
Congratulations to Quendryth Young for being awarded second prize in the 2013 Irish Haiku Society's International Haiku Competition. First prize was won by John Barlow from England. Poems by Australian poets Cynthia Rowe, Jennifer Sutherland and Quendryth Young were Highly Commended in the competition.
You can read the results and awarded haiku in Shamrock:
Bulwinkel Park, Alstonville NSW
Date: Thursday 30 January 2014
Bulwinkel Park, named after an early settler, is cradled between the old highway to Lismore and the suburban sprawl of Alstonville. Here there is a gentle creek, well-known as being the site of numerous platypus sightings, even to this day.
Congratulations to Lorin Ford and Dawn Bruce for being selected by readers and contributors as having the best haiku and best senryu respectively in the Shamrock Haiku Journal during 2013. In addition, the two runners-up in the senryu category were also by Australian poets: Lorin Ford and Duncan Richardson. As the current issue of Shamrock includes haiku and senryu by Jan Dobb, Gavin Austin, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde and Simon Hanson, there may well be further recognition of Australian writers during 2014!
You can read the details in the online haiku journal, Shamrock:
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2014. Note: First prize is now $120 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
Continue reading "FreeXpresSion Haiku Competition 2014 - reminder" »
Haiku is truly an international activity and the Sharpening the Green Pencil competition is quickly becoming one of the most international haiku events. The 2013 competition, run by the Romanian Kukai Group attracted entries from 199 poets in 38 countries. Entries for the 2014 competition are open from 1 February to 28 February 2014.
Continue reading "2014 Sharpening the Green Pencil Competition" »
Many will be familiar with Ron Moss's highly-acclaimed sumi-e approach to haiga from the haiku and tanka pages of A Hundred Gourds.
A beautiful video demonstration of Ron creating a haiga is featured at The Haiku Foundation, as part of its 5th anniversary celebrations:
Something for Australians to be proud of and the world to enjoy! Thank you, Ron, for all you do for Australian haiku & related forms . . . a true ambassador.
Lorin Ford - Haiku Editor, Managing Editor
Jim Kacian interviewed Australian haiku and tanka poet, Beverley George, at Haiku Aotearoa 3 which was held in New Zealand during 2012. The video of the interview went up on The Haiku Foundation web-site on November 22nd, 2013 and can be viewed at:
In 2014 paper wasp is celebrating its 20th birthday, making it the longest running Australian journal dedicated to haiku and its related forms still in print. The journal was founded in 1994 by Jacqui Murray, John Knight and Ross Clark. The team was later strengthened by the legendary Janice M Bostok and, a short time later, by Katherine Samuelowicz.
paper wasp will mark this very special year with four unique issues. Two will take both paper wasp and haiku in new directions. For that reason, acceptance of broad-spectrum submissions is temporarily suspended.
Past president of the Australian Haiku Society, Beverley George, was invited by an'ya, Principal Editor of UHTS (United Haiku and Tanka Society), to be the featured poet of the Premier Edition in January 2014. Details can be viewed at:
John E. Carley, translator, creator of the zip form of haiku, renku master, author of 'the Little Book of Yotsomunos' and 'The Book of Renku', died on New Year's Eve after a four year battle with mesothelioma. As a renku sabaki, John was a teacher and an inspiration to many of us. His warmth, his wit, his loving-kindness and dedication will always be remembered by those who had contact with him over the years.
new year, new moon—
his footprints in the grasses
green in summer rain
- Lorin
Lorin Ford - Haiku Editor, Managing Editor
Australian haiku poets will be saddened by the death of revered haiku poet John Carley, author of the 'Renku Reckoner' (forthcoming from Darlington Richards) and sabaki (leader) of the writing team that won the 2013 Einbond Renku Prize (Haiku Society of America). John, who despite his illness kept writing and mentoring for as long as possible, died on New Year's Eve. He had previously published 'The Little Book of Yotsumonos' (2012). On behalf of the Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) may I offer condolences to John's family, and to his haiku colleagues and friends.
Cynthia Rowe
President: The Australian Haiku Society
There were seven members present at the November meeting in The Box Factory, Adelaide for our November workshop led by Maeve Archibald. Eight other members sent apologies.
General business: Beverley George's latest Children's book was passed around to members. Members talked briefly about changed meeting arrangements next year (2014).
We have booked for sessions running from 1-3 pm at the Box Factory on the first Saturday of the following months: February, April, June, August, October, and December.
Announcing the publication of Where the River Goes: The Nature Tradition in English-Language Haiku.
The ninth issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now released. The issue marks the beginning of our third year of publishing. Many thanks to our readers and contributors for making AHG the success that it continues to be.
We wish you all the Joy of the Season and a Happy and Fruitful New Year.
http://www.ahundred gourds.com/
For details about the recent ginko in St David's Park in Hobart please click on the following link:
The Red Dragonflies met at Mosman for their Christmas get together on Saturday 9th November. We went on a short ginko around the harbour foreshore, enjoying superb views across to Sydney Heads and Watsons Bay.
HaikuOz is carrying out a "clean up" of its email address list. If you receive HaikuOz notifications at multiple email boxes, or at an old email address you no longer use or you simply no longer wish to receive email notifications, then please send a message to
advising which email addresses you wish to have deleted from the HaikuOz email list.
The results of the Kokako Haiku Competition, as judged by Barbara Strang, are shown below. Congratulations to Elaine Riddell, Chen-ou Liu and Cynthia Rowe on their success. The results and judge's report will be published in Kokako 20.
Continue reading "Results of the Kokako Haiku & Senryu Competition, 2013" »
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2014. First prize is $100 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
Haiku Sansaar is a new online bilingual English - Hindi journal, presenting haiku and its related genres. We present the work of both international and Indian poets who are well-known among their own language groups but unknown outside it.
Submissions are welcome till 30th November. Haiku may be submitted in English. We will translate them into Hindi and present them in both languages.
Continue reading "Haiku Sansaar: new online haiku journal" »
paper wasp: a journal of haiku is celebrating its 20th birthday in 2014, making it the longest running Australian journal dedicated to haiku and its related forms still in print. The journal was founded in 1994 by John Knight, Ross Clark and Jacqui Murray who established the Paper Wasp Group in 1988. The paper wasp team was strengthened in 1995 by the legendary Janice M Bostok and again in 2000 when Katherine Samuelowicz made her debut as an editor.
This very special year will be marked by four unique 2014 paper wasp editions. Two of those special editions will take both paper wasp and haiku in new directions. For that reason, the upcoming deadline for the final 2013 issue of paper wasp will be the last for broad-spectrum submissions until November 2014 (for 2015 editions).
Pulse: voices from the heart of medicine is a website providing stories and poetry recounting personal accounts of illness and healing. Neal Whitman, haiku editor for the website, is inviting haiku submissions. A new haiku will be published on the Pulse home page every other week. Each haiku will remain there for one week before taking up residence in the Haiku Collection back pages archive. Anyone who signs up (at no cost) to the Pulse website can submit haiku. Details are available at:
A new anthology of Haiku-in-English, edited by Jim Kacian and published by WW Norton & Co, contains a good selection of haiku by Australian and New Zealand haiku poets. Some of those represented are Janice M. Bostok, Greg Piko, Lorin Ford, Ron Moss, Graham Nunn, Sandra Simpson, Ernest J. Berry, Patricia Prime and the late Cyril Childs.
With just a few days to go to the deadline of 20 October 2013, submissions for the upcoming Australia-New Zealand haiku anthology are surging in – suggesting the milestone project will be a memorable publication.
Continue reading "Australia-New Zealand haiku anthology deadline" »
Congratulations are in order for Lorin Ford (Australia), Cynthia Rowe (Australia), Sandra Simpson (New Zealand), John Carley (sabaki, England) and William Sorlien (USA) who together won First Place in the Einbond Renku Contest (USA). The renku form for the contest was nijuin (20 verses). Their winning renku, Early Morning Heat, will be published in the next issue of Frogpond. Details of the nijuin format are available at:
Forthcoming in print from Darlington Richards Press:
Renku Reckoner by John Carley
•Descriptions, seasonal schemas, appraisals and examples of twelve traditional and modern renku forms, from the 36-verse kasen to the 4-verse yotsumono.
•19 chapters on renku theory and practice, including a series of carefully constructed exercises.
The Fujisan Conservation Promotion Division of Yamanashi Prefectural Government in Japan is again running a haiku competition to encourage people to reflect on the value of Fujisan. As you may know, Fujisan was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June this year.
Toru Haga, an expert on comparative literature, will judge the International Section entries. Entries close 19 December 2013. Full details of the competition and how to enter are available at:
Congratulations to Ron C Moss from Tasmania for winning first prize in the 2013 City of Perth Library Haiku Competition. Dawn Bruce and Barbara A Taylor, both from New South Wales, were awarded second and third prizes respectively. Thanks once again to Maureen Sexton for judging the competition. The results and winning haiku can be found at:
The Red Dragonflies held their spring meeting on Saturday 31st August ― a very summery last day of winter! ― so we seem to have rolled three seasons into one on this particular occasion.
You are invited to enter Japan's only international haibun contest, the Genjuan, named after Basho's hut near Lake Biwa. The contest guidelines can be found at any time on the Ice box website as shown below. Entries close on 31 January 2014.
The article below by Janice M. Bostok first appeared on members.dodo.com.au. It relates her experiences with discovering and developing haiku as a pioneer of the form in Australia. (Lyn Reeves)
Continue reading "Breaking the Haiku Mould, or Breeding to a Bloodline" »
The eighth issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online. The issue marks the end of our second year of publishing and we thank all of our contributors for making AHG the success that it continues to be.
To celebrate the life of the late John Knight, Paper Wasp will publish a joint anthology of haiku by New Zealand and Australian poets.
Please note that submissions for the anthology are invited by 20 October 2013 from haiku poets resident in New Zealand and/or Australia. New Zealanders and Australians living overseas are also invited to participate.
John was well known in haiku circles in both countries and, through Post Pressed, provided many poets with a publication outlet for which he is gratefully, and fondly, remembered. After consultations on both sides of 'The Ditch', it was agreed that a milestone Trans Tasman anthology should serve as the memorial publication to honour John's memory. The anthology's size will depend on submissions and pages but Paper Wasp will ensure that it is an attractive and affordable publication in keeping with John's enduring legacy.
Continue reading "Milestone New Zealand-Australia haiku anthology" »
Entries are invited until 31 October 2013 for the 7th Kokako Haiku and Senryu Competition. The competition will be judged by Barbara Strang.
Continue reading "7th Kokako Haiku and Senryu Competition" »
Fullers' Cafe Poet, Lyn Reeves, will hold a series of haiku workshops at Fullers Bookshop in Hobart.
10.00am – 11.30am, Saturdays 17th August - 14th September.
Below is a review by Cynthia Rowe of Jeffrey Woodward's new collection of haiku and haibun.
Continue reading "Evening in the Plaza by Jeffrey Woodward: A Review" »
Maureen Sexton will hold a free workshop in Perth on 2 September: Haiku - Sensing the image. The short, long and short of it!
In this workshop, we will examine the 'what is' and 'how to' of haiku.
Continue reading "Perth Workshop: Haiku – Sensing the image" »
The meeting of Bindii on 3 August was a Renku workshop organized by Lee Bentley.
Five members attended the meeting. Lee outlined the principles of renku and the history of renga/renku. This was followed by a more detailed look at how the method of link and shift is used to build a renku.
Continue reading "Bindii Group Workshop on Renku by Lee Bentley" »
John Carley has published his 'The Book of Renku', in pdf form and free of charge "to anyone interested in poetry" on his Renku Reckoner website, where you will find this message:
"Welcome to the temporary Renku Reckoner web site.
Entries for this year's competition close Wednesday 28 August, 5 pm. Winners will be announced during the Open Mic session at the Library on Friday 6 September. The entry conditions are shown below.
Continue reading "2013 City of Perth Library Haiku Competition" »
WA Poets Inc is now accepting haiku from non-members for the next Creatrix online journal.
Submissions close 10th August. For guidelines, go to:
Traditional haiku is sometimes about the changing of the seasons so the last day of winter, 31 August, is a perfect date for a haiku walk in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.
Meet just before 11am at The Terrace tea rooms beside the Ornamental Lake. The closest entry point is through Gate A, which is on the corner of Alexandra Avenue and Anderson Street.
Bring pen and notebook. Also, please bring your own lunch or buy some from the expensive café.
Costs: $20 full
$12 concession
As places are limited, please contact Myron if you wish to attend at : firstname.lastname@example.com
Under the Basho will be published twice a year and welcomes haiku of five different styles: Traditional Haiku; Stand-Alone Hokku; Modern Haiku, One-Line Haiku, and, Concrete Haiku (Architectural).
Submission deadlines are August 15th for the September Issue and February 15th for our March Issue.
All submission information and details are posted on our website/journal: http://www.underthebasho.com . If there are any questions, please click the "Contact Us" button for direct email to us. Please let me know if you need anything else.
Don Baird
The Red Dragonflies met on Saturday 13th July at Dawn Bruce's home in St Leonards. Vanessa Proctor led members Dawn Bruce and Cynthia Rowe. Lesley Walter, Barbara Fisher and Beverley George were unable, regrettably, to attend and sent their apologies.
Submissions are welcome during July 2013 for the second issue of Windfall: Australian Haiku. Windfall seeks to publish fine haiku that capture the experience of urban and rural life in Australia. Guidelines for submission and subscription details are available at:
The seventh issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online:
On the theme of cherry blossoms, limit 2 haiku. Winners announced in the northern autumn and winning poems featured during the 2014 festival. Judge is Terry Ann Carter.
Closes: June 3.
Cost: Free.
Full details from the website.
Ginko No. 29 (autumn)
Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head, NSW
Date: Thursday 9 May 2013
After so many ginko full of rain, sun beamed on the Autumn gathering of the Cloudcatchers on 9 May – until the last half hour.
Hanne Hansen, Chairman of the Haiku Group of the Danish Authors' Society, recently provided the Australian Haiku Society with a copy of Danish Haiku Today 2012. Below is a short review of the anthology, written by Greg Piko.
The 4 May 2013 meeting of Bindii group was held at the Box Factory in Adelaide. from 12:00 to 3:00 Eleven participated, including both experienced and new haiku poets. There were also nine apologies for the meeting. The workshop was organized by Lee Bentley and Lynette Arden.
ABC Radio National is running a competition calling for people to submit their own haiku on the topics of food or flowers. Your haiku could be read live on air and win a prize. Entries close 1700 AEST on Thursday 9 May 2013. The entry form and other details are available at:
The results of this year's Genjuan Haibun Contest (Japan's only one!) have been announced here:
and the three awarded pieces may be read via the page link (Genjuan '13 Winning Haibun) on the right hand side of the results page.
Stephen Gill
Congratulations to Janet Howie, Victoria, for taking out First Prize in the Haiku Section of the FreeXpresSion 2013 Literary Competition with
mountain gorge
a passing cloud
loses its shadow
Continue reading "FreeXpresSion Haiku Competition results" »
Ginko #16 is to be held at Melbourne Botanic Gardens, led by Myron Lysenko on Sunday 28th April 2013 from 11am – 3pm. Meet at Tea Rooms by the lake just before 11am. Bring notebook and pen. Costs: $20 full/$12 concession. Enquiries: firstname.lastname@example.com
Entries for the inaugural John Knight Memorial Poetry Manuscript Prize may be submitted until 17 May 2013. The prize is for an unpublished poetry manuscript of 40 pages by an Australian (citizen or permanent resident) author. Haiku collections are eligible for the Prize.
The winning entry will be published as a book with Fence Post Press in August. Guidelines can be viewed at http://www.eruditescribe.com/john-knight-memorial-poetry-manuscript-prize/
This Manuscript Prize is separate from the planned Paper Wasp haiku prize for Australian and New Zealand haiku poets which will also honour John Knight. Details of the Paper Wasp prize will be announced later in the year.
The paperwasp haiku group now meets every two months at Brisbane Central Library at North Quay in Brisbane City. Email Duncan Richardson for dates, times and meeting room details: email@example.com
Press Here is pleased to announce that With Cherries on Top: 31 Flavors from NaHaiWriMo is now available for free download. This anthology, edited by Michael Dylan Welch, features 190 haiku and senryu by 79 worldwide contributors to the National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo) page on Facebook.
Continue reading "With Cherries on Top: Free Online Haiku Book" »
The Republic Bar and Café in North Hobart was the venue for the launch on 3 March 2013 of Australia's newest haiku journal, Windfall. An audience of over forty people came for the regular Republic Readings, which this year moved from a monthly event to a seasonal event, the March readings being the first for 2013. This ensured a wide audience of poetry lovers, including and beyond readers and writers of haiku.
Continue reading "Report on the launch of Windfall Issue 1" »
The sixth issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online:
* Please note that AHG has a new url, as above. You may wish to replace the old url with the new one in your bookmarks.
The Red Dragonflies (minus their leader, Vanessa Proctor, regrettably) met on Saturday 23rd February at Cynthia Rowe's home in Woollahra. Vanessa had preset members three interesting topics for their prepared haiku ― namely 'books', 'sustainability' and 'natural disasters'.
Professor Oba at the Basho Memorial Museum in Yamagata, Japan, invites Australian entries by 5 June for the Museum's 2013 English language haiku competition.
Continue reading "5th Yamadera Bashō Memorial Museum Haiku Contest" »
Due to the weather, it was off again/on again for the Cloudcatchers' summer ginko, which was finally held at the Skateboard Park in Ballina on Thursday 14 February. And, yes, St Valentine's Day did appear in some of the haiku.
I'm writing to invite all your HaikuOz members to participate in the Kaji Aso Studio Haiku Contest. Participants may send as many haiku or senryu as they like at US$2 each: type or neatly print your submissions (you may put them all on a single sheet of paper if you wish). Senryu must be marked as such. All should be sure to include their email address and/or an SASE so that we can notify them of the results!
John Ziemba
Distinguished haiku publisher and poet, the late John Knight, is to be honoured with a new Trans-Tasman haiku publishing contest.
The contest will serve as a memorial to John and is being announced to coincide with the first anniversary of his death after a long battle with cancer in February 2012. It will commemorate and, hopefully, keep alive his generous efforts to publish and support haiku poets from both countries. The contest is being sponsored by Paper Wasp, which John helped to establish, and paper wasp journal of which John was a foundation editor.
The new issue of Shamrock (No 24) is now available online at
It has a big selection of English-language haiku, a haibun and a review of the haiku collection by Bruce Ross, as well as all the prize-winning and commended haiku from the recent Irish Haiku Society haiku competition 2012. Many thanks to the contributors. We hope our readers will enjoy it.
In our new format for 2013 we are running three hour workshops. The first of these was a workshop on tanka given by Lynette Arden.
Tanka Workshop
The workshop covered the following topics:
1. The origin of Japanese written language and its close ties with written Chinese.
2. The influence of Tang Dynasty China on Japanese culture and a look at the lifestyle of the most famous period of Japanese literature, the Heian.
3. Poetic styles used by Japanese poets in writing tanka, including poetic devices. This included a look at Japanese tanka in the original hiragana, Romaji and English translation and a comparison of various English translations.
Continue reading "Meeting of Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group February 2013" »
Issue 1 of Windfall is now out. Published by Peter Macrow's Blue Giraffe Press, edited by Beverley George and with cover design by Ron Moss, Windfall is the new annual journal of Australian Haiku.
Windfall publishes haiku which are relevant to the experience of urban and rural life in Australia. For this first issue, Beverley has selected a wonderful collection of haiku observations that celebrate the Australian landform, seasons and our unique flora and fauna.
$10 provides one issue per year for two years to Australian subscribers. Email Peter for further details including overseas subscriptions:
The annual submission window for Windfall is July only. Submission guidelines are also available from Peter at the email address shown above.
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2013. First prize is $100 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
Continue reading "FreeXpresSion Haiku Competition 2013 - Reminder " »
EVENING BREEZE – the anthology of the inaugural Janice M Bostok haiku award
A review
It struck the entire Australian haiku community as a fitting mark of respect when paper wasp announced its new prize – the Janice M Bostok haiku award – as a replacement for the Jack Stamm Haiku Award, for years our pre-eminent haiku competition. If she were able to read Evening Breeze – the anthology of finalists for the inaugural contest bearing her name – surely Janice herself could only be delighted.
Congratulations to André Surridge for taking out the inaugural first prize of $A350 with 'evening breeze' – from which the anthology from the contest takes its title. We also congratulate the runner-up, Sandra Simpson and, Chen-ou Liu for taking third prize.
The 1st "aha" (Annual Hortensia Anderson) Memorial Haiku Awards Competition 2013 is to honor the memory of a well-known and respected New York based haiku poet, Hortensia Anderson. Results will be announced on the 21 of May, 2013 . . . one year to the date of her passing.
Deadline: in-hand no later than 1 April, 2013.
Continue reading "Hortensia Anderson Memorial Haiku Awards " »
The winners of the 66th Matsuo Basho Festival Haiku Contest, run by the Basho Memorial Museum in Japan, have been announced: Australia's Cynthia Rowe was awarded joint Top Prize along with Kyoko Shimizu from Japan. This long running contest is strongly contested by haiku poets from around the world, with 774 entrants in the English language section. Congratulations and well done Cynthia on your success.
The winter quarterly issue of Haibun Today is now online for your reading pleasure at http://haibuntoday.com
Writers are now invited to submit haibun, tanka prose and articles for consideration in the March 2013 issue of Haibun Today.
Continue reading "Haibun Today (December 2012) is now online." »
Ten members and visitors attended the December meeting of the Bindii group. This was a social gathering for our final meeting for 2012.
Continue reading "Report on Bindii meeting 1 December 2012" »
The fifth issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online.
The deadline for all submissions to AHG 2:2 (the March 2013 issue) is December 15th.
Dr Bruce Ross has asked me to assist in editing a forthcoming World Haiku Anthology that he is producing. I am therefore seeking three of your best haiku for the anthology. Your contributions may be unpublished, or may have been published at any time between 2000 and the present.
Please send your contributions to Patricia Prime by the end of July 2013:
and include your name, email and publication details.
Hearty congratulations to Ron Moss for his success in winning The Maple Moon Haiku Contest as judged by Professor David McMurray, November 2012, with the following haiku.
Mountain train
faces in a passing window
lit by the moon
Published on the Asahi Shimbun website.
Nine members and visitors attended out November meeting at the Box Factory in Adelaide for a workshop on haibun presented by Maeve Archibald.
Continue reading "Bindii Group: November haibun workshop meeting" »
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2013. First prize is $100 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
Chrysanthemum 12 is now online and ready to be viewed at:
Submission Guidelines
Chrysanthemum will appear on the 15th of April and the 15th of October. Deadline for the spring issue is the end of February and for the fall issue at the end of August.
Penny Harter, co-author of The Haiku Handbook with the late William J. Higginson, will visit Melbourne on Thursday 13th December for a ginko and, if time and weather permit, a reading. If you would like to meet Penny and are interested in joining our group, please email me for details at firstname.lastname@example.com
Ginko No. 27 (spring)
Meldrum Park, Ballina
Date: Thursday 11 October 2012
Meldrum Park in Ballina is a new venue for the Cloudcatchers. It is on the shore of North Creek, and was chosen to coincide with low tide. Nine poets trod the sandflats spreading out before us as the water receded.
The World Heritage Division, Yamanashi Prefecture, is again running a haiku competition in support of their bid to have Mt Fuji inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage Site. Toru Haga, an expert on comparative literature, will judge the International Section entries. Entries close 20 December 2012. Full details of the competition and how to enter are available at:
The Ozku group was delighted to share haiku, tanka and haibun from our anthology with the NSW Society of Women Writers members on Wednesday 17th September at their luncheon meeting in the Dixson Room of the Mitchell Wing of the NSW State Library.
The new issue of Shamrock (No 23) is now available online at
It has a big selection of English-language and translated haiku (all from Turkish), as well as two haibun and two reviews of the haiku books by James Norton and William E. Cooper. Many thanks to the contributors. We hope our readers will enjoy it.
Anatoly Kudryavitsky
LeRoy Gorman Appointed as New Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives
The advisory board of the American Haiku Archives, which houses the Haiku Society of America archives, is pleased to announce the appointment of LeRoy Gorman as the 2012–2013 honorary curator of the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library in Sacramento. http://www.americanhaikuarchives.org
Below are details of Japan's only international haibun contest, the Genjuan Haibun Contest which has a closing date of January 31, 2013. Entry is free and there are genuine Japanese prizes. Do send in a work or two if you can.
Nobuyuki Yuasa & Stephen Henry Gill
We kicked off our Red Dragonflies' meeting on Saturday 8th September with a visit to the Sphinx at Bobbin Head, a memorial carved out of natural sandstone by an ailing ex-soldier, William Shirley, as a tribute to his fallen AIF comrades. We then retired to Vanessa Proctor's home in Pymble, where we spent a wonderfully creative afternoon composing a Junicho renku entitled "Unexpected Rain".
Thank you to everyone who entered this year's Haiku Competition. A very special thank you to Maureen Sexton for the judging. Congratulations to all winners !
1st Prize Cynthia Rowe (NSW)
2nd Prize Rose van Son (WA)
3rd Prize Duncan Richardson (QLD)
Special mention
Gary Colombo De Piazzi (WA)
Nathalie Buckland (NSW)
Vanessa Proctor (NSW)
The Bindii Group met at the Box Factory for a haibun workshop presented by Belinda Broughton. Belinda distributed notes, which included examples of haibun, and briefly discussed the origins of the form and the requirements for writing haibun, such as issues of style and tense, how many haiku should be included and what topics were suitable.
Continue reading "Bindii Group: September Haibun workshop" »
The fourth issue of A Hundred Gourds, a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online.
The deadline for all submissions to AHG 2:1(the December issue) is September 15th.
The eight winning eChapbooks of Snapshot Press's 2011 eChapbook competition are now published and may be read in both pdf or Flash format.
Congratulations to Lorin Ford and Vanessa Proctor. Lorin Ford's 'A Few Quick Brushstrokes' and Vanessa Proctor's 'Jacaranda Baby' are the two Australian winners.
Bindii Ginko Saturday August 4th 2012
For our August meeting, Bindii members attended a ginko at the Art Gallery. Some sought inspiration at a special exhibition, while others wandered through the art works, and into the sights and sounds of North Terrace.
The results of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival's annual haiku invitational have been announced and are available at:
Each year the Festival organisers do a wonderful job in making haiku an important part of the celebrations. This year, Australia's own Beverley George was invited to judge all five sections of the competition.
Australian poets were among the successful entrants with David Terelinck winning first prize in the international section and Glen Fletcher and Quendryth Young receiving Sakura Awards.
Congratulations to Nathalie Buckland for being awarded Fifth Place in the New Zealand Poetry Society 2012 International Poetry Competition, Haiku Section, with the following haiku:
morning glory
clings to the tea tree -
his new girlfriend
Continue reading "NZPS 2012 International Poetry Competition" »
On Saturday 28th July the Red Dragonflies met at Lesley Walter's home for a very enjoyable and entertaining meeting which was fuelled by Lesley's delicious chocolate cake with cream and berries. All six members were present.
Entries close 15 September 2012.
The life and work of Australia's greatest haiku poet, the late Janice M Bostok, is being celebrated with a significant new haiku award offering a First Prize of $350, a Second Prize of $100 and a Third Prize of $50.
This new award is international in scope – in keeping with Janice's recognition as a truly international haiku poet and as a fitting memorial to her many decades of dedication to promoting not only the development of an Australian haiku voice but also her work on behalf of English language haiku as a global art form.
The judging panel will be led by multi-award winning haiku poet Jim Kacian, founder of The Haiku Foundation, and Australian Haiku Society president Cynthia Rowe.
Continue reading "Janice M Bostok Haiku Prize: Awards total $500" »
Haiku Submission Guidelines
The Creatrix Haiku Editor is Rose van Son.
The Creatrix selectors for haiku are Rose van Son, Meryl Manoy, Amanda Joy, and Gary De Piazzi.
To avoid disappointment, please follow the submission guidelines.
Ron Moss Guest Haiga Editor for issue 2:1, Dec 2012 - Submissions open until September 15th.
Please see the AHG submission page for Haiga submission details. http://ahundredgourds.haikuhut.com/index13.html
A Hundred Gourds - a quarterly journal featuring haiku, tanka, renku, haiga, and haibun
Continue reading "A Hundred Gourds: Ron Moss Guest Haiga Editor " »
Windfall: Australian Haiku is a small annual print publication which seeks to publish fine examples of contemporary Australian haiku. Submissions are welcome in July each year.
Editor: Beverley George.
Founder and Manager: Peter Macrow.
Published by Blue Giraffe Press. ISSN 1839-5449. Hobart, Blue Giraffe Press issue 1, 2012 -
Designed and printed for Blue Giraffe Press by Picaro Press.
Guidelines for submissions:
1. Please head all submissions with your name, postal address and the date of submission, together with a statement that your submitted haiku are, "original, unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere".
2. In order to extend the publishing opportunities for haiku poets in this country, and as Windfall will showcase only 50-60 selected haiku per issue, contribution is restricted to Australian poets, resident in Australia.
3. Submission period is June 30th – July 31st each year.
4. You may submit up to ten of your best haiku per issue but a maximum of 2-3 poems by an individual poet will be selected for any given issue.
5. Acceptances will be advised by August 31st after which date you are free to send any unaccepted poems elsewhere.
6. We are seeking haiku which are relevant to the experience of urban and rural life in Australia. Observations that celebrate landform, seasons, and our unique flora and fauna, are welcomed.
7. Please submit your unpublished haiku to Beverley George PO Box 37 Pearl Beach 2256 or email to email@example.com with 'Windfall' and your surname in the subject line.
Windfall Subscriptions:
Subscriptions Manager is Peter Macrow
$10 for two issues, one per year for two years, including postage within Australia.
Stamps or cash are also welcome. Cheques must be made out to Peter Macrow
Overseas subscriptions are $15 in Australian cash only.
Copies to non-subscribers or non-contributors are $10 for the first copy and $5 each for further copy. Overseas $15.
Contact details:
Peter Macrow
Manager, Blue Giraffe Press
6/16 Osborne Street
Sandy Bay TAS 7005
or email: email@example.com
Apart from haiku submissions, all enquiries and other business should be directed to Peter Macrow, email as above.
Australian haiku poets have made a very good showing in the 2012 Katikati Haiku Contest, with 1st prize awarded to Lorin Ford, 2nd prize to Joanne Watcyn-Jones and a Highly Commended to Cynthia Rowe. Among the Commended haiku were those by Jan Dobb and Cynthia Rowe.
1st Prize
harvest moon
the horizon between here
and hereafter
- Lorin Ford, Australia
2nd Prize
heart failure
folding the sails
before nightfall
- Joanne Watcyn-Jones, Australia
The on-line journal A Hundred Gourds (AHG) is in need of a webmaster, preferably someone with an interest in haiku and related poetry. The position, as all other positions related to the AHG journal, is a voluntary one, so the compensations are not monetary but rather those that come with working with a dedicated team to produce a high quality journal that serves the world-wide English-language 'haiku & related' community.
Hearty congratulations to Dr Sharon Dean whose thesis: "White Heron: The Authorised Biography of Australia's Pioneering Haiku Writer Janice M Bostok" has been selected as a recipient of the Chancellor's Medal for 2011 for excellence in the Doctor of Philosophy [Griffith University],for 'recognition of your exceptional performance in your research higher degree placing you as one of the highest achieving PhD graduates and the Arts, Education and Law's top ranked candidate for 2011.'
The new issue of Shamrock (No 22) is now available online at
It has a big selection of English-language and translated haiku, as well as two haibun and three reviews of the haiku books by Helen Buckingham, Clare McCotter and Svetlana Marisova & Ted van Zutphen.
Many thanks to the contributors. We hope our readers will enjoy it.
Anatoly Kudryavitsky
The third issue of A Hundred Gourds: a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga, tanka and renku poetry is now online.
A Hundred Gourds welcomes your submissions to the September edition.
The deadline for all submissions to AHG 1:4 is June 15th.
The summer quarterly issue of Haibun Today is now online for your reading pleasure at http://haibuntoday.com
Writers are now invited to submit haibun, tanka prose and articles for consideration in the September 2012 issue of Haibun Today. Consult our Submission Guidelines at Haibun Today.
Continue reading "Haibun Today (June 2012) is now online." »
The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival invites you to submit two haiku celebrating the beauty of cherry blossoms. This year, internationally recognized poet from Australia, Beverley George, has been invited to be the Festival guest judge.
Continue reading "Vancouver Haiku Invitational: closes 4 June 2012" »
The Cloudcathcher group held their autumn ginko at Victoria Park, Alstonville, NSW on Thursday 10 May 2012. A report is included below:
Hearty congratulations to Ron Moss for his success in winning the Snapshot Press MS book awards for 2012. Ron's first collection of haiku, The Bone Carver, will be coming out before Christmas and will be with the prestigious Snapshot Press.
The Bindii group met at the Box Factory, 59 Regent St South, Adelaide from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm Minutes of the meeting are provided below:
Darlington Richards, publishers of Journal of Renga & Renku, are pleased to announce the launch of the Little Book of Yotsumonos.
Preview: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_preview
Purchase: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_buy
Continue reading "The Little Book of Yotsumonos - John Carley & collaborators" »
New contest offers $350 for first place
Australia's greatest haiku poet, the late Janice M Bostok, is being honoured with a major new haiku award offering a First Prize of $350 with a Second Prize of $100 and $50 for Third Prize.
The new award will be international in scope and looks forward to attracting the very best of English language haiku from around the world – in keeping with Janice's recognition as a truly international haiku poet and as a fitting memorial to her many decades of dedication to promoting not only the development of an Australian haiku voice but also her work on behalf of English language haiku as a global art form.
The large judging panel will be led by one of Janice's colleagues and admirers, the multi-award winning haiku poet Jim Kacian, founder of The Haiku Foundation, and will include Australian Haiku Society president Cynthia Rowe.
I'm writing to let you know about The Haiku Foundation Video Archive campaign.
Take a moment if you would to check it out. All the tools are there. Get perks, make a contribution, or simply follow updates. If enough of us get behind it, we can make 'The Haiku Foundation Video Archive' happen. This is a word of mouth kind of campaign, so passing this link along and spreading the word is greatly appreciated too. Thanks for having a look, and take care.
Jim Kacian
The Haiku Foundation
Ozku's first anthology, raking stones, was published in April 2012.
raking stones is a beautifully presented,silk-finished collection of haiku, tanka and haibun from all six members: Dawn Bruce, Joyce Christie, Margaret Conley, Margaret L. Grace, Joanne Watcyn-Jones and Beatrice Yell.
The anthology is dedicated to the memory of Janice Bostok 1942-2011, haiku pioneer of Australia.
Due to commitments Dawn Bruce, Vice President Australian Haiku Society, has regretfully handed in her resignation. I would like to thank Dawn for her contribution to the smooth running of HaikuOz over the past four years and wish her all the best for her future undertakings.
Lynette Arden, I am delighted to announce, has accepted the position of Vice President Australian Haiku Society.
Paper wasp has been somewhat taken aback by a (justifiably) irate email from overseas pointing out that one of its recent publications has fallen victim to the repeat publication of a singular haiku. It is unusual for journal editors and/or contest organisers to receive submissions that have been published elsewhere or haiku that occasionally bear a remarkable similarity to previously published material. It has, however, happened and this recent case does remind us all that patience and meticulous record keeping of haiku submissions to the many journals, websites and contests, now so easily accessible, is a good idea.
Congratulations to Cynthia Rowe, Jo McInerney and Ron Moss for winning First, Second and Thrid prizes respectively in the 2011 Paper Wasp Jack Stamm Haiku Competition. The successful haiku in order from first to third were:
tree-lined stream
the falcon rowing
through air
holding the warmth
of the afternoon sun
dandelion ridge
simmering rhubarb
mother plays ragtime
on broken keys
While the Jack Stamm Award has over the years become a valued and sought after prize, Paper Wasp has announced that the 2011 competition will be the last in the series honouring, Jack Stamm, the Japan-based American beat generation haiku poet who was part of a Japanese initiative to reinvigorate Australian haiku in the late 1980s.
The 2011 Jack Stamm Anthology therefore reproduces all the prize winning haiku dating back to the first competition in 1999.
Paper Wasp has also announced that it will honour Australia's greatest haiku poet, the late Janice M Bostok, with a new international haiku award - further details will be available in the coming months.
Professor Oba at the Basho Memorial Museum in Yamagata, Japan, invites Australian entries by 11 June for the Museum's 2012 English language haiku competition.
Continue reading "4th Yamadera Bashō Memorial Museum Haiku Contest" »
The Bindii group met at the Box Factory, 59 Regent St South, Adelaide from 10.30 am to 1 pm on a very pleasant autumn morning. Minutes of the meeting are provided below.
Continue reading "MINUTES OF BINDII MEETING: 3 MARCH 2012" »
An open-theme haiku contest with proceeds going to the Haiku Pathway project.
Thanks to Kings Seeds for providing the cash prizes. Kings Seeds is a Katikati business that is a leader in its field and we are pleased to welcome the family-owned company to the contest.
18 & over: $100 for first; $50 for second and $25 for third
17 & under: $50, $25, $10 (all prizes in New Zealand dollars).
Farewell dear JohnnyK. We will miss you and your poetry. Shalom.
mackerel sky -
waves breaking white
on a distant shore
Lyn Reeves
flowing to the sea
slowly, Chopin-like: the river
and his ashes
Nuri Rosegg, Norway
February end-
the branch falls
near that log
The six members of the Red Dragonflies haiku group met at Dawn Bruce's home on Saturday 25th February in glorious sunshine for our first meeting of the year.
Issue 1:2 of A Hundred Gourds: a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga tanka and renku poetry is now online.
The deadline for all submissions to AHG 1:3 is March 15th
John was a teacher to the very end. At the birthday party he threw in his Brisbane home in December there was the usual collection of poets, academics, old protest era activist colleagues and family members. There were also, scattered throughout the packed weatherboard house and its verandas, a number of people made noticeable by their bright, 'out there' style and youthful optimism. These were John's latest students. He had been retired as an Associate Professor in The School of Education, The University of Queensland, where he had pursued interests in policy studies and social and literary theory, for more than a decade. By December 2011 John had been rendered weak and infirm by the cancer he had been fighting for almost a decade but, to the very end, he worked in a mentoring relationship with doctoral students at QUT and elsewhere. They came to his party, they gave him hugs and they spoke to his guests of his great gifts.
Australian haiku poets will be saddened by the death of John Knight, foundation editor of paper wasp: an Australian journal of haiku. Editor, teacher, judge and mentor in the haiku field and beyond John died after a long battle with cancer. On behalf of the Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) may I offer condolences to his family, and to his haiku colleagues and many friends.
Cynthia Rowe
President: The Australian Haiku Society
Please submit your memorial poems and brief tributes to firstname.lastname@example.com
The spring quarterly issue of Haibun Today is now online for your reading pleasure at http://haibuntoday.com
Writers are now invited to submit haibun, tanka prose and articles for consideration in the June 2012 issue of Haibun Today. Consult our Submission Guidelines at Haibun Today.
Continue reading "Haibun Today (March 2012) is now online." »
"Windfall: Australian Haiku" is a small annual print publication which seeks to publish fine examples of contemporary Australian haiku. Submissions are welcome in July each year.
Editor: Beverley George.
Founder and Manager: Peter Macrow
Published by Blue Giraffe Press. ISSN 1839-5449. Hobart, Blue Giraffe Press issue 1, 2012 –
Designed and printed for Blue Giraffe Press by Picaro Press.
The Kaji Aso Studio is a center for the arts in Boston founded by Japanese painter, poet, and musician Kaji Aso to promote a positive, nature-centered philosophy and practice of art. We have held classes and hosted hundreds of exhibitions, concerts, and readings reading for over thirty years. The Studio is also the home of the Boston Haiku Society, which meets here every third Saturday of the month.
Details of the 2012 haiku contest are provided below.
Janice M Bostok Haiku Award: A New International Contest
It is with great pleasure that Paper Wasp announces that it will honour Australia's greatest haiku poet, the late Janice M Bostok, with a new international haiku award.
The Janice M Bostok Award will replace the long-running Jack Stamm contest which honoured the Japan-based American beat generation haiku poet who was part of a Japanese initiative to reinvigorate Australian haiku in the late 1980s.
Ginko No.24 (summer)
Shaw's Bay, Ballina, NSW
Thursday 9 February 2012
Never be afraid of a wet ginko. When poets gather to experience together the nuances of their environment, images are heightened by the extremes that the elements may present. The Cloudcatchers held their summer ginko at Shaw's Bay, and at the Skate Park, Ballina, on Thursday 9 February. It rained all day.
Continue reading "Report on Cloudcatchers' Summer Ginko No 24" »
The organisers of the June 15-17 Haiku Festival Aotearoa in Tauranga, New Zealand would like to remind those planning to attend that registration for delegates intending to live in at the venue close at the end of this month.
A programme change has also been made – workshop tutor Tony Beyer has had to withdraw but his place has been taken by Beverley George, editor of Eucalypt, who will take a workshop on tanka. The programme also includes 2 master classes (for all participants) by Jim Kacian, an award-winning US poet and owner of Red Moon press.
Continue reading "Haiku Festival Aotearoa: June 2012, an update" »
Venue: Box Factory, 59 Regent St South, Adelaide
Time: 10.30 am to 1 pm.
Present: Lyn Arden, Belinda Broughton, Jill Gower, Maeve Archibald, Margaret Rawlinson, Lee Bentley, Margaret Fensom.
Apologies: Alex Ask, Marilyn Linn, Julia Wakefield, Judith Ahmed, Dawn Colsey.
Read the minutes of the meeting below.
Continue reading "MINUTES OF BINDII MEETING: 4 FEBRUARY 2012" »
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2012. First prize is $100 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
Continue reading "FreeXpresSion Haiku Competition – 2012 - reminder" »
From the Haiku NZ website, edited by Sandra Simpson, comes the sad news that Cyril Childs passed away on January 27, 2012 less than three months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Hearty congratulations to Quendryth Young who has won the international section of the fourth Irish Haiku Society Competition 2011 with the following haiku:
turning tide
the buoy bobs
Read all the winning haiku:
My name is Mitsuru Hosobe, Board of Directors, Harvard Club of Japan. I am now working for the Mathematics Institute of Japan, supervised by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
We have just decided 3/14 is the day of Mathematics for 3/14 reminds us of π=3.14・・・
To commemorate the day we are now asking everyone to create and post Haiku and Senryu related to math, arithmetic and number and Evaluation Committee will evaluate them to nominate for award.
Entries are due by 29 February 2012 as described below.
Continue reading "Maths Haiku Competition, Japan – Update" »
The Adelaide based, Bindii poetry group has released its first publication.
Continue reading "Haiku Bindii Vol 1, Journeys – How to purchase" »
Haiku Bindii, Journal of the Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group, Vol. 1, Journeys. Convenor: Lynette Arden (2011) 60 pp. ISSN 1839-4337.
Reviewed by Patricia Prime.
Continue reading "Haiku Bindii Vol 1, Journeys – Review by Patricia Prime" »
Just a reminder that entries for the Genjuan International Haibun Competition close on 31 January 2012.
Huge congratulations to Dr Sharon Dean, who has had the degree of Doctor of Philosophy conferred upon her by the Griffith University QLD. Her thesis was entitled 'White Heron: The Authorised Biography of Australian Pioneering Haiku Writer, Janice Bostok.'
The Third Australian Haiku Anthology (paperwasp:2011), featuring 70 haiku poets, has been warmly and sensitively reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald (17-18 December, 2011) - for which we are extremely grateful. This development again reinforces the strength, vitality and maturity of the form in this nation. Significantly, a review in the SMH testifies to the quality of haiku being written in Australia today and places haiku in the mainstream of Australian poetic endeavour. It is a delightful note on which to round out the year and here's wishing everyone a happy and successful 2012.
Jacqui Murray
The World Haiku Club is pleased to announce that the December 2011 Issue of World Haiku Review is now online. Click on http://sites.google.com/site/worldhaikureview2/home
Rohini Gupta, our Technical Editor, is continuing her noble and arduous task of retrieving and rescuing poems, articles, treatises, reports, contributions etc. of the past World Haiku Review issues 2001 - 2007, which got tragically lost in mysterious circumstances. Her first effort is focused on saving, recovering and rescuing only. She will then gradually sort them out and give them shape. If you happen to come across any of these invaluable items of the past WHR issues, by all means please let us know.
Continue reading "World Haiku Review online: December 2011 Issue" »
Congratulations to Sandra Simpson from Tauranga, New Zealand, on winning first and third prize in the Kokako Haiku Competition. Well done, also to Janette Hoppe and Jan Dobb for their Highly Commended entries.
1st Prize
pulling down the blinds
at 11 am
your lips on my eyelids
Sandra Simpson (NZ)
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2012. First prize is $100 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
The Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, is conducting an international haiku competition in support of their goal to have Fujisan (Mt Fuji) declared a World Cultural Heritage Site. The haiku are to be composed on the topic of Fujisan and are to be submitted by 20 January 2012.
Details regarding the haiku competition, including entry forms, are available at:
Further background and a Fujisan photo gallery are available at:
A Hundred Gourds 1:1 is now online---
The first issue of A Hundred Gourds: a quarterly journal of haiku, haibun, haiga and tanka poetry is now online.
The Editorial Team of A Hundred Gourds extends warmest thanks to everyone who submitted their work for consideration for this, our inaugural issue. Thanks to your enthusiastic welcome, it's a bumper edition.
Esther Theiler's new book Jutei and Basho is now available from Ginninderra Press.
Jutei was a woman who lived in Japan in the seventeenth century and had a relationship of some kind with the great haiku master, Matsuo Basho. This is an imaginative re-construction of the life of Jutei, intertwined with the historically known life of Basho and written in the spirit of haibun and haiku.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Haibun Today (December 2011) is now online.
The winter quarterly issue of Haibun Today is now online for your reading pleasure at http://haibuntoday.com
Contributors to this issue include Melissa Allen, Deb Baker, Dawn Bruce, Owen Bullock, Steven Carter, Marcyn Del Clements, Glenn G. Coats, David Cobb, Anne Curran, Tish Davis, Cherie Hunter Day, Eduardo N. del Valle, Lisa Fleck Dondiego, Claire Everett, Jeffrey Harpeng, Ruth Holzer, Ken Jones, Robert W. Kimsey, Gary LeBel, Marie Lecrivain, Chen-ou Liu, Bob Lucky, Victor Maddalena, Marian Olson, Kathe L. Palka, Carol Pearce-Worthington, Stanley Pelter, Dru Philippou, Patricia Prime, William M. Ramsey, Ray Rasmussen, Bruce Ross, Cynthia Rowe, Miriam Sagan, Lucas Stensland, John Stone, Charles Tarlton, Diana Webb and Rich Youmans.
A ginko had been on the agenda for the Red Dragonflies' meeting at Pearl Beach on Saturday 26th November, however, inclement weather put a decided stop to that plan. The weather being assuredly for ducks rather than dragonflies, we met, instead, at Beverley George's home, where we workshopped our pre-written haiku before the skies fortuitously cleared and we managed to flit around Beverley's home and garden in quasi-ginko fashion. By the time we arrived at the beachside café for lunch, the day had turned quite summery. Our spirits more than matched the sunny afternoon. All in all, a thoroughly uplifting occasion.
after the rain
the laughter of kookaburras
suddenly joins ours
Lesley Walter
ANNOUNCEMENT: Editorial Changes at Haibun Today.
Haibun Today is pleased to announce the following changes to its editorial staff and submission guidelines. These changes will take effect upon the release, on December 1, 2011, of the winter issue of Haibun Today.
A hearty congratulations to our own Australian Haiku Society President, Cynthia Rowe, who has taken out first prize in the 2011 Polish International Haiku Competition. You can read Cynthia's haiku in English, and translated into Polish, at the links below. Cynthia's haiku is presented together with comments from the competition's Final Judge, Jane Reichhold. The competition attracted entries from 41 countries including 14 writers from Australia.
The inaugural issue of A Hundred Gourds will be a big issue. We are on track for the publication date of December 1st.
Thank you to everyone who submitted haiku to me for A Hundred Gourds, 1:1.
As well as haiku, tanka, haibun and haiga, the December issue will contain a retrospective feature on Janice M. Bostok's haiku life, essays by John Carley, Jack Galmitz and Chen-ou Liu and interviews with two haiku poets whose names we're keeping as a surprise.
A national anthology presents an opportunity to take stock of the health and development of the writing form it celebrates and the third anthology of Australian haiku is genuinely a celebration. Australian haiku poets have found their own voice. It is a voice that is mature, strong and confident.
Haiku by seventy poets is featured in the Third Australian Haiku Anthology published in November 2011 and available at pre-publication prices for orders placed and paid for (cash or cheque) by 30 November 2011 as follows:
Continue reading "Third Australian Haiku Anthology - Orders" »
Lyn Arden conducted a workshop on haiku/senryu. The workshop touched on the origins of senryu, varying definitions of senryu, opinions about what might be called haiku or senryu, a look at examples of 19th and 20th century Japanese senryu and examples of senryu written in English by various authors. Members of the group then shared and workshopped some of their senryu.
Continue reading "REPORT ON BINDII MEETING: 5 NOVEMBER 2011" »
What a glorious sunny Perth spring day for a GINKO in Araluen Botanic Park on Saturday October 29th. 2011. Forty five minutes to individually observe and soak in the sights, sounds and smells of the picturesque setting with roses and pansies of all shades in full bloom.
Congratulations to Beverley George on winning Second Prize in the Foreign Language Category of the 16th Kusamakura International Haiku Competition 2011. The judges for the competition were Morio Nishikawa (Professor emeritus at Kumamoto University), and Richard Gilbert (Associate Professor at Kumamoto University ).
Renowned writer and editor Jim Kacian heads the line up of tutors at next year's Haiku Festival Aotearoa in Tauranga, New Zealand, from June 15-17.
Jim is coming out from the US especially to take two master classes at the festival, which also includes workshops on performing haiku, renku and haibun, and a visit to the Katikati Haiku Pathway.
Hearty congratulations to Lorin Ford and Vanessa Proctor for their success in having their manuscripts selected as winners in the Snapshot eChapbook competition 2011. The results can be viewed online at http://www.snapshotpress.co.uk/contests/echapbook_awards/results.htm
Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group are delighted to invite you to the launch of Haiku Bindii Vol. 1 Journeys 2011, to be launched by:
Mr Adam Wynn, Hon. Consul-General for Japan in South Australia
This is a free event. Please join us at the Box Factory 159 Regent St South, Adelaide from 4 pm on 3 December 2011. Refreshments will be served and there will be readings by the Bindii poets.
Continue reading "Launch of Haiku Bindii, Vol. 1 Journeys 2011" »
Haiku – One Moment Please
8 Week Course with Maureen Sexton
Every Tuesday evening 25th October to 13th December, 7 pm to 9.30 pm
Every Wednesday afternoon 19th October to 7th December, 12.30 pm to 3 pm
Where: The Art House, 63 Railway Avenue, Kelmscott (walking distance from Kelmscott train station)
Invites you to join us on a ginko (haiku walk)
Where: Araluen Botanic Park
When: Saturday 29th October, 10.30 am
We will meet under the M. Simons Memorial Pergola. If you need to be picked up from Kelmscott train station
please let me know and I will arrange it. If you would like to meet at my house in Kelmscott, so we can car-pool, please let me know and we can arrange that, firstname.lastname@example.com or 0435 024 616.
A strip of land between sea and fresh water is a magical place. Cloudcatchers assembled for their Spring Ginko at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head, on Thursday 13 October 2011, savouring the salt spray from the ocean, which mingled with soft breezes from the banksias and tea-trees lining this tea-coloured lake.
Continue reading "Report on Cloudcatchers' Spring Ginko No.23" »
A Hundred Gourds now has a temporary webpage where you will find the basic submission guidelines and information.
There is also an opt-in facility for those who would like to receive news and updates.
We welcome your submissions of haiku, tanka, haibun, haiga and articles/ essays relevant to the haikai genre for the March 2012 issue until the submissions closing date of December 15th, 2011.
Many lovers of haiku from Australia and overseas will remember warmly the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim (HPR) conference that was organised by Beverley George and her team at Terrigal, New South Wales, in September 2009.
Founder of the HPR conferences, Jerry Ball, who attended 4HPR in Terrigal is now leading the organising committee for the 5th Haiku Pacific Rim conference to be held at Asilomar, near San Francisco USA, from 6 to 10 September 2012.
5HPR is sure to be a wonderful gathering of haijin from around the Pacific rim nations and beyond. Now is the time to think about marking the event in your diary. All the details will be made available at the following site:
Poets who had a haiku published on poam's haiku page during the three years Peter Macrow was poam's haiku editor are invited to enter a maximum of three haiku which are original, unpublished and not on offer elsewhere. Up to three prizes of $100 each, sponsored by Blue Giraffe Press.
Competition judge: Peter Macrow
Closing date: 31st December 2011
Email entries and enquiries to: firstname.lastname@example.com
Peter Macrow
Managing Editor, Blue Giraffe Press.
The Kikakuza International Haibun Contest will have to be terminated with the publication of the booklet containing the decorated works from the past three years. Judges, Nobuyuki Yuasa and Stephen Henry Gill, however, have decided to continue under the title of the Genjuan International Haibun Contest.
Continue reading "幻住庵 GENJUAN INTERNATIONAL HAIBUN CONTEST" »
We met at Veale Gardens on South Terrace at the Wisteria Arbour at 11 am. The weather had been showery for a few days, but we were fortunate on the day of the ginko to have fine weather, with only a slight sprinkle of rain just as we were finishing lunch.
Continue reading "MINUTES OF BINDII GINKO AT VEALE GARDENS: 1 October 2011" »
FORTHCOMING MEETINGS and events:
1 October: will be a ginko in Veale Gardens. Further details of the meeting spot will be emailed. If rain is forecast for the day, we will meet at the Box Factory.
5 November: Alex Ask will run a workshop on senryu/haiku. It is envisaged that members will bring in material (both haiku/senryu and any critical discussion material) so we can investigate and discuss 'what is haiku', 'what is senryu'. This should be a good discussion session.
3 December: A booking has been made for our book launch at the Box Factory at 3 pm. So we should invite guests at 3.30 to start at 4 pm.
Lynette Arden
SA Representative AHS
Invites you to join us on a ginko (haiku walk)
Where: Araluen Botanic Park
When: Saturday 29th October, 10.30 am
We will meet under the M. Simons Memorial Pergola.
If you need to be picked up from Kelmscott train station please let me know and I will arrange it. If you would like to meet at my house in Kelmscott, so we can car-pool, please let me know and we can arrange that, firstname.lastname@example.com or 0435 024 616.
8 Week Course with Maureen Sexton
When: Every Wednesday from 19th October to 7th December, 12.30 to 3 pm.
Where: The Art House, 63 Railway Avenue, Kelmscott (walking distance from Kelmscott train station)
Cost of the full course: Full $200, Concession $160. Open to negotiation under certain circumstances. Email or phone Maureen to book your place: firstname.lastname@example.com or 0435 024 616. Places are limited, so book early!
Ginko (Haiku Walk) with Graham Nunn
Sundays 16, 23, 30 October and 13, 20 and 27 November
9am – 10.30am
Haiku poets sketch from life, in order to develop their powers of observation and description. A traditional way to develop these skills is by participating in Ginko (a Haiku walk).
Call for submissions
It is now five years since the publication of the Second Australian Haiku Anthology (2006). That followed the First Australian Haiku Anthology developed and published on line by John Bird and Janice Bostok in 1999 and subsequently published by paper wasp in 2003. Another edition of work by Australian haiku poets, now so well represented in contests and publications around the world, is timely. Thus, submissions for a third edition are invited from published haiku poets living in Australia or from Australian haiku poets resident overseas.
The deadline for submissions is: 30 September 2011
paper wasp editors/publishers
Katherine Samuelowicz, Jacqui Murray
Supported by AHS
Continue reading "Third Australian Haiku Anthology - Call for Submissions" »
Cloudcatchers' Tribute to Janice Bostok
Each one of us is saddened to learn of the passing of Janice Bostok at
Murwillumbah District Hospital yesterday. Janice, Patron of the
Australian Haiku Society, was the first Australian poet to explore the
haiku genre, over thirty years ago, and since then she has pioneered
this and other Japanese short forms, interpreted with an Australian
When Cloudcatchers first gathered together on 2 December 2005, Janice
was there, and became our unofficial Patron. She loved being involved
in our ginko, and her interest in Cloudcatchers persisted, even when
ill-health prohibited her joining us in later years. She was happy to
comment on our early attempts to master the writing of haiku, and
pleased to hear of any successes that any Cloudcatcher achieved. I
know it comforted her to receive messages from us in these last few
uncomfortable months.
Vale Janice Bostok. We acknowledge the contribution you have made to
our group, and appreciate the guidance and championing of each one, as
we took our tentative steps down the fascinating path of the haiku
the release
of fluttering moths
evening star
Quendryth Young
Cloudcatcher Coordinator
Vale Janice M Bostok 1942 -2011
Australian haiku poets will be saddened by the death of revered haiku poet Janice M Bostok, Patron of the Australian Haiku Society, editor, teacher, judge and mentor in the haiku field. Janice died peacefully in the Murwillumbah Hospital yesterday afternoon Sunday 4th September. On behalf of the Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) may I offer condolences to Janice's family, and to her haiku colleagues and friends.
Cynthia Rowe
President: The Australian Haiku Society
More information on Janice's life and her role in the haiku community will be posted soon.
Please submit your memorial poems and brief tributes to firstname.lastname@example.com
The autumn quarterly issue of Haibun Today is now online for your reading pleasure at http://haibuntoday.com
Writers are now invited to submit haibun, tanka prose and articles for consideration in the December 2011 issue of Haibun Today. Consult our Submission Guidelines at Haibun Today. Forward any submissions by email to Jeffrey Woodward, Editor, at email@example.com
Hearty congratulations to Quendryth Young, convenor of Cloudcatchers, for having achieved the highest distinction in her category – Best International Haiku in the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival - 2011 Haiku Invitational. Her haiku
a blossom falls into
a fluffy cloud
will be posted on the website in the fall and will also be published in Ricepaper, Haiku Canada, and Ripples, all leading Haiku magazines and newsletters in the North America. As well, in the spring they will be posted in 500 buses and SkyTrains throughout Metro Vancouver, and be read at multiple celebrity readings.
* Submissions for the first issue of 'A Hundred Gourds' close on September 15th, 2011*
Submissions and enquires may be addressed to :
Lorin Ford, Haiku Editor: firstname.lastname@example.com
Melinda Hipple, Haiga Editor: email@example.com
John McManus, Resources Editor: email@example.com
Gene Murtha, Tanka Editor: email@example.com
Ray Rasmussen, Haibun Editor: firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com
The editorial team of 'A Hundred Gourds' welcomes your submissions to our first issue, which will be published online in December, 2011.
Hearty congratulations to Ron Moss in Tasmania, winner of The Seashell Game 2011, a unique form of contest in which you can nominate the poems of other writers, rather than entering your own, for his eloquent haiku:
starry night …
what's left of my life
is enough
Shiki Internet Kukai, 1st Place December 2006 and then the Shiki Internet Kukai 5th Annual Poets' Choice,1st Place 2007. It appeared in several Anthologies until it was published again as a Haiga in the haiku pages, FreeXpresSion 2010.
The Adelaide based Bindii Group held a kukai at their 6 August meeting and members enjoyed sharing the haiku brought in by other members.
Further details are shown below:
This workshop will be run by Maureen Sexton who is the Western Australia Regional Representative of HaikuOz - Australian Haiku Society and organiser of the Mari Warabiny Haiku Group.
Details are shown below.
Continue reading "Wild about poetry Haiku workshop: Perth, 31 August" »
Entries for this competition close on 16 August. Winners will be listed on the Library's web page and in the Library. Entries will be displayed on the Poetry Wall in the Library during the WA celebrations of National Poetry Week 29 August - 3 September and the WA Spring Poetry Festival organised by WA Poets Inc.
Submission guidelines are shown below.
Continue reading "2011 City of Perth Library Haiku Competition" »
Entries, written in English, can now be submitted for the Polish International Haiku Competition. The Final Judge for the competition is Jane Reichhold. Submission details are at:
Dear Friends & Poets,
I'm very sorry to be in the position to have to tell you that I am no longer haiku editor for Notes From the Gean. I am informed that NFTG will continue or begin again on a new website, fully owned and directed by Colin Stewart Jones and his press, Gean Tree Press. Because the changes to NFTG entail a new webmaster as well as the replacement of other editors besides myself, I cannot predict when future issues of Notes From the Gean will be published online. Enquiries about future submissions to Notes From the Gean should be directed to Colin Stewart Jones at firstname.lastname@example.com
My gratitude and warm thanks for all of the fine haiku I've had the privilege to read and select for publication whilst I've been haiku editor at Notes For the Gean, and my sincere apologies any inconvenience caused.
Best wishes,
Lorin Ford, haiku editor,
"Notes From the Gean", issues 1 – 9 (June 2009 - June 2011)
Congratulations to HaikuOz Secretary, Greg Piko, for being awarded First Place in the New Zealand Poetry Society 2011 International Poetry Competition, Haiku Section. Greg is winner of the Jeanette Stace Memorial Award.
To those of you who were not so successful, your haiku still have another chance - the second copy of your work is currently with editor, Linzy Forbes, who is selecting work for publishing in the annual anthology. You may not submit your haiku elsewhere until 31st August.
Pamela A. Babusci
Moonbathing Issue 5 is now accepting submissions. I have additional copies of Moonbathing issues of 3 & 4. If you wish to purchase a copy(ies) please e-mail me.
Please e-mail with your regular submission one tanka on the theme of "moonbathing". The winner will receive a year's subscription. Moonbathing will publish two issues a year: Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer.
Moonbathing will feature only women poets. Send a maximum of 10 tanka per submission period. Submission deadlines: Fall/Winter: In-hand deadline: Dec. 15th fall/winter theme or non-seasonal only
Continue reading "MOONBATHING: A JOURNAL OF WOMEN'S TANKA" »
I would like to say how delighted I am to have been invited to assume the role of President, HaikuOz and look forward to working with Dawn Bruce, Greg Piko and other members of the Committee. The haiku community in Australia is flourishing. Talented work is constantly emerging from our local haijin, and members continue to impress with their success in competitions both in Australia and overseas. At HaikuOz we are committed to ensure that haiku in this country continues to make its mark. For information about haiku activities please visit the HaikuOz website at www.haikuoz.org
Cynthia Rowe
President, HaikuOz
Sharon Dean advises that HaikuOz co-founder and patron, Janice M Bostok, is still confined to Murwillumbah District Hospital, but now has internet access. If you'd like to contact Jan directly, please write to:
Lynette Arden has just started a blog for the Bindii Haiku Group, called Haiku Bindii. The blog is only new but will provide a convenient way to keep up to date with the haiku happenings of the Adelaide based group. The blog can be found at:
Jo McInerney has advised that, regretfully, she is not in a position to continue in her role as President of HaikuOz. Jo's personal and family circumstances are such that she has had to step aside from her duties in recent times and, unfortunately, Jo has indicated that her situation is unlikely to change in the immediate future. The HaikuOz office bearers all wish Jo the very best for the future and would like to thank her for her past efforts as President of HaikuOz.
HaikuOz is in the fortunate position of having another capable and highly respected haiku poet who has agreed to take on the President's role. Congratulations to Cynthia Rowe from Sydney who is the new President of HaikuOz.
Cynthia is a graduate of Melbourne University and has taught secondary and tertiary French and English in both Victoria and New South Wales. She has spent time in France and the French Territories and was awarded a Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française by the French Ministry of Education. She is a Writing Fellow of the Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW.
Cynthia is a novelist, short story writer and poet whose work has been published in Australia and overseas. She has been broadcast on National Community Radio. Her play 'Not the Vice-Chancellor' was performed in the Sydney Short and Sweet Festival 2008. She is a member of Red Dragonflies haiku group which workshops Japanese genre poetry. She is Immediate Past President, Eastern Suburbs Region Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW and Editor, Haiku Xpressions.
Call for submissions
It is now five years since the publication of the Second Australian Haiku Anthology (2006). That followed the First Australian Haiku Anthology developed and published on line by John Bird and Janice Bostok in 1999 and subsequently published by paper wasp in 2003. Another edition of work by Australian haiku poets, now so well represented in contests and publications around the world, is timely. Thus, submissions for a third edition are invited from published haiku poets living in Australia or from Australian haiku poets resident overseas.
The deadline for submissions is: 30 September 2011
paper wasp editors/publishers
Katherine Samuelowicz, Jacqui Murray
Supported by AHS
Congratulations to Beverley George who won second prize in the Kaji Aso Studio's 2011 haiku competition. The Kaji Aso Studio is located in Boston, USA, and offers experience in the visual arts, music, poetry, philosophy and Japanese culture. The competition results can be found at:
There was a strong Australian contribution to the contest this year as highlighted by Professor Oba in his report shown below. Hearty congratulations to Pamela Smith for winning the grand prize in the foreign country section and to Nathalie Buckland for her distinguished work prize. Their poems in English and Japanese can be seen at:
Continue reading "3rd Yamadera Bashō Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest " »
Workshopping of members' work: Each member shared Renku and haiku and also requested suggestions and improvements from other members.
Continue reading "Report on meeting of Bindii group: 2 JULY 2011" »
A dozen Cloudcatchers wore their scarves and woolly hats to the winter ginko at Torakina Park, Brunswick Heads, on Thursday 30 June 2011. This is our favourite site, at the mouth of the Brunswick River, and although it was the tenth time we have held a ginko here, it was our first in winter.
Entries are open for the 6th Kokako Haiku and Senryu Competition. The first prize is NZ$200, with second and third prizes of NZ$50 each. The judge for the competition is Owen Bullock and the closing date for entries is 31 October 2011.
Continue reading "6th Kokako Haiku and Senryu Competition" »
Congratulations to Dawn Bruce and Jo McInerney for winning joint first prize in the latest Paper Wasp Jack Stamm Haiku Competition.
Dawn's winning haiku was:
a flow of shadows
along the river
While Jo's haiku was:
bare hills
the horizon looped
between post and wire
As Jacqui Murray says in her introduction to the Jack Stamm Anthology, 'Both haiku have an elegant but non-obtrusive complexity that throws up one image whilst inviting more'.
Congratulations also to Jan Dobb for her lovely haiku that was awarded third prize:
from the sound of thunder
a rain drop
Greg Piko
Jane Hirshfield, translator with Mariko Aratani of the poety of Shikibu and Komachi in the 'Ink Dark Moon' has had a new e-book about Basho released by Amazon in the Kindle Singles series.
The new book is titled 'The Heart of Haiku' and is based on a lecture she gave several years ago. It is available from:
Beverley George
The Haiga Art Prize run in conjunction with the City of Salisbury Writer's Festival is going national this year. All residents of Australia can enter and with a $500 First Prize this is one of the richest haiku-related prizes in Australia. Closing date is August 5th 2011. Further information including the entry form and the competition conditions are available from the website:
For general enquiries, email Steve Davidson at email@example.com.
Renku Workshop: Lyn Arden gave a workshop on writing Renku. History and principles were outlined and then we divided into two groups to write shisan Renku. The shisan Renku started in this session will be continued by email and presented for feedback at the July meeting.
Apologies to all those waiting for their response to haiku submissions to Famous Reporter #43. The next issue has been delayed a bit, but you will hear soon. Thanks for your patience.
Lyn Reeves
With this 9th issue, 'NFTG' is entering its third year of quarterly publication. The editorial team wishes to thank all of our contributors and readers for the continuous support you've given to our journal over the past two years. We look forward to publishing more of your haiku, tanka, haiga, haibun and renku/renga in coming issues. 'NFTG' is now accepting relevant essays and articles for publication, as well.
Submissions for the September issue are open until the 30th of June. Please check the submissions page for further details.
Lorin Ford, haiku editor, 'Notes From the Gean'
The fact that there was little business to discuss other than the positive advantages of keeping an Awards and Publication book for Limestone Tanka Poets next meeting onwards (contents to be published in ACT Writers etc. as another means of 'outing' tanka in Canberra), June Foster, Kate King, John Van De Graaff, Gerry Jacobson, Michael Thorley and I, did not mind at all. We were about to embark on a Japanese way of responding to tanka in a workshop by Amelia Fielden, who assured of a method that was both gentle and informative.
Continue reading "Limestone Tanka Poets, 22nd May, 2011 meeting" »
Red Moon Press has released A New Resonance 7, the latest in its biennial series featuring emerging voices in English language haiku from around the world.
This volume, edited as usual by Jim Kacian and Dee Evetts, includes haiku by Lorin Ford, Quendryth Young and Greg Piko from Australia, and Andre Surridge from New Zealand.
Also included are a further 14 poets living in Canada, Scotland, Japan and the United States. Each poet is featured with a selection of 15 of their haiku, biographical details and commentary by the editors.
A New Resonance 7 showcases writers who are making a mark in the global haiku community, providing a broader exposure for these poets than might be achieved through the publication of individual haiku in journals or on the net. Copies of A New Resonance 7 (186 pages, perfect softbound) are available from:
Lorin Ford's email: geanhaiku(at)googlemail(dot)com
Greg Piko's email: gregpiko(at)hotmail(dot)com
Congratulations to Lorin, Quendy and Greg as inclusion in this prestigious publication is by invitation of the editors based on their own reading and suggestions from previous New Resonance poets.
Dawn Bruce
Vice President
The paper wasp haiku group based in Brisbane has resumed its meetings; we are meeting on the second Saturday each month at 11.00 a.m. at Katherine's place (see address below).
All haiku, tanka and haibun poets and beginners are welcome.
Katherine Samuelowicz
14 Fig Tree Pocket Road (the Moggill Road end)
Chapel Hill Q 4069
on street parking
A new book by Katherine Samuelowicz, with 73 pages of tanka, haibun, haiku and photographs, published by PostPressed, is now available from the author at:
or from the publisher, John Knight, at:
Price $18.00 including postage within Australia.
On 7th May, 2011, Bindii met at the Box Factory on Regent Street South, Adelaide, from 10.30am to 1pm. Seven people attended, some were new members. The group was facilitated by Alexander Ask in the absence of Lyn Arden, who was away.
Janice M Bostok, HaikuOz co-founder and patron, is currently in hospital on the Gold Coast, where she's being treated for complications associated with diabetes.
Although Jan is in considerable pain, she's still cracking the occasional joke, and would love to hear from members of HaikuOz – an extended community she thinks of as her 'haiku family'.
If you'd like to email messages of support, please send them to firstname.lastname@example.com. Alternatively, you can write directly to Jan via snail mail care of:
Ward 3B
Gold Coast Hospital
108 Nerang Street
Southport Qld 4215
Thank you.
Sharon Dean
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Previously Cloudcatchers have gathrered at Bangalow Weir in Summer (2007) and Spring (2008 & 2009). But this time it was Autumn. We did not expect to feel a seasonal change, but it was indeed cooler, the light softer, the pace slower. No insects worried us. Turtles were fewer and more languid, and there were no water dragons. But the tessellated trunks of the old pines, patterned by lichen on the shady side, remained as we remembered them.
Continue reading "Report on Cloudcatchers' Ginko No 21 (autumn)" »
Last November when 12 Aussies visited the Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum in Yamagata, Japan, we were warmly greeted. Professor Oba has since told me that he and his staff were unaware, until our visit, of the quality and level of interest in Australia for haiku.
At the time we were there, Professor Oba mentioned the museum's haiku competition, which includes a category for haiku in English, and I promised to tell Australian poets about it when it was announced for 2011.
Applications for the 3rd Contest are now open and should be postmarked no later than Friday, June 11, 2011. Entry is free. Questions and applications should be submitted to:
〒999-3301 The Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum
4223 Nanin Yamadera, Yamagata-shi, Yamagata-ken
Full details of the Contest are available at: http://yamadera-basho.jp/?p=log&l=232122
It would be lovely to see strong Australian support for this competition with sparkling, quality haiku from as many of our haiku poets as possible.
Beverley George
A haiku by Lorin Ford will be published each day in May on the Mann Library's Daily Haiku. She is honoured to be the first Australian to feature in this project:
RSS feed is available.
'About Daily Haiku' says:
"For over ten years, Tom Clausen posted a daily haiku in the elevator of the old Mann building. He continues to post them online from the Mann Library home page. The poets featured are by invitation only and the poems are almost entirely previously published original works of an extended haiku community that includes many of his friends. This site is an effort to share these works with those of you visiting us on our Web site. Haiku and related brief poetic forms are often very accessible, portable in mind and spirit and at best a knowing touch of what is poetically intuitive in our lives. We hope that you enjoy these expressions as much as we do."
Check out the archives for a wonderful resource of previous collections of haiku whilst you're there.
The Tanka Huddle critique group has published a chapbook of selected poems, simply entitled Tanka Huddle. This is a fantastic opportunity to read a sampling of modern tanka by Australian poets Anne Benjamin, Shona Bridge, Carolyn Eldridge-Alfonzetti , Jan Foster, Beverley George, Yvonne Hales, Anne Howard , Carmel Summers, David Terelinck, and Julie Thorndyke.
A limited number of chapbooks are available for purchase. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please send $7 (from within Australia) or $10 (from overseas) to: J. Thorndyke, 3 Forest Knoll, Castle Hill, 2154 NSW Australia [price includes postage and handling].
Please email enquiries to firstname.lastname@example.com
Julie Thorndyke
The smell of gums in car park and wet-earth aroma rising from ferns under the bridge you cross as your make your way towards Hudson Cafe, where an intimate group of four Limestone Tanka Poets are to meet over coffee. It's autumn, the trees dazzle in their Jacob clothing and what could be better than to write on location this time of the year, in the Canberra Botanical Gardens.
Facilitator, Kathy Kituai reports
Continue reading "Limestone Tanka Poets, 17th April 2011 meeting" »
Australian haiku writers have again made a good showing in The Haiku Calendar Competition 2011 (Snapshot Press, UK).
Congratulations to Lorin Ford and Vanessa Proctor for their winning haiku, 'on a bare twig' (January) and 'cloudwatching' (June) in The Haiku Calendar Competition 2011 and to Jo McInerney for her runner-up haiku, 'old scars'.
Full results are posted here:
and orders for the Calendar may be made via the website, too.
Greg Piko
On 20th March 2011, 17 delegates attended the Bowerbird Tanka Group Workshop at the home of Beverley George in Pearl Beach NSW.
Jo Tregellis reports:
Continue reading "Bowerbird Tanka Group: Biannual mini-conference Wirraminna, Pearl Beach" »
The call for entries has been released for the 6th Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (VCBF) Haiku Invitational. Anyone from any part of the world can submit haiku.
Deadline for submissions is May 31, 2011.
To enter, visit http://www.vcbf.ca and follow the links.
Past submissions have come from Australia, Bangladesh, Croatia, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Malta, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This year's judge will be an'ya, editor of moonset haiku journal. She resides in Oregon. The winning haiku will be published by Haiku Canada, *Rice Paper*, and on the VCBF website. The top haiku in five main categories (youth, B.C., Canada, United States, and International) will also appear on TransLink SkyTrains and buses all over Metro Vancouver and be read in celebrity readings during the next festival in 2012.
The Red Dragonflies met at Cynthia Rowe's home in Woollahra on Saturday 12th March. We were joined by an invited guest, Dy Anreasen, who had been fortunate enough to 'tread in Basho's footsteps' with Beverley's tour last year. It is confronting, however, to reflect that we were sitting sharing haiku in Sydney on the very day that the earthquake and tsunami were wreaking such havoc on Japan and its people. Haiku must continue to remind us of, and instruct us in, the ephemeral – and therefore precious – nature of existence…
Lesley Walter
Congratulations to Quendryth Young and Greg Piko (Australia) and to Sandra Simpson (New Zealand) for their award winning poems in the The Haiku Foundation's inaugural Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems. Haiku by two Australian writers and one New Zealand writer, three poems out of a total of seven award winners, certainly shows that 'The Antipodes' is on the world haiku map. The full results and judges' commentaries may be read here:
Lorin Ford
We at WE ARE ALL JAPAN are assembling an anthology of all types of poetry and haibun - We Are All Japan. The purpose of the anthology is to display to Japan our feelings of love and concern for the hell they have and are currently enduring. All proceeds from the anthology will be donated to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross in Japan.
Please submit any kind of poetry as well as haibun (stating your name, city and country) to firstname.lastname@example.com.
We accept only unpublished poetry written specifically about what is occurring in Japan. Your submissions should be heartfelt.
We also need a photo or artwork for the cover. Please send your original work to the same email.
Deadline: May 15, 2011.
All proceeds above the cost of publishing will be donated to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross to help radiation, earthquake, and tsunami victims. We would also like to send a copy to libraries in Japanese cities and towns that were hit the hardest.
Robert D. Wilson and Sasa Vazic
Ozku, the haiku-dedicated poetry group formed by Dawn Bruce in January 2010, has now incorporated moonrise, a tanka specific discussion and workshop group, into its format.
Ozku and moonrise will meet bi-monthly at haijin Dawn Bruce's home in St.Leonards, with members Margaret Grace, Beatrice Yell, Margaret Conley, Joyce Christie and Joanne Watcyn-Jones, all enthusiastic students of haiku and tanka.
Joanne Watcyn-Jones
Friendly Street Poets and the State Library of South Australia will present late afternoon performances of Japanese Poetry Genres in Adelaide on Wednesday 16 March.
The readings will run from 5:30pm to 6:15pm at the Treasures Wall, upstairs in the State Library, North Terrace Adelaide. Light refreshments will be provided.
The event will include traditional Japanese poetry, contemporary poetry by Hiromichi Ikeda and poetry composed by members of the Bindii Poetry Group. Poems will be read by Maeve Archibald, Lynette Arden, Belinda Broughton, Dawn Colsey, Jill Gower and Athena Zaknic.
The 8th issue of 'Notes From the Gean' is now online.
Congratulations to all of the Australians and Kiwis in the haiku, tanka and renku sections. We're looking forward to all of your submissions to 'Gean, Vol. 3, Issue 1', which will be published in June.
The closing date for submissions to the June issue is March 30th.
- Lorin Ford, haiku editor, 'Notes From the Gean'
What could be added to the report (see below) written by our scribe,
Gerry Jacobson, for the first meeting of Canberra Tanka Group? All
that needs to be said is that were are deciding between 'Limestone
Poets' or 'Limestone' for the name of our group, and will definitely
know by the next meeting.
Our meeting got off to a fine start in the way in which we will
continue with a hands-on creative writing segment, 'The Value of
Verbs'. Gerry's tanka, included in his report, is an example of the
level of writing this workshop produced.
If any of our tanka friends, walking the same tanka path, are in
Canberra, they are welcome to join us. For more information contact
Kathy Kituai, the group leader, on 02 6247 8124.
And now for Gerry's report:
Cedars Scribble
I look around the room and see seven other scribblers, the tanka poets
of the Limestone Plains. Empty cups wait patiently on the table. We
must finish our inaugural meeting before we're allowed afternoon tea.
Inaugurating the inaugural, Kathy invites us to share good and bad things
that happened to us in the past week. Then to list things we see in
the room, list occupations, and match these lists to form sentences
that might become poetry. We share some postmodern fragments.
straggly cedars
scribble through the window ...
their tops
have been edited
by the sulphur crested cockatoo
Brain affected, we agree to:
. a program outline for the year, meetings generally 4th Sunday of
month, 2pm at ACT Writers Centre;
. we hope to be a support group with ideas and inspiration;
. we're keen on information sharing, perhaps with a list of books
available to be lent by individuals;
. Amelia outlined a Japanese style workshop proposed for 22 May;
. Kathy has plans for an Introduction to Tanka and interested friends
should contact her;
. support Kathy's and Amelia's book launch 29 May;
. Basho pilgrimage late October has two vacancies and interested
should contact Beverley George as soon as possible.
At last emerging from my chair, I realise that Barbara's apple crumble is
also waiting patiently. With cream! Coffee counters the sultry
afternoon. Conversation. The chocolate biscuits are slightly molten
... mmm!
Tanka Poets of the Limestone Plains: Kathy K, Amelia F, Saiko O,
Michael T, Barbara C, John vdG, June F, Gerry J
We missed Tessa W, Kate K
Next meeting: Sunday 27 March, 2 pm, ACT Writers Centre, Gorman House
Review by Beverley George
A review by Beverley George of Peggy Heinrich's Peeling an Orange (photographs by John Bolivar)
is now available on the New Zealand Haiku site hosted by NZPS
Save the date! Haiku North America 2011 will be held August 3 to 7, 2011, in Seattle, Washington.
Members of the Haiku Northwest group have generously offered to host the 2011 conference and they have many exciting plans already in the works, including a harbor cruise. The conference itself will be held at the Seattle Center, at the foot of the Space Needle, providing easy access to haiku writing and walking opportunities such as Pike Place Market (via the monorail), the Olympic Sculpture Park, the Experience Music Project rock-and-roll museum and Science Fiction Museum, and countless other attractions—including fleet week and the Seafair festival, with the Blue Angels performing overhead.
The conference theme will be "Fifty Years of Haiku," celebrating the past, present, and future of haiku in North America. The deadline for proposals has been extended to February 28, 2011, but sooner is better. Proposals do not have to fit the theme. If you've already submitted a proposal, please confirm with Michael Dylan Welch at firstname.lastname@example.com that you can come to Seattle on the new dates. Speakers already include Cor van den Heuvel, Richard Gilbert, David Lanoue, Carlos Colón, Fay Aoyagi, Jim Kacian, Emiko Miyashita, George Swede, and many others.
Detailed information on registration, lodging, and the conference schedule will be available in March. For further information as it becomes available, please visit
And check out the new HNA blog at
See you in Seattle!
Garry Gay, Paul Miller, Michael Dylan Welch
Haiku North America
Dear haiku friend,
This is a call for haiku for the Quarterly National Haiku Society of America (HSA) meeting in Bend, Oregon on the 3, 4, and 5th of June, 2011. There will be an HSA Haiku Wall for the downtown First Friday Art Walk, and the plan is to put up at least 500 haiku from around the world on note cards. Those cards will afterwards be sent on to the haiku archives.
You are invited to email one of the favorites that you have written (with credits: author's name, town or city, state and country) to an'ya at firstname.lastname@example.com with the subject heading HSA Haiku Wall. The reprint credits for your bio will be:
Published on the HSA "Haiku Wall" exhibited in the historic Liberty Theatre Gallery at the Quarterly National Haiku Society of America Meeting in Bend, Oregon on June 3-5, 2011 as part of the downtown Bend, Oregon First Friday June Art Walk
Full details about the whole event will be forthcoming at the HSA and the Haiku Oregon Websites. We have secured a lovely historic building for the whole three day event and everything is within walking distance. Friday Art Walk and Happy Hour Tour, Saturday national meeting and haiku walk, and Sunday workshop. I hope you can make it to the event so we can actually meet in-person too! It's really not that far to Oregon. . . love ya . . . an'ya
please change your address book
to my new email address:
Famous Reporter #43 is due for release in February. The haiku section has been guest-edited by Janice Bostok and contains work by many HaikuOz members. If you are in Hobart, Melbourne or Castlemaine you might catch one of the launches:
Thursday 10 February 2011 at 5.30 pm. Hobart Bookshop, Hobart, Tasmania. Launched by Laurie Brinklow.
Saturday 26 February 2011 at 2:00 pm. Collected Works Bookshop, Melbourne.
Sunday 27 February 2011 at 3:00 pm. Guildford Hotel [Castlemaine Poetry Readings], via Castlemaine, Victoria. Launched by Ross Donlon.
Haiku for issue #43 are due by end April and should be sent to Lyn Reeves, 44 Bayside Drive, Lauderdale, 7021. Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope and email address.
Several members of the Bindii group were interviewed by Radio Adelaide recently. The interview will be broadcast on Radio Adelaide 101.50 FM on Tues 25 January at 3.30 pm (half hour program).
The program will also be broadcast on the Internet from the Radio Adelaide Web Site http://radio.adelaide.edu.au/listenonline/
It is a streaming broadcast, so if you are located in the Eastern States it will be broadcast at 3 pm local time.
We were interviewed about the origin of the various Japanese forms, mainly tanka, renga /renku and haiku. We read some translations of the masters Basho, Buson, Issa and Shiki. We also read a selection of tanka and haiku written by group members and a collaborative renku composed by three Bindii members.
Lynette Arden
(SA Japanese Poetry Forms Group)
The contest is open to haiku poets worldwide, has no set theme, welcomes both the modern and traditional forms, but is restricted to the English language and unpublished haiku (including the Internet). Judges are paper wasp editors Jacqui Murray, John Knight and Ross Clark.
First Prize is A$150.00, Second Prize is A$75.00 and Third Prize is A$50.00.
Please note: The deadline is 1 February 2011. Please send your entries to Katherine Samuelowicz, paper wasp, 14 Fig Tree Pocket Road, Chapel Hill, Qld 4069, Australia. Email entries will not be accepted. Results will be published in paper wasp 17 in June 2011 and the anthology in July 2011.
Katherine Samuelowicz, for the paper wasp Editors
Continue reading "Jack Stamm Haiku Award: Closes 1 February 2011" »
We have all seen the images of devastation caused in Queensland by the recent floods, and felt concern for the thousands of people who have lost family, their homes and possessions. Graham Nunn has started a flood relief appeal using sales of his most recent book of poetry, Ocean Hearted, as well as personal donations to raise much needed funds for the tens of thousands of people who are facing great personal loss. All moneys raised will be contributed to the Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.
Details of Graham's project are here: http://bit.ly/hkg55h
Please contribute what you can. Those affected by the flooding need all the help they can get at this stage . . . it's going to be a long road out.
Australian poets have featured prominently in the Haiku Presence Award 2010. First prize went to John Barlow of the UK, with Australian poet, Quendryth Young, awarded a second prize and a haiku by Lorin Ford from Melbourne receiving a commendation.
John Barlow's winning poem was:
a stoat arcs into undergrowth thin winter moon
Quendryth Young's second placed poem was:
evening star
a patterning
of bats
Lorin Ford was commended for her poem:
slow day
the ant keeps returning
to stanza one
Dear stylus contributors
As many months have now gone by without any progress in reviving the
stylus website I'm sorry to say that the journal is no longer
functioning. Thank you for supporting us with your haiku and related
work. It has been a great experience to compile this part of the
magazine. I am now doing some editing for "paperwasp" so look forward to seeing
more of your work there.
Duncan Richardson
The FreeXpresSion haiku competition closes on 28 February 2011. First prize is $100 for the best single haiku. A copy of the entry form can be found below.
The December issue of 'Notes From the Gean' is now online.
Submissions to the March 2011 issue will be accepted up until December 30th.
Please check the submissions page for details.
Lorin Ford
haiku editor
Notes From the Gean
The special 30th anniversary issue of Going Down Swinging has been published and it contains haiku from Australia and overseas by notable poets including Lyn Reeves, Rob Scott, Graham Nunn, Emilie Zoey Baker, Matt Hetherington, Sandra Simpson and Nathalie Buckland. Subscription details can be found at:
Myron Lysenko
The autumn 2010 issue of Simply Haiku is now available at a new location:
Submissions for the Winter issue are being accepted until 15 December. Simply Haiku accepts quality traditional English language haiku, tanka, haibun, haiga, renga, book reviews, interviews and feature articles. Please read the Submission Guidelines on the Simply Haiku web site before submitting.
The Mari Warabiny Haiku Group invites you to join us for a ginko (haiku walk).
When: Saturday 20th November 2010
11 am to 1 pm (approximately)
Where: Government Gardens (Stirling Gardens, Perth).
Meet near the main gates, corner of Barrack St and Riverside Drive.
There is parking in and near Governers Tce and it's not far from the train station.
Please let us know if you can or cannot attend. email@example.com
Thank you Meryl Manoy for organising this event.
Please bring with you:
a notebook
picnic lunch (optional)
a drink
a folding chair (optional or if you have difficulty sitting on the ground. I will stay with the chairs and other gear)
Maureen Sexton
Our congratulations to the following for their success in this keenly contested competition.
Haiku Placegetters
1st Place: Quendryth Young
2nd Place: Sandra Simpson
Highly Commended
Bett Angel-Stawarz, Dawn Bruce, John Shuttleworth, Nigel Ford, Simon Hanson and Julia Wakefield
Haibun Placegetters
Ist Place: Helen Davison
2nd Place: Nigel Ford
Highly Commended
Nigel Ford and Dianne Hill
HaikuOz would like to thank the Friendly Street Poets for running this competition and Martina Taekerher for judging it. We are also grateful for the support of the South Australian Government.
The winning and commended haiku can be read at http://friendlystreetpoets.org.au/
Jan Bostok has suggested that we invite friends and admirers of Nicholas to send a haiku to Haiku Oz in memory of him. We would like to invite all who wish to contribute to this tribute page to please do so. Please forward haiku to firstname.lastname@example.com
the surge of the sea
cradles his soul
Jan Bostok
visiting an old friend
as he reads his poems
Vanessa Proctor
Continue reading "Memorial haiku page for Nicholas Barwell" »
We have received the following notifications from Vanessa Proctor and Maureen Sexton of Nicholas Barwell's death. Each gives significant and slightly different information about Nicholas Barwell, his long life and valuable work, so we are publishing them both.
We extend to all his family and friends our deepest sympathy.
The haiku poet and enthusiast Nicholas Barwell passed away in hospital in Perth on the evening of Friday 1st October aged 91. Nicholas was born in Hereford, England, but spent the majority of his life in Perth. He described himself as 'a retired ancient mariner', his sense of humour ever present. He was passionate about poetry, cooking and jazz amongst many other things. Through his varied interests he became a dear friend to many and he loved to telephone his haiku friends near and far to talk poetry.
Nicholas was a kind and gentle man who touched the lives of many. In his own quiet way, he greatly furthered the cause of haiku, especially in Western Australia. It was hard not to be caught up in his enthusiasm and in Nicholas' spirit we hope to continue his passion for haiku.
quiet snip of scissors
in the barber shop
Nicholas Barwell
~~~Vanessa Proctor
Contributors have received notification that the sixth edition of Denis Garrison's journal of fine haiku, Ambrosia, will not go to press and their submissions have been returned to them. The journal is ceasing publication.
In the five editions that have been produced since September 2008, Ambrosia has included the work of the following Australian haiku writers - Judith Anne Ahmed, Dawn Bruce, Emma Dalloway, Marisa Fazio, Lorin Ford, Gina, M.L.Grace, Gregory Jennings, Jo McInerney, April Orr and Barbara A. Taylor.
In its premier edition, Denis Garrison declared his belief that fine haiku should be 'achingly beautiful, painfully poignant, joyfully lightsome, startling epiphanies, wry, humbling, or awesome ... should touch the reader powerfully.'
Previous editions can still be purchased, read or downloaded online. They are available at http://www.themetpress.com/ambrosiahaiku/masthead.html
Results of The Haiku Calendar Competition 2010 can be viewed here at the Snapshot Press website.
A snake story haiku by Australian haiku writer Lorin Ford features in the Snapshot Press 2011 Calendar resulting from the competition, as well as her fish story ku and possibly the first Southern Hemisphere Christmas haiku to appear on a calendar printed in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Haiku Calendar 2011 is available from July 2010 and can be ordered online or by mail order. See the website above for details.
I am delighted to announce the appointment of
Jo McInerney as president, and
Greg Piko as secretary
of the Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz)
After four years in office, both Graham Nunn and I are stepping down and I would like to thank Graham warmly for
his splendid and sustained efforts as secretary over this period.
Both Jo and Greg are established and respected poets on the national and international haiku scene and will sustain and develop this poetic genre in Australia.
For general news about Haiku in Australia 2010 please see my report posted directly below this one.
Beverley George
president: The Australian Haiku Society 2006-2010
Now seems like a good time to report briefly on the state of haiku in Australia. There is much to say that is positive.
The Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) is web-based and made up of many components. Its leadership comprises a patron, president, secretary, web manager and a small committee. Most input to the site comes from the leaders of the various small Australian haiku groups and from outside sources who send news of publication and competition opportunities.
Haiku groups
As in Japan, small groups are at the heart and soul of Australian haiku writing. These are poems of observation, so it is fitting the groups are regionally based, allowing members to share urban or rural landscape.
These groups include Cloudcatchers (Northern NSW, led by Quendryth Young); Bindii Haiku Group (Adelaide, led by Lynette Arden); Mari Warabiny (Perth, led by Maureeen Sexton) Red Dragonflies (Sydney, led by Vanessa Proctor); Watersmeet (Hobart, led by Lyn Reeves) and Ozku (Sydney, led by Dawn Bruce.) The 'paper wasp' group (Brisbane led by Katherine Samuelowicz) is currently not meeting regularly but it is hoped that this will resume soon. It is not unusual for groups to go a little quiet and then reinvent themselves.
In Melbourne, Myron Lysenko conducts haiku walks 'Ginko with Lysenko' four times a year.
Canberra based independent press, Blemish Books, is launching the inaugural
issue of a new, annual poetry anthology, Triptych Poets.
The Queensland launch of Triptych Poets: Issue One will be on Saturday 16
October 2010 at the Albany Creek Library from 10:30 am. The event will be
hosted by Triptych Poets contributor and Brisbane poet Mary Mageau, and will
include guest MC Councillor Mike Charlton of the Moreton Bay Regional
"The concept behind Triptych Poets is simple - three poets: one book,"
explains Blemish Books Editor-in-chief, Greg Gould. "Each volume of the
series is a showcase of three suites of poems by three Australian poets that
highlight the contrasting and often complementary nature of contemporary
Australian poetry."
Issue One of the series features the work of three of Australia's best
poets: Ray Liversidge (Victoria), Hilaire (UK based) and Mary Mageau
Continue reading "BLEMISH BOOKS LAUNCH NEW POETRY ANTHOLOGY " »
Call for Submissions to the Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards for 2010
The Award
The Haiku Foundation announces the creation of the Touchstone Awards Series, beginning with the Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards for 2010. The Touchstone Awards Series is a family of awards designed to recognize and reward excellence in the field of haiku.
The Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards will be bestowed annually on published collections of poems, or works of scholarship that present a noteworthy contribution to English-language haiku in the estimation of a distinguished panel of poets, editors and scholars. Any English-language book or other production that is of or about haiku (and related forms) is eligible for the Award. The 2010 Award is open to books published between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010. Each author of an award-winning book will receive an engraved stone with their name and title of their book on it, emblematic of his or her contribution to the foundations of English-language haiku.
The Panel
The panel for our inaugural awards consists of Charles P. Trumbull, editor of Modern Haiku; Ruth Yarrow, haiku poet, judge, teacher for 35 years; Lorin Ford, haiku editor for Notes From the Gean; Professor Philip Rowland, editor of Noon: Journal of the Short Poem; and Barbara Louise Ungar, winner of the Gival Press Poetry Prize in 2006.
What Books Are Eligible?
Any individual or publisher whose book has been published within the given time frame may submit their work for consideration. There is no reading fee. If there is some question about your book's eligibility, please contact the Foundation at the address below for clarification.
Continue reading "Call for Submissions to the Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards for 2010" »
Australian haiku poets will be saddened by the death of haiku poet, Peggy Willis Lyles.
Peggy's gracious, gentle responses in her role as editor for The Heron's Nest were well respected by many Australians, and she will be sorely missed.
Personally, 'To hear the rain' remains one of my favourite collections and I treasure the hand-penned note inside it, from when Peggy gifted it to me.
On behalf of The Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) may I offer condolences to Peggy's family, and to her haiku colleagues and friends. -- Beverley George President: The Australian Haiku Society
The announcement below is from John Stevenson: Managing Editor of The Heron's Nest
Dear Friends,
With great sadness, The Heron's Nest must advise its readers of the loss of our beloved friend Peggy Willis Lyles. Peggy passed peacefully, in the presence of her loving family, at about 6:30 in the evening on Friday, September 3.
In very many ways, Peggy was the heart of The Heron's Nest. It will be a long time before some of us are able to find the words to express our grief for this loss or our gratitude for the gift of knowing this special woman. The Lyles family and several members of the haiku community will be looking for ways to honor the poet, editor, teacher, friend, and shining example of humanity that was Peggy Willis Lyles. This will take a sustained effort over months and perhaps years. More immediately, The Heron's Nest will publish memorials in the December 2010 issue.
Please submit your memorial poems and brief tributes to Managing Editor, John Stevenson: email@example.com.
Those who wish to convey their appreciation for Peggy to her family should write to:
Bill Lyles
2408 Woodcreek Court
Tucker, GA 30084
The Heron's Nest
Notes From the Gean, September 2010
The September issue of 'Notes From the Gean' is now online.
Beginning with this issue, 'Notes From the Gean' has the additional feature of a renga/ renku section, edited by Alan Summers of the U.K. Alan's haiku beginnings were in Australia back in the 1990s, so give him a warm and enthusiastic welcome with your renku submissions.
Submissions of haiku, tanka, haiga, haibun and renga/ renku are invited for the December issue of 'Notes From the Gean'. The deadline for the December issue is September 30th. Please see the submissions page for full details of how to submit your work.
- Lorin Ford
haiku editor, 'Notes From the Gean'
Moonbathing Issue 3 is now accepting submissions.
Moonbathing will publish two issues a year: Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer.
For the Premier Issue and yearly, the Editor is sponsoring a "Moonbathing" tanka contest. Tanka poets may submit one tanka on the subject of "Moonbathing",whatever that means to you for consideration, in addition to their regular submission. The winner will be featured in issue 3 of Moonbathing and receive two issues of Moonbathing as the prize. Be sure to label your tanka "Moonbathing contest" if sending along with your regular submission.
Moonbathing will feature only women poets. Send a maximum of 10 tanka per submission period. Submission deadlines:
Fall/Winter Issue: In-hand Deadline: Dec. 15th Fall/winter or non-seasonal themes only.
Continue reading "MOONBATHING: A JOURNAL OF WOMEN'S TANKA" »
The latest issue of Famous Reporter (http://walleahpress.com.au/subs.html) contains haiku by Lynette Arden, Sandra Simpson, Anne Benjamin, Beverley George, Graham Nunn, Maeve Archibald, Carmel Summers, Sharon Dean, Kathy Kituai, Lorin Ford, Greg Piko, Dawn Bruce, Carla Sari, Susan Murphy, Judith E.P. Johnson, Leonie Bingham, Peter Macrow, Arjun von Caemmerer, John Turner, Bob Jones and Ross Bolleter.
Submissions for the next issue #42 should be sent to the guest editor Janice Bostok email@example.com by end of September.
As announced by Nathalie Buckland on July 11 in the NSW news, Quendryth Young not only gained 1st and 3rd places in this contest, she also won the Jeanette Stace Award for Seniors. Quendryth feels particularly honoured by this Award and we thought it may be appropriate to acquaint those new to haiku with a brief note about this distinguished New Zealand poet's contribution to the genre. For further reading visit the NZPS web-site.
Jeanette Stace was involved with the New Zealand Poetry Society from the 1980s until the time of her death in 2006, holding office in many capacities, and has at times been called 'the heart and soul of the NZPS'. She was highly respected for her organisational energy and for her role as adviser in the haiku genre. Her own work was rewarded with acclaim in many spheres. But most of all she is remembered for her warmth, her humour and her compassion. Jeanette's influence on the writing of English-language haiku in New Zealand, and indeed internationally, is enormous. It is fitting that she be honoured with the awarding of prizes in her name by the New Zealand Poetry Society in its International Competition.
Ashley Capes is currently looking for people to contribute to the Zombie Renga he is facilitating over at Cordite. For all the details head to: http://www.cordite.org.au/?p=9347
Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine would like to announce that their "2010 Very Short Fiction Award", "2010 Haiku Pen" & "2010 Think Tanka" writing contest deadlines are fast approaching. Contest deadlines will not be extended again so send your entries while there's still time. The postal address has been posted for writers interested in submitting entries via snail mail.
All writers welcome (read guidelines at their website). If you write powerful short stories of 1000 words or less, you have a chance at winning the current grand prize for "Very Short Fiction". if you have mastered the art of brevity, you have more than one chance to win their haiku and/or tanka poetry contest.
Continue reading "Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine - 2010 Haiku Pen & 2010 Think Tanka competitions" »
by Vanessa Proctor
The Katikati Haiku Pathway in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty is an attractive embodiment of haiku, where the abstract becomes concrete. A total of 42 haiku are inscribed onto boulders along the Uretara Stream. Each poem has been carefully selected by a committee to reflect its surroundings, and to walk along the pathway is to literally take a trip into the world of poetry. The brainchild of Catherine Mair, the Pathway was one of New Zealand's Millennium Projects and recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.
I was fortunate enough to attend the celebrations on New Zealand Queen's Birthday long weekend, along with my family. There was an excellent turn out of poets and supporters, including the Japanese Consul to New Zealand and his wife, and we enjoyed viewing an impressive selection of bonsai as well as ikebana inspired by poems on the pathway. Sandra Simpson, Secretary of the Katikati Haiku Pathway Committee, announced the winners of the Katikati Haiku Competition. Particularly striking was the quality of the entries in the junior section. Two Japanese students demonstrated how to wear a yukata, the traditional summer dress of Japanese women, and there was a rousing Taiko drum performance by Wai Taiko.
Continue reading "The Tenth Anniversary Celebrations for the Katikati Haiku Pathway, New Zealand" »
Patricia Prime has recently reviewed the Wind Over Water Anthology, Wild Camomile by Own Bullock, Song of an Old Cherry Tree by Giselle Maya, Moonbathing, Eucalypt #7 and Walking Into Autumn by John Bird and Beverley George. These reviews can be read at: http://grahamnunn.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/stylus-poetry-journal-37-reviews/
The new issue of CHO, edited by Ken Jones, Jim Kacian and Bruce Ross is online:
Visit this site for full story and photographs by Sandra Simpson of this exciting event.
Hearty congratulations to Sharon Dean who has won the readers' choice award for
dappled sunlight
an old dog shakes the river
from his coat
Sharon Dean
Haiku Dreaming Australia – June 2010 Report
Haiku Dreaming Australia started in 2006 as an online publication to encourage the writing of haiku relevant to Australia, and to provide a permanent display of the best of these. The background and rationale are given in Dreaming's online articles.
How it Works:
I, as editor, review haiku publications and select material for the Dreaming Collection. In addition many poets directly submit their poems (over 1000 to date) and editors draw my attention to poems they think I should consider. In 2009 I sponsored an international haiku competition (Judges: Janice Bostok, Lorin Ford, Ron Moss and Rob Scott) which yielded 28 haiku for Dreaming, including 8 from overseas. Of the thousands of haiku considered in the last four years I have accepted and published 362.
I remove haiku from the Collection to the Dreaming Archives as guided by peer reviews I receive. 134 of the 362 haiku selected have since been removed to the Archives leaving 228 currently in the Collection. At this stage 200-250 seems a reasonable population.. Of the initial 120 haiku published in 2006, 19 survive.
Continue reading "Haiku Dreaming Australia – June 2010 Report" »
The summer quarterly issue of Haibun Today is now online for your reading pleasure at http://haibuntoday.com
Contributors to the current issue include Hortensia Anderson, Owen Bullock, Anton Capri, Glenn G. Coats, David Cobb, Tish Davis, Cherie Hunter Day, Charles Hansmann, Jeffrey Harpeng, Michele L. Harvey, Keith Heiberg, Graham High, Ruth Holzer, Marleen Hulst, Roger Jones, Bob Lucky, Mary Mageau, Johannes Manjrekar, Francis Masat, Renée Owen, Dru Philippou, Patricia Prime, Ray Rasmussen, Bruce Ross, Cynthia Rowe, Mark Smith, Richard Straw, Diana Webb and Theresa Williams.
Writers are now invited to submit haibun and articles for consideration in the September 2010 issue of Haibun Today. Consult our Submission Guidelines at Haibun Today. Forward any submissions by email to Jeffrey Woodward, Editor, at firstname.lastname@example.com
The fifth issue of 'Notes From the Gean' , Vol. 2, Issue 1 - June 2010, is now online.
'Notes From the Gean' publishes English-language haiku, tanka, haiga, haibun and renku.
We welcome your submissions for Vol. 2, Issue 2 up until close of submissions on the 30th of June.
-Lorin Ford, haiku editor
"Notes From the Gean"
the online journal of Gean Tree Press
A detailed exploration of this burgeoning poetic form with some of Australia's leading practitioners.
It will please some and surprise many that the seemingly mystical art of haiku writing is not only alive throughout Australia but is truly flourishing. This intriguing little 17-syllable poem, which originated in Japan, is daily beguiling and tempting writers across the country from Perth to Brisbane... and not only the case-hardened haiku devotees but an increasing number of mainstream poets as well.
In Part 1 we hear from Jodie Hawthorne, Susan Murphy, Andrew Lansdown, John Turner, Beverley George, Graham Nunn, Lyn Reeves and Peter Macrow.
Readers: Peter Holland, Jodie Buzza and Murray Dowsett.
Sound Engineer:David LeMay
Producer: Ron Sims
Haiku submissions for the June issue of Famous Reporter have closed. Submissions for the December issue can be sent to guest editor Janice Bostok at email@example.com before 30 September, 2010.
Martina Taeker has sent notification that she is stepping down from her role as Regional Representative - South Australia.
On behalf of the Australian Haiku Society, may I thank Martina for the contribution she has made, and continues to make, to the understanding of Japanese poetry genres in Australia with her inspiring workshops, gallery events and her lively participation in the annual Salisbury Festival. Thanks, Martina, and all the best with your many endeavours
I am delighted to welcome Lynette Arden as the new regional representative for South Australia. Lynette leads the recently formed Bindi haiku group, participated in the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference at Terrigal in September 2009, and intends visiting Japan with other haiku poets 'In the Footsteps of Basho" later this year. Lynette is a long term contributing member of the Kensington and Norwood Writers Group and is encouraging and supportive of other writers.
Welcome, Lynette
Notes From the Gean, Issue #4 is now on-line.
Many thanks to all of our wonderful contributors. You will notice that we now have added a haibun section, edited by Ray Rasmussen.
I look forward to reading your haiku submissions for Issue #5, which will be published on June 1st.
Please check the submissions page of 'Notes From the Gean' for changes to the submissions policy.
'Gean' now has an 'open submissions' policy. You may submit work at any time. However, please note that work received after the 30th of March will not be considered for the June issue, but held over for the following issue.
Lorin Ford, haiku editor - Notes From the Gean
A review of the Wind Over Water anthology by Patricia Prime is now up on Stylus Poetry Journal. The link to read the review is: http://www.styluspoetryjournal.com/main/master.asp?id=992
Vibrant Australian literary journal Going Down Swinging is delighted to announce that it will be publishing
haiku/senryu/haiga in Issue #30. Send up to 10 previously unpublished works. Please read submissions guidelines carefully. Payment: $10 per haiku/senryu/haiga. Submissions open 15 January to 31 March 2010. Publication date: August 2010.
For more information, go to the website: http://www.goingdownswinging.org.au/
Call for Submissions: Haibun Today—First Quarterly Issue, March 2010
Haibun Today, a literary blog devoted to the promotion of haibun since 2007, will become an online quarterly webzine in 2010 with issues in March, June, September and December. You can now find Haibun Today at http://www.haibuntoday.com as well as at its original http://haibuntoday.blogspot.com address. Full access to the Haibun Today archives will continue to be available via either site.
You are invited to submit haibun and haibun-related articles and reviews for consideration in the March 2010 issue of Haibun Today.
Submission Guidelines are at http://haibuntoday.haikuhut.com/pages/submissions.html. Forward any submissions by email to Jeffrey Woodward, Editor, at email@example.com.
In issue 40 of famous reporter published in Tasmania by Walleah Press, haiku editor, Lyn Reeves, has devoted the haiku section to work by delegates to the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference, September 22-25 2009 at Terrigal on the Central Coast of NSW. Previous conferences were held at Long Beach, California; Ogaki, Japan; and Matsuyama, Japan.
Activities at the conference, in addition to the presentation of papers, focused on kukai conducted at Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden, the Australian Reptile Park and Pearl Beach arboretum as well as responses to the remarkable dust storm experienced on September 23rd. These activities spawned a variety of lively haiku, many of which you will find included in this issue of the journal.
Information on subscribing to famous reporter is available on walleahpress.com.au
Issue #3 of 'Notes From the Gean' is now online. We welcome your submissions of haiku, tanka and haiga. Submissions for Isue #4 are now open and will remain open until the January 15th deadline.
Lorin Ford,
for 'Notes From the Gean', a quarterly haikai journal.
Please visit the Society of Women Writers NSW Inc website
to find reports of the recent 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference Terrigal Sept 22-25 2009
and the 6th International Tanka Festival Tokyo October 10-12 2009
Access is through the easy to use menu on the left hand side. Just look under poetry events and then click first on haiku and then on tanka. Both these articles, the former with more photographs than shown here, will appear in the Society's bimonthly newsletter "Images" edited by Dita Diamante. Please take time to read the about section of the Society which has been helping women writers since 1925.
A reminder you can also visit the haiku pages of the New Zealand Poetry Society for more details of 4HPR posted by Sandra Simpson.
Submissions are open again for the "Key-ku" haiku column of the weekly news paper Solares Hill, published by the Key West Citizen, Key West, FL. Janelle Barrera and I are co-editing the column in the wake of Lee Gurga's departure as editor, and we thank Lee again for his confidence in recommending us. Submissions of five or fewer may be emailed to firstname.lastname@example.com, Key-ku in the subject line please. Three lines and seasonal preferred, but there are no restrictions. No payment or copies are provided, though the Hill is available online through The Citizen. Questions or comments may be sent to Janelle or to me at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Fran Masat
The wonderful 3Lights Gallery will close as of December 31, but in its place will be the new 3Lights quarterly online journal. Submissions of up to 10 haiku/senryu/tanka are now being sought. For full details visit the site: http://3lights.wordpress.com/
The Haiku registry is a new project being undertaken by the Haiku Foundation. If you have published English-language haiku in an edited journal (print or online), you are invited to submit the following information:
Date of birth (optional):
Place of birth:
Present place of residence:
Brief biographical statement not to exceed 50 words:
Awards or other honors:
Books published, with date of publication and publisher's information:
Up to 10 English-language haiku that have been published in an edited print or online journal, with publishing credits (up to four will be selected to appear in the Registry
Photograph in jpg format
Email address (optional):
Web site address (optional):
Information should be emailed to: haikuregistry_at_thehaikufoundation.org (replacing _at_ with @)
Beverley George and a band of helpers have, after working tirelessly for many months, succeeded in presenting an outstanding international haiku conference in Terrigal this September. So many ideas and aspects of the haiku form were displayed and discussed using multi media by excellent presenters from the international representatives who attended this grand event.
My hearty congratulations to all who participated and especially to our President, Beverley George, without which the friendships forged and strengthened in our haiku community, would not have taken place.
Dawn Bruce Vice-President of the Haiku Society of Australia
Do you write haiku?
Riverbeats invites you to take part in a spectacular free live show on the banks of Parramatta River:
Live, 2009
31st October at 7:00-10:00pm
ParramattaCity Council and New Writers? Group Inc are looking for original Haiku on the theme of water and our relationship to it.
The selected poems will be recited and/or projected on massive screens as part of the live, light and sound performance.
Two awards are offered contributing poets:
Sandra Simpson has recently posted a report and some stunning photographs from the 4th Pacific Rim Haiku Conference. To read/view the report visit: http://www.poetrysociety.org.nz/node/423
Issue #2 of 'Notes From the Gean' is online as of 1st September, and has a new website and address: http://www.geantree.com/index.html
We're looking forward to your haiku, tanka and haiga submissions for the next issue. Submissions for Issue #3 are open until October 15th. Late submissions will not be considered or held over for future issues.
Workshop: Haiku Day with Graham Nunn (QLD) & Maureen Sexton (WA)
Venue: Great Southern Room, State Library of Western Australia, 25 Francis Street, Perth.
Part one of this workshop will run from 10am - 12pm and address the following topics:
- a brief history of haiku
- defining haiku
- are the syllables important?
- haiku purpose
- fragment and phrase theory
- wabi and sabi
- techniques for writing haiku
- techniques for revising your work
Part II, will run from 1 pm to 3 pm and include a ginko and a look at publishing haiku in Australia and beyond.
To book email: email@example.com
At the recent Queensland Poetry Festival, Janice M Bostok and Dr Jacqui Murray read a 100 verse renga they wrote some time ago. Commenting on their performance, Festival attendee John Bird wrote:
"The combination of two readers--they read alternate haiku--with large screen showing sumi-e and haiku text, was a fresh and exciting way to bring a 100-verse renga to a general poetry audience. It was very well received"
Congratulations, Janice and Jacqui.
Riverbeats 09 invites you to contribute your original Haiku on the theme of water and our relationship to it.
As part of a special composition by the internationally acknowledged ensemble, Synergy Percussion, selected Haiku will be recited and projected along the banks of Parramatta River during this unique performance for Riverbeats Live 09.
Riverbeats Live 09. Saturday October 31.
from 7:15pm on the banks of Parramatta River.
* Writers interested in this project can visit the NEW Writers' Group Inc website and download the permission form: http://nwg-inc.com/word/?page_id=290
* Haiku and completed forms should be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com
The final decision on which haiku are used is made by Riverbeats organisers. Haiku should be original but it doesn't matter if they have already been published elsewhere if they speak to the theme of 'water and our relationship to it'.
The haiku will be read and/or projected without the writers' names however that information will be made available on the Riverbeats website.
NEXT DEADLINE: 21st August for the September issue.
Haiku Submission Guidelines
Creatrix will be published online in March, June, September and December each year. Founding members of Creatrix Online Haiku Journal: Maureen Sexton, John Bird, Nicholas Barwell To avoid disappointment, please take note of the submission guidelines.
The Mari Warabiny Haiku Group is a group of haiku enthusiasts in WA who give feedback on each others' haiku by email. We all recognise the need to critique our haiku, no matter how experienced or inexperienced we are. We follow guidelines for haiku writing based on the Submission Guidelines for haiku sent to the Creatrix Journal, and the Haiku Information provided for Creatrix haiku submissions. We will occasionally participate in Ginko (haiku walks) and also meet to read and discuss haiku. We don't expect members to attend all our ginko or meetings.
Mari Warabiny are Nyungar words meaning 'Billowing Clouds'.
If you live in Western Australia, and you'd like to join the group, email Maureen: email@example.com
I would like to extend our congratulations to Beverley George, who recently won the 2009 Genkissu! Spirits Up! World Wide Hekinan Haiku Contest with her haiku:
from a lifted oar
a shimmer connects the sky
and sunlit river
Australia, Beverley George
for full contest results visit:
*Modern Haibun & Tanka Prose*
*Issue 2. Winter 2009*
You are invited to submit haibun and tanka prose for the Winter 2009 issue of *Modern Haibun & Tanka Prose*. The submission deadline is September 30, 2009. Submissions will NOT close earlier than the deadline.
*Modern Haibun & Tanka Prose* is a biannual journal--a print literary journal, a PDF ebook, and a digital online magazine--dedicated to the publication and promotion of fine English haibun and tanka prose. We seek traditional and innovative haibun and tanka prose of high quality and desire to assimilate the best of these Japanese genres into a continuously evolving English tradition. In addition to haibun and tanka prose, we publish articles, essays, book reviews and interviews pertinent to these same genres.
Continue reading "Modern Haibun & Tanka Prose - Winter 2009 Call for Submissions" »
MET Press is pleased to announce the publication of a new journal. The premiere issue of the biannual journal, Modern Haibun & Tanka Prose, edited by Jeffrey Woodward, has been published in print, in PDF ebook, and in an online digital edition. This Summer 2009 issue is 184 pages in a trade paperback. ISSN 1947-606X.
Continue reading "MODERN HAIBUN & TANKA PROSE 1—Summer 2009" »
Kilmeny Niland is best remembered in Australia for her beautifully illustrated children's books.
She also practiced haiga. With the permission of Kilmeny's immediate family, American artist and haiku poet, Olga Hooper (Origa), has produced a fitting tribute to Kilmeny's haiku and haiga with examples of her work and links to other sources.
This commemorative page for Kilmeny is in the inaugural issue of Notes from the Gean accessible online at http://geantree.webs.com/inmemoriam.htm
It is well worth visiting.
"Issue #1 of 'Notes From the Gean' is now online, as of just after midnight, 1st June 2009, Australian Eastern Standard Time:
Many thanks to all of our contributors for making our debut issue so interesting and enjoyable. We look forward to your contributions to the second issue. Please check the submissions page for deadlines for issue #2. "
-- Lorin Ford
Entries are invited for this prestigious international event, the purpose of which is to help raise the quality and range of the haibun genre, which combines poetic prose and haiku.
Entry fee: £ 6.00 (cheques to 'British Haiku Society', or US$ 12 in dollar bills), plus
£ 3/ $6 for each additional haibun.
Conditions of entry: Open to all, except BHS Committee members and any others involved with the administration of the anthology. Entries must be written in English, and be between 100 and 2000 words long, including haiku. Work must be unpublished and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Each haibun should be given a title. Entries will not be returned, so please retain copies of each submission. Copyright reverts to the author after publication in the anthology. In the unlikely event of an insufficient quantity and/or quality of submissions, those that are received will be carried forward to the following year for consideration.
Continue reading "The Biennial British Haiku Society Haibun Anthology 2009" »
Ambrosia 3, Spring 2009, has been published, with 100 haiku by twenty-nine poets. It is available as a print edition, as a PDF ebook, and for free online in an HTML edition at www.ambrosiahaiku.com It is a great new issue - check it out!
Call for Submissions - Ambrosia 4, Summer 2009
You are invited to submit haiku for the Summer 2009 issue of Ambrosia. The submission deadline is July 1, 2009 . Submissions will NOT close earlier than the deadline. Ambrosia is a quarterly journal—a print literary journal, a PDF ebook, and a digital online magazine—dedicated to publishing and promoting fine English haiku in traditional style. Ambrosia specializes in fine single haiku in tercet form. Senryu, collaborations, and sequences are not wanted. All selection decisions will be made at the sole discretion of the editor.
Previously unpublished work, not on offer elsewhere, is solicited.
from stephen gill,
here are the results of Japan's first ever haibun contest (English section).
Kikakuza 1st International Haibun Contest Results
GRAND PRIX For Rose (John Parsons, UK)
HIGHLY COMMENDED As If It Does So Just For Me (Barbara Taylor, Australia); Untitled (Ion Codrescu, Romania); Close Encounters (Bamboo Shoot, UK)
HONORABLE MENTIONS Wanting (Philippa Yaa de Villiers, South Africa); Untitled (Zinovy Y Vayman, USA); The Ark (Angelee Deodhar, India); Last Wish (Jo Pacsoo, UK); Untitled (Valeria Simonova, Italy); April Gusts (Luce Pelletier, Canada)
TOTAL: 90 entries. JUDGES: Nobuyuki Yuasa & Stephen Henry Gill
CEREMONY: April 4th. The Grand Prix-winning piece was read aloud at a small ceremony held at the temple of Jogyoji 上行寺 in Isehara, where Basho's disciple Kikaku's grave is located. A cherry-tree was flowering and a lark was singing overhead.
HaikuOz congratulates Barbara on this result
from stephen gill,
here are the results of Japan's first ever haibun contest (English section).
Kikakuza 1st International Haibun Contest Results
GRAND PRIX For Rose (John Parsons, UK)
HIGHLY COMMENDED As If It Does So Just For Me (Barbara Taylor, Australia); Untitled (Ion Codrescu, Romania); Close Encounters (Bamboo Shoot, UK)
HONORABLE MENTIONS Wanting (Philippa Yaa de Villiers, South Africa); Untitled (Zinovy Y Vayman, USA); The Ark (Angelee Deodhar, India); Last Wish (Jo Pacsoo, UK); Untitled (Valeria Simonova, Italy); April Gusts (Luce Pelletier, Canada)
TOTAL: 90 entries. JUDGES: Nobuyuki Yuasa & Stephen Henry Gill
CEREMONY: April 4th. The Grand Prix-winning piece was read aloud at a small ceremony held at the temple of Jogyoji 上行寺 in Isehara, where Basho's disciple Kikaku's grave is located. A cherry-tree was flowering and a lark was singing overhead.
HaikuOz congratulates Barbara, whose work appears frequently in overseas journals, on this result
Defining (?) Haiku – Thoughts from a Study in Progress
..... John Bird, May 2009
Dear Members,
In August 2007 the President of AHS asked me to advise the Society on definition(s) of English-language haiku (ELH). I'm still bumbling along on that task. The recent, 'What is haiku?' exercise was an offshoot of my study and prompted discussion on points I've been thinking about. At President Beverley's invitation I here share some of my thoughts and tentative conclusions. I'd really like to get your reactions. Please send them to me at firstname.lastname@example.com
[ Now, this is my bus and nobody else is allowed to drive it!]
Continue reading "Defining (?) Haiku – a Study in Progress" »
The exhibition "2009JAPANSCAPE" will be held in the national gallery for foreign art in Sofia, Bulgaria on 24.25.26 July. The exhibition will feature approx 400 japanese contemporary haiku, tanka and senryu with Japanese landscapes printed together on "tapestries".
Ashley Capes has recently started an interactive Autumn Kasen Renga on his blog Issa's Snail. All are welcome to visit the site and contribute to the renga.
Issa's Snail is located at: http://issassnail.wordpress.com/
Submissions are now being accepted for the next issue of Magnapoets. The selection process runs through the month of May in the following categories: free verse and form poetry, tanka, haiku, senryu, and short stories. Contributors receive a single copy of this beautiful journal.
Additional information is available at:
Edited by: Dimitar Anakiev
Number of haiku: not limited.
Both published (the source of the first publication not obligatory) and unpublished.
Accompanied by English translation.
Please include your name, age, address and nationality.
Deadline: ASAP, but no latter than May 15, 2009.
Send to: email@example.com with the subject "Antologija".
A new Montage gallery : "Antipodes," in honor of Anzac Day (April 25th), features haiku from "Down Under" by Janice Bostok, Ernest J. Berry, and Ron Moss.
Notes From the Gean: a journal of Japanese short forms
Gean: the wild cherry, Prunus avium. [French guigne]
Press Release and call for Submissions:
We are pleased to announce 'Notes From the Gean', a new journal specialising in Japanese short forms. The inaugural issue is due out on June 1st 2009. You can find us at http://www.geantree.webs.com/
Between October, 2008 and March, 2009 HaikuOz published 74 responses by 71 poets (57 Australian) to the question, What is haiku?. These numbers reflect our enduring fascination with the nature of this haiku thing. Rich pickings are there to be had. Perhaps our scholars will be encouraged to persevere with discovering the aesthetic(s) of English-language haiku?
Responses ranged from formal, descriptive definitions to abstract expressions. I found the latter at least equally interesting and instructive. I won't try to paraphrase them – it's best they be (re)read in the authors' own words.
But looking to the definitive answers, some analysis is possible. The near-universal view was that a haiku is a poem whose most distinguishing feature is brevity.
It seems we insist that our haiku is poetry despite daily-published 'haiku' that might persuade others to a contrary view. Is it that we don't wish to be known as writers of anything less than poetry? I wonder if this mind-set encourages a striving for 'depth' or 'intellectual significance' or 'semantic complexity' that might make an older Bashõ uncomfortable. What happens to haiku when stressed to measure up to its bigger cousins?
Brevity. We are agreed the haiku is: small, short, concise, a snapshot, brief as a synaptic flash, a molecule of poetry, an atom! Nobody suggested that it should, like its Japanese parent, have a minimum length.
Continue reading "What is Haiku? - personal reflections on the exercise ~ John Bird" »
There are many good things going on for haiku in Australia.
In WA, Creatrix provides a new publication opportunity. see Regional News – WA for details from Maureen Sexton and to support this venture.
John Bird's valuable forum "What is Haiku" continues in the main (current events) page. More on this soon.
Also please visit http://haikudreamingaustralia.info/ to read short essays and articles relevant to Australian haiku.
Coming up in Regional News for NSW
A haiku bilingual reading at Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden promotes community understanding of the genre, as does
A presentation of writing haiku in Australia for 160 students.
and coming up in tanka news (Australia) this week a launch and a workshop.
Don't forget to send the secretary of HaikuOz your news!
I have now posted all of the haiku received in response to the tragic bushfires in Victoria. The response was overwhelming and I would like to encourage everyone to revisit the updated post to read the latest haiku.
Interview with Lyn Reeves on ABC 7ZR
In her afternoon program Siobhan Maiden interviewed Lyn Reeves who read some haiku and talked about how to write them. Siobhan wanted to encourage listeners to text a haiku to their lovers this Valentine's day. She suggested that haiku would be a wonderful way for people to express their responses to the Victorian bushfires.
Read the full interview here:
While all Australians struggle for words to convey their dismay at the suffering caused by the devastating bushfires, some poets try to share their feelings in haiku.
Your haiku is welcome too. One per poet please to email@example.com
relief centre
the new bed toy
smells different
Beverley George
out of black silence
the wobble
of a burnt lamb
Dawn Bruce
'bushfire country all the brick chimneys standing'
Janice Bostok
she wears soot
for makeup
Cynthia Rowe
black void
a stranger's hug
releases the tears
Quendryth Young
town in ashes
a firefighter
wipes his eyes
Lorin Ford
blackened rubble around
the chimney
Nathalie Buckland
fire storm
melted metal where the street
used to be
Kathy Earsman
gnawed white . . .
last season's dog bones
in the ash pile
Ron Moss
smoke haze …
a koala drinks
from the fireman's water bottle
Lynette Arden
crackly footsteps
in a blackened field
we all cry together
Greg Piko
after the wildfire...
a row of new green tents
becomes home
Beatrice Yell
I feel certain I speak on behalf of everyone who comes to this web-site, when I send our deepest regrets to those who have suffered most in these tragic fires in Victoria: the people who have lost the people they love, their homes, their neighbourhood, their way of life, their landscape and livestock, and their pets.
May each of you, victim or helper, who has witnessed the loss of human and animal life, and of habitat, under merciless and unexpected circumstance, be granted healing in due course.
Special thoughts to those people, rendered powerless, who still wait to hear the fate of loved ones. Our hearts are with you.
On behalf of the committee and members of the Australian Haiku Society
Beverley George
President HaikuOz
The WHC-German Winter Issue 2009 is online:
"...nichts als Möwen aus dem Feld"
"...digging up nothing but seagulls"
Enjoy it!
Call for submissions: bottle rockets press will be publishing a haiku anthology of flowers due out sometime in 2010. The book will be a perfect-bound with a glossy cover plus an ISBN. (The third anthology in the series.) Submission can cover any aspects of flowers. Any type of flower is welcome. No tanka, haibun or haiga will be considered.
Continue reading "bottle rockets press - flower anthology submission guidelines" »
The 2009 Queensland Poetry Festival (QPF) invites proposals from poets and other performers and artists interested in being part of the 13th Annual Queensland Poetry Festival: spoken in one strange word, to be staged at The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, August 21 - 23.
QPF would like to hear from both individuals and groups for single performances at the Festival and for other projects in association with the Festival. While all projects should have a relationship to poetic language, we encourage applications from non-poets wishing to explore the relationship between poetry and other art forms (e.g. performances with a music and/or multi-media focus etc).
For full submission guidelines visit www.queenslandpoetryfestival.com
Expressions of Interest must be received by close of business, Friday 27 February, 2008.
If you have any questions regarding your submission please don't hesitate in contacting Festival Director, Julie Beveridge at firstname.lastname@example.com
LYNX is an ezine developed by Jane Reichhold which publishes various short form genres of poetry. Publication is in February, June and October of each year. Submissions are currently open for the February 2009 issue and will be closing on January 1st. To view the current edition go to: http://www.ahapoetry.com/ahalynx/233hmpg.html
Send submissions of haiku, tanka, renga, haiku sequences, tanka sequences, sijo, sidoka, cinquain or ghazal to Werner Reichhold at firstname.lastname@example.com . Place submissions within the body of the email, as Werner will not accept attachments.
Please thank all the members of the Australian Haiku Society for their
condolences, poems in tribute, etc. They warm my heart.
Penny Harter
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website.
way up there
between skyscrapers
clouds getting away
Jack Prewitt
Submissions of tributes to W J Higginson have now closed. They are a fine set of poems and thank you to every one who paid respect to someone who made such a remarkable contribution to haiku in English.
Penny Harter is deeply appreciative of the tribute to her late husband.
blue skies
my kite string
John Bird (Australia)
like Autumn steam
the soul of the great poet
mounts to the sky
Laura Vaceanu, President of Costantza Haiku Society, Romania
the word came west
carrying with it the scent
of sagebrush and pine
Karma Tenzing Wangchuk (USA)
a falling leaf
with a last haiku-
on the sky missing a star
Ana Ruse (Costantza, Romania)
renku home-
sabaki's eyes between
the stars
Dana-Maria Onica (Romania)
Autumn dusk -
continuing to fold
paper cranes
Eduard Tara (Romania)
into the clouds
an eagle soars
winging free
Mary Mageau (Australia)
gathering acorns
under the tallest oak
autumn wind
Lynette Arden (Australia)
temple elephant—
a mahout rides into
the gathering mist
kala ramesh ( India)
between my fingers...
I trace his name
Jo McInerney (Australia)
the master passing on his worn inkstone
Nora Wood
morning frost
the long winter
comes early
Adelaide B. Shaw (USA)
Old Frog
leaps into
s i l e n c e
Ed Baker
pepper tree -
wild flowers where I lay
my friend to rest
Graham Nunn (Secretary, Haiku Oz)
the mountain pine –
holding the light,
held by it
Lorin Ford (Australia)
[original haiku:
Holding the water,
held by it –
the dark mud
William J. Higginson, p168 'The Haiku Handbook']
If you would care to add your tribute please send one haiku per poet to Graham Nunn email@example.com by October 27, 2008.
Please be prepared to wait a few days for collation and posting. The poems you contribute will then be sent on to Bill Higginson's family. With regard to sharing your poem with other sites which are paying tribute to Bill, we believe tributes stand outside normal submission rules but poets should acknowledge prior postings.
cliff top –
the tallest pine tree
bends to wind
Janice M. Bostok (Australia)
out of darkness
a flash of lightning
into darkness
Kirsty Karkow (USA)
opening his book . . .
the world he offered
tumbles out
Beverley George (Australia)
Haiku World
from East to West
a bow to his spirit
Maria Steyn (South Africa)
billowing light . . .
the dried ink-stone
filled with stars
Ron Moss (Australia)
Haiku poets around the world are probably aware that William J Higginson (Bill to his many friends and acquaintances) has been battling cancer.
News of his death has been broken to the haiku world by Bill's wife, Penny Harter, and you can read a letter from Penny on Curtis Dunlap's web-site Three Questions.
It would be difficult to envisage that any poet writing haiku in English would not be aware of Bill's major contribution to widespread understanding and adoption of this genre. Most people, serious about haiku, would own one at least, if not several, of his books.
On behalf of the haiku community of Australia I will extend our condolences to Penny Harter and to their daughters, Beth and Nancy, and to all other members of their family. Bill Higginson was a very special person who made a tangible, positive contribution to the world and he will be missed.
Beverley George
Australian Haiku Society
Haiku North America, 2009
Ottawa, Canada, August 5th-9th
Ottawa welcomes you to celebrate and share haiku in the crosscurrents of history, geography, culture and the arts. For five days in August, the National Library of Canada will be home to international speakers, panels, presentations, poetry readings, haiga exhibitions and archival displays. Situated on historic Wellington Avenue in the heart of downtown Ottawa, our conference is steps from the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court, the Rideau Canal system (named a UNESCO heritage Site in 2007), and the outdoor beauty and fun of the Byward Farmer's Market/entertainment district.
Haiku development is passing through turbulent waters, like estuaries in constant flux due to wind, coastline drag, and the varied layers of salt and cold. Meanwhile haijin struggle in and out of eddies to find ways to remain close to nature as countries rush to build city-states. HNA 2009: Crosscurrents will offer worldwide reflection, smooth the waters to navigate through regional haiku trends, and chart the ways to new poetic possibilities.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: If you are interested in making a presentation or leading a workshop at the next HNA conference, in Canada's capital, please forward the following information:
TITLE: PRESENTER: SYNOPSIS: (50 words) BIO: (50 words) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REQUIRED:
Lynx welcomes a new editor, Allison Millcock, who will be handling the haiga submissions for Lynx.
For 'Haiga Submission Guidelines'
Email Allison Millcock: firstname.lastname@example.com
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website.
that distant ridge
I'll never climb . . .
autumn rain
Lyn Reeves
From Quendryth Young, editor of the haiku pages of FreeXpresSion,
an Australian magazine published for over ten years now by Peter Pike,
comes this report:
"Haiku have been published in FreeXpresSion from fourteen
countries including Australia, plus contact with Ireland and Canada.
And from five different states in the USA.
The countries are: New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States
of America, Romania, Japan, Poland, Netherlands, Israel, India,
South Africa, Austria, Belgium, Trinidad & Tobago, and of course,
As a haiku editor, Quendryth is always ready to consult nationally and
internationally before advising readers of perceived best practice for
writing haiku in English. Her efforts are helping Australians to understand
this tricky small genre better.
Beverley George
Step right up folks and recapture your favourite Ekka memories at Museum of Brisbane's (MoB's) exciting new exhibition. Uncover the rich history and grand traditions of this iconic annual event.
While the Ekka for many Queenslanders is a great day out in August, it also represents an enormous effort by many thousands of people. This MoB exhibition goes behind the scenes to find out what it takes to deliver these 10 days in August, from the past to the present. Local poet, Graham Nunn, who was poet-in-residence at the 2007 Ekka, has ten haiku featured in large vinyl letters throughout the exhibition, providing a unique perspective on his Ekka experience.
Visitors can also discover some of the unique personalities that give the Ekka it's special atmosphere, delve into vintage showbags, and find out the stories behind memorable moments like the Grand Parade and old favourites such as strawberry sundaes and dagwood dogs - all of those things that make the Ekka, the Ekka!
10 Days in August: Memories of the Ekka
Until Sun. 16 November 2008
10am - 5pm daily.
Entry is FREE.
Museum of Brisbane, ground floor of Brisbane City Hall,
King George Square (between Ann and Adelaide Streets), Brisbane.
A HAIKU WORKSHOP is to be held on Sunday 26 October 2008, in Ballina NSW, organised by the local haiku group, 'Cloudcatchers'.
The workshop will include guidelines for appreciating and writing haiku, and the opportunity to take part in a ginko (haiku walk). This will be followed by the writing and sharing of haiku, with workshopping of participants' work. It is aimed at beginners, but established writers, who wish to extend their experience in this genre, are welcome. Those poets who have already written haiku, are invited to present material for sharing and discussion.
The workshop will run from 10 am to 4 pm, with a break for lunch. Tea, coffee, biscuits and cake will be provided. Participants may bring their own lunch or buy it close by. The cost of the workshop is $40, which includes a set of notes.
Dreaming Haiku # 5– September 2008
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website.
bay shallows
a starfish moves its fingers
over mine
Lorin Ford
First Published The Heron's Nest March 2006
As most of you may have heard today from various international haiku postings William J Higginson, author of the "The Haiku Handbook' and other publications significant to writers of haiku in English, is unwell and undergoing treatment.
The Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) joins societies and individuals around the world in sending our very best wishes for Bill's swift recovery.
Individual cards amd messages may be sent to
Penny Harter / William J. Higginson
P. O. Box 1402
Summit, NJ 07902
Dreaming Haiku # 4– August 2008
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website.
hills hoist –
a leg of his karate suit
kicks in the breeze
Sharon Elyse Dean
News just to hand of the Go Graphic exhibition which will feature manga by Madeleine Rosca and also haiku and haibun by Ron Moss.
It starts on July 30 and we hope to have a report about it very soon.
Thanks to Ron Moss for an alert about the trailer of this short film, shot by Tazuo Yamaguchi at HNA 2007 in Winston Salem .
Subscribers to Mayfly published by Brooks Books will also find information enclosed with the latest issue.
To view the trailer visit http://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/haikufilm/
What is haiku for? Haiku is for sharing. William J Higginson
When browsing this website, don't forget to look under the various States
Recently added to this site are news items from:
NSW : Haiku reading in Gosford Edogawa Commemorative Garden
WA: Haiku workshop, competition and library haiku wall
QLD: Words and Water Dragons A Haiku event with a difference August 3
TAS: A workshop with Jodie Hawthorne plus other news
VIC: book launch: haiku by Sue Stanford plus Hiroshima Day remembrance
book launch: haiku by Lorin Ford
SA: a ginko in the Adelaide Botanical Gardens planned for September
Under Publications
you will find recently added news from India
Dreaming Haiku # 3– July 2008
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website. http://haikudreamingaustralia.info/
Sorry Day
the breeze touches
every gum leaf
Carolyn Cordon
Poetica is a radio program dedicated to the performance of poetry and ranges freely among contemporary Australian and overseas work as well as drawing on ancient sources and from bi-lingual programs, live readings, studio-based poetry features and on-location recordings.
Scheduled for broadcast on June 21 and 28 is the program, Haiku in Australia, a detailed exploration of this burgeoning poetic form with some of Australia's leading practitioners.
It will please some and surprise many that the seemingly mystical art of 'Haiku writing' is not only alive throughout Australia but is truly flourishing, beguiling and tempting writers across the country from Perth to Brisbane...
In Poetica's two part feature, Peter Holland, Jodie Buzza and Murray Dowsett read a couple of hundred Haiku along with discussions with Haiku writers across Australia.
To listen to the program and for more details visit: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/poetica/
The committee of the Haiku Society of Australia (HaikuOz) would like to thank Lyn Reeves, who is stepping down from the role of vice-president of the Society after nearly two years of invaluable service and support.
Congratulations and welcome to Dawn Bruce, who has agreed to accept vice-presidency for the term of two years. Dawn's enthusiastic commitment to the practice of haiku, which she has shared with other poets over a sustained period of time, make her an ideal candidate for this role.
Beverley George (president)
Graham Nunn (secretary)
for the committee
Time and Place Date: Monday, June 16, 2008
Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Melbourne General Cemetery,
Street: Cemetery Rd, Carlton
City/Town: Melbourne, Australia
Contact Info Phone: 03.9387.4323
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Come for a walk in the beautiful surrounds of the Carlton cemetery and experience the graveyard through the calm, non judgmental eye of a haiku with poet and teacher, Myron Lysenko.
cost: $15.00
Meet at the Main entrance, Cemetery Rd, 11 am sharp
bring some lunch and lots of paper to write on.
walking through
our dead friend's garden
we turn the torch off
-Myron Lysenko
June 2, 2008
The Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) warmly congratulates Catherine Mair of Katikati, New Zealand.
The NZ Queen's Birthday Honours list (which precedes the Australian list by a week) includes a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for Catherine "for services to poetry and the community".
To find out more, visit Haiku News edited by Sandra Simpson on the New Zealand Poetry Society web-site
www.poetrysociety.org.nz/haikunews June 2008.
This is a landmark for haiku in English in the southern hemisphere.
Beverley George
Australian Haiku Society
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website. http://haikudreamingaustralia.info
sacred site –
lantana overruns
the melaleuca
Quendryth Young
Editor's comment. This haiku might be thought slight unless one knows 'lantana' is an imported and highly invasive noxious weed and that 'melaleuca' (paperbark or myrtle) is indigenous to Australia. Haiku Dreaming notes provide the data that reveals this as a powerful political poem. John Bird
Wollumbin Haiku Workshop presents its fifth collection of haiku on:
Previous collections may be found on the site under archives
Please feel free to send the workshop web address, to any groups or individuals you think might find it of
interest. Feedback is appreciated.
Dreaming Haiku # 1 – May 2008
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website. http://haikudreamingaustralia.info/
pregnant again . . .
the fluttering of moths
against the window
Janice M Bostok
Editor's comment First published in Minutes of a meeting of the Haiku Society of America circa 1973. From my first reading I assumed the moths were Australian bogongs, part of the tens of millions of their kind who head south in late spring from breeding grounds in southern Queensland on their 3,000 km journey to spend summer in cool caves of the Southern Alps. This haiku became famous without most people knowing the incredible "bogong story" but for me it enriches the haiku. John Bird
First prize was awarded to Jan O'Loughlin for her haiku:
hawk in flight
recycling the wind
into himself
Second prize was awarded to Sharon Dean for her haiku:
coastal cafe
she suckles in the shade
of mum's cowboy hat
Third prize was awarded to Helen Davison for her haiku:
spring again
on the snow gums
Haiku selected for the anthology will be announced soon.
The third Moving Galleries exhibition, featuring haiku and rooku by residents of Victoria will be launched in May 2008. This is a wonderful initiative set up by Rooku Troupe (Melbourne haiku poets Lia Hills, Matt Hetherington and Myron Lysenko) in conjunction with Connex Trains and The Committee for Melbourne. This promotion of artwork and haiku has attracted great interest from the public and Melbourne's commuters.
The haiku are featured on decals which appear on the inside walls of 20 Connex trains. They will remain on the trains for six months.
A year after attending the stimulating 3rd Haiku Pacific Rim International Conference in Matsuyama, Japan, I was delighted to be a delegate at a New Zealand national haiku conference in Christchurch, New Zealand, convened by The Small White Teapot Haiku Group. Organisers Barbara Strang, Judith Walsh and Anne Edmunds are to be warmly congratulated.
Thirty-one delegates attended with twenty-nine flying or driving in from various parts of New Zealand, including Invercargill, Dunedin, Hamilton, Wellington, Otago and Auckland. Australian Haiku Society Queensland Regional Representative, Jeffrey Harpeng, a founder of The Small White Teapot Club and instrumental in its naming, flew in from Brisbane, and I arrived from Pearl Beach, via Sydney.
The congenial but explorative tone of the conference was established on Friday night in the keynote address by Cyril Childs and led to lively, open-minded discussion throughout the conference. It was interesting to learn Cyril first became intrigued by haiku while working in Matsuyama, Japan, in 1989. Matsuyama is the birthplace of the poet Shiki and there is a wonderful museum there, the Shiki-Kinen, dedicated to haiku.
Continue reading "Haiku Aotearoa 18 – 20 April, 2008 Christchurch: brief report" »
The Williams Carlos Williams Award for a book published by a small press, a not for profit body or a university press is administered by the Poetry Society of America and carries great kudos.
The Australian Haiku Society warmly congratulates American haiku poet Roberta Beary and publisher Snapshot Press [UK].
Roberta Beary's collection of haiku and senryu The Unworn Necklace was one of two finalists in the Society's 2008 poetry awards, an outstanding achievement.
Haiku Oz President, Beverley George has an essay titled Haiku and the Seasons: an exploration published in the latest edition of the NSW Poets Union magazine Five Bells. The magazine also features a review of Eucalypt: a tanka journal issue 3. For information on how to get a copy of the magazine or to join the NSW Poets Union visit: www.poetsunion.com
To see a new post about the Katikati haiku path on the north island of New Zealand
see http://ackworthborn.blogspot.com/2008/04/abc-wednesday-k-is-for-katikati-haiku.html
Gerald England
New Hope International; Haiku Talk
reviews, poetry, photography and more
A workshop for anyone interested in haiku and Zen Buddhism
upon the temple bell
the butterfly sleeps
The interactive workshop will examine the influence of Zen on the ancient Japanese form of haiku poetry, explain how the two have come together and why Zen has relevance to writing haiku for even those who have little understanding of Zen philosophies.
Haiku Reading - March
502 Lygon St East Brunswick 8pm FREE
THURSDAY MARCH 20th, 2008.
Sue Stanford, Carla Sari, Matt Hetherington, Helen Begley
Michael de Valle & Myron Lysenko
all poets & haikuists welcome to read in OPEN SECTION
Paul Gibson Roy to MC proceedings.
Good food & booze on sale. Free entry
Info: Roger : 9383.7851
& Paul : 9386 1126
Paul E: email@example.com
Poetry night organized by Paul Gibson.
"Moving Galleries" is an on-going project, initiated by a trio of haijin calling themselves Rooku Troupe. They have been instrumental in getting haiku published on decals in Melbourne's suburban trains.
Here is an interview with a writer who has his haiku currently riding around the Melbourne tracks.
A writer of poetry, haiku, short stories and novels, Michael de Valle's poetry has featured in both the Moving Galleries pilot and the Spring 2007 Exhibition. Moving Galleries editor, and poet, Leanne Hills, approached Michael to discuss his influences.
Friendly Street Poets Inc. is starting the 2008 seminar program with a Japanese Poetry Seminar on Saturday 16th February. Published poet and SA representative of HaikuOz, Martina Taeker, will be focussing on haiku, haiku sequence, and haibun.
Many people will already be familiar with Martina's practical yet highly informative style of teaching and her ability to ensure that everyone enjoys themselves. Hopefully a yummy afternoon tea will also help the creative process along. The seminar will be held on Saturday 16th February, from 2 - 4.30 pm at the SA Writers Centre.
Following the seminar, Friendly Street Poets Inc will be running a competition in all three categories. Although the haiku section will be restricted to residents of SA, the haiku sequence and haibun sections will be open to poets from other states. More details about the competition will be released after the seminar.
For further seminar details and the booking form please visit http://friendlystreetpoets.org.au/?cat=4
The winter issue of WHC - German is online now.
It features haiku from: Christa Beau, Wolfgang Beutke, Gerd Börner, Claudia Brefeld, Beate Conrad, Michael Denhoff, Georg Flamm, Volker Friebel, Hubertus Thum, Klaus-Dieter Wirth and many others.
editor: Angelika Wienert (Oberhausen, Germany)
Haijin friends worldwide, you who travel and meet places and people and languages, wherever you are, let one of your thoughts become community for us all. Look for a postcard. Handwrite on the back, in clear writing, a simple haiku. May the time you spend in finding a postcard, the time you spend in writing a haiku, sitting on a big stone, under a pine-tree, at a coffee table, be a happy time. Attach a stamp, add the date and your full signature, then send it to:
Cascina Macondo - Borgata Madonna della Rovere, 4
10020 Riva Presso Chieri - Torino - Italy
For all who subscribe to Famous Reporter and those of you with haiku featured in issue #36 - the magazine will (hopefully) appear in late February this year.
Ron Moss, a former Secretary of Haiku Oz and Regional Rep for Tasmania, has a stunning new portfolio of haiga for viewing at http://www.haigaonline.com/issue8-2/contemporary.html
The haiku and paintings are inspired by his voluntary work as a fiery. Congratulations, Ron.
A very happy 2008 to all HaikuOz members!
Would you like to let us know about your successes and publications during 2007? We are inviting Australian haiku poets to send their news - approx 200 words per poet - for inclusion on our website. We'd love to celebrate with you.
If you have published a book or online portfolio you can list it under members' publications. Follow the format of the other entries there and send your information to firstname.lastname@example.com with 'Haiku Oz Members News (YOUR SURNAME)' in the subject line.
We'd also like to hear about haiku happenings in your region. If there's nothing happening, why not start something? And keep the news flowing to the website throughout 2008, to help spread the enjoyment and appreciation of writing haiku in Australia.
From January1 – July 1 2008, Beverley George will be the featured guest poet on Tanka Online, a US site which provides a great deal of useful information on techniques for writing tanka. Visit www.tankaonline.com to read an interview of Beverley by Jeanne Emrich. At the end of the interview you will find links to some of Beverley's poems and to information about her tanka collection empty garden.
Wollumbin Haiku Workshop presents its fourth collection of haiku on: www.wollumbin-haiku.com
Previous collections may be found on the site under archives. Please feel free to forward this email, or send the workshop web address, to any groups or individuals you think might find it of interest. Feedback is appreciated.
Haibun Today (http://haibuntoday.blogspot.com/) went online in Nov. 2007 with daily postings. It is edited by Jeffrey Woodward from Detroit, Michigan, USA with the assistance of Patricia Prime, New Zealand/Australia Correspondent, and Lynne Rees, UK Correspondent.
HT uses previously published and unpublished haibun as well as book reviews and articles relevant to the genre. Unsolicited submissions of haibun are welcome and should be forwarded to haibun.today (at) gmail (dot) com. Authors should query before submitting reviews and essays.
Australian contributors to date include: Julie Beveridge, Janice M. Bostok, Sharon Dean & Graham Nunn
Haiku Aotearoa 2008, a conference for writers of haiku and related forms, takes place at Bishop Julius Hostel, 90 Waimairi Road, Christchurch, the weekend of 18-20th April, 2008. We of the Small White Teapot Group are finalising a programme to appeal to beginners and experts, which will enable us to learn, mingle and celebrate together. Highlights include Richard von Sturmer's Tanka Film presentation and the launch of the third New Zealand Haiku Anthology. The venue is a modern student hostel, with gardens and a park adjacent, close to Christchurch Airport. There will be a choice of living in or attending during the day, for some or all of the conference. Price for the
conference is $90, or $22 for a half day session, and full board at Bishop Julius will cost $201. For the brochure and enrolment form giving full details please email: Barbara Strang, firstname.lastname@example.com Alternatively if you wish to live in you can secure a place by sending $100 deposit to Judith Walsh, 44 Bentley St, Christchurch 8042, New Zealand before 31st Jan, 2008. Places are limited so don't delay. Cheques to be made out to Small White Teapot Group. Prices in NZ Dollars.
More details at: http://www.haiku2008.com
The magazine 'FreeXpresSion' is promoted as "the magazine for writers that readers enjoy". It is edited by Peter Pike and has been in monthly publication for fourteen years. In January 2007 a haiku section "HaikuXpresSion" was introduced, edited by Quendryth Young.
During this year, HaikuXpressions has published material from fifty-eight different haiku poets. Of these there were fifteen overseas contributors. A number of poets were published for the first time, and some of these only began exploring the fascinating genre of haiku this year. Haiku submissions (up to five) may be sent to:
In 2008 the magazine will include a haiku section in its annual competition, which closes on 28 February, with a first prize of $100. For an entry form please contact email@example.com@bigpond.com
3LIGHTS is an online gallery of haiku, tanka and related forms. It was founded in 2006 by British poet, Liam Wilkinson. For more information, click here.
Submit to:
threelightsgallery at yahoo dot co dot uk
We are now accepting submissions of haiku, senryu and tanka with a nocturnal theme (though all submissions will be considered) for our forthcoming exhibition, Nocturne, which begins in January 2008.
Please send up to 10 haiku/senryu/tanka with a brief biography. Please do not send attachments. All poems should be included in the main body of the email.
Unfortunately we cannot offer payment but hope that by showcasing your poems, we contribute to the promotion of your work as a writer.
If your work is successful it will appear in the exhibition and may be used elsewhere on the website. All copyright remains with you, the author.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 will see the launch of the Moving Galleries Spring 2007 Exhibition
at Flinders Street Station by The Minister for the Arts and Public Transport, The Hon. Lynne
Moving Galleries is a travelling exhibition of art and poetry which enables emerging and
established Victorian artists to showcase their talent. It is also designed to enhance the travel
experience for Melbourne's train commuters, and build on Melbourne's reputation as a thriving
cultural and creative capital.
Continue reading "Rooku on Trains/Moving Galleries Project" »
The winner – just announced – of the fifth Annual Shiki Kukai Poets' Readers' Choice for the kigo section
is Ron Moss, Tasmania, for the haiku
starry night
what's left of my life
is enough
please visit >
Congratulations, Ron, and thank you, Robert and Jennie, for administering this international monthly competition and the associated annual collation and challenge.
Dear All,
vast is the ocean of sacred words
which enlightens the universe
with divine vision
Rigveda 1.3.12
We, The World Haiku Club India, are nurturing dreams of holding The 9th WORLD HAIKU FESTIVAL in INDIA.
We propose to have a three-day festival – on 23rd, 24th and 25th of February 08 at H H Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji's The Art Of Living Ashram at Bangalore, the Garden city of India
Continue reading "The 9th World Haiku Festival WHFindia Bangalore February 2008" »
Text, images and audio for your enjoyment.
Black Robe White Mist
This item was contributed by Gerry Jacobson
HaikuOz poets may well be interested in the exhibition Black Robe White Mist at the National Gallery of Australia. It is the art of Rengetsu (Lotus Moon) who was a 19th century waka poet, Buddhist nun, calligrapher, potter and painter. Many of her beautiful poems are inscribed on pottery and scroll paintings. It's on at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra until 27 January. The published catalogue of the exhibition is itself a notable addition to the literature in english with many new translations of her poems. There are associated events at the gallery such as talks, tea ceremony, ikebana demonstration, calligraphy workshop, concert, over the next couple of months.
Becoming Sky - Report by Jeffrey Harpeng
Ynes Sanz cannily mc'd this megavitamin dose of haiku by reading the label of contents on this spoken literary supplement before retreating into the shadows to put her feet up and indulge. First up was the B complex and the St John's Wort from Dangerously Poetic Press. Laura Jan Shore and James Khidir read the Sand Between the Toes anthology to the musical accompaniment of Kevin James maintaining a sustained drone on harmonium and accompanying himself alternatively on ocarina and bamboo flutes according to the changes in emotional tone as the pieces shifted through the landscape and the various styles of the contributors. This firmly established a close your eyes and drift ambience. Almost an out of body experience.
Sue Stanford was an antioxidant in the mix, her acutely observed and crafted pieces a superb antidote to myopic vision and flaccid statement. She prefaced her work with listening advice for the audience. She warned of how a single haiku can set up a resonance and stay with you for minutes and even hours on occasion and at other times elude you before you can grasp them. She advised then, that as she would be reading quite a number of them that it would be best just let go of them. Taking that advice my experience was of an ebb and flow of word and emotion elegant and elegiac, passionate and precise.
Continue reading "Becoming Sky – A Haiku Reading at the Queensland Poetry Festival - Sunday Sept 9" »
The new Katikati Haiku Pathway guidebook is now available. It features a complete set of the 30 poems, including those by Australian writers Janice Bostok, John Knight, Cecily Stanton and Ed Davis, engraved on boulders in this riverside walk in Katikati, New Zealand. The walk had its three newest additions blessed at the end of July in a ceremony conducted by local Maori.
The book also includes short author biographies, a potted history of the project and a map of the pathway.
For those ordering from Australia the cost (including P&P) in New Zealand dollars is $11 for 1, or $19 for 2.
Payment may be made through the Katikati Haiku Pathway Focus Committee's PayPal account, please e-mail Sandra at firstname.lastname@example.com for details of the payee account, or for the cost if you wish to purchase more than 2 guidebooks.
(to close Sponsored Links on the right of each page click on << next to them)
Haiku Contents
Essays, Criticisms, Analyses, Interviews...
a.. Geert Verbeke: Reflections...
b.. H. F. Noyes: Favourite Haiku
c.. Margaret Chula: Harmony: Poetry and a Bowl of Tea
d.. Lee Gurga: Juxtaposition
e.. Mohammed Fakhruddin: LAND AND SEA in Poetic Harmony
f.. Richard Powell: Still in the Stream
g.. Richard Powell: Wabi What?
h.. Bruce Ross: Sincerity and the Future of Haiku
i.. Lee Gurga: Toward an Aesthetic for English-Language Haiku
j.. Interview with David G Lanoue
k.. Interview with Max Verhart
To celebrate seven years of publishing poetry, Pardalote Press is offering big savings. Titles are discounted by 25% - more for the special pack of six haiku titles. Beautiful gifts for special friends. You can order online at http://www.pardalote.com.au
On behalf of the committee of the Australian Haiku Society I am pleased to announce the appointment of John Bird
to act on behalf of the Australian Haiku Society to consider the following questions and make recommendations to the Society on:
1. What haiku-related terms, if any, should the Australian Haiku Society define for its members?
2. What wording should be used in any such definitions?
3. What supporting or clarifying notes are required?
4. How should the Australian Haiku Society definitions be adopted and promulgated?
Please send any comments and input to
firstname.lastname@example.com M George
President, Australian Haiku Society
Congratulations to Quendryth Young (1st place) and Jeff Harpeng (5th place) in the recent NZPS competition.
Visit the NZPS web-site for further detail and comments from one of the judges http://www.poetrysociety.org.nz/about2007results
If you would like to see the list of Highly Commended and Commended poets (which includes the following Australians: Janice Bostok, John Bird, Quendryth Young, Jeff Harpeng, Kees Hulsman and Lyn Reeves) click on any one of the five peoples's names who placed as winners in this competition. A Highly Commended and a Commended list will then become accessible from the top of the page.
Dear friends of haiku,
HNA 2007 will have over 50 presenters from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Special guests include Sonia Sanchez and Kalamu ya Salaam. Presenters include many of the best haiku poets writing in English, including Cor van den Heuvel, Alan Pizzarelli, William J. Higginson, Penny Harter, George Swede, Lenard D. Moore, Randy Brooks, John Barlow, Jim Kacian, A. C. Missias, Roberta Beary, Stanford M. Forrester, Michael Dylan Welch, and many others.
We have posted the schedule: http://www.haikunorthamerica.com/hna_2007_schedule.html
Dave Russo
local organizer for Haiku North America 2007
Queensland Poetry Festival: spoken in one strange word, has recently secured funding from Brisbane City Council to develop a virtual poetry anthology that will screen on Brisbane's City Cat fleet. The project is a partnership between Brisbane City Council, 4UTV and Queensland Poetry Festival.
24 poets will be invited to submit a poem for this 6-month project, beginning Monday July 9. Each selected poem will form part of the Poem of the Week virtual anthology and will be developed into a 30 second program by 4UTV that will screen once every thirty minutes on the digital screen in each of the 10 City Cats. This will total 2000 viewings for each poem, to an estimated audience of 120 000 City Cat passengers each week.
Report: Beverley George
Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz)
Through haiku composing, you can exchange your way of thinking and deepen your understanding about the people beyond the borders, isms and religions. Kanda Sosuke.
It is impossible to imagine a more idyllic and appropriate setting for a haiku conference than in cherry blossom season at Matsuyama, the birthplace of the poet, Masaoka Shiki where this year marked the 140th anniversary of his birth.
Matsuyama is a castle city on the island of Shikoku and it is also famous for its ancient onsen (hot springs). It was in this city that the Matsuyama Declaration was signed in 1999 to establish the Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Research Center. The Declaration signifies the generous intent of Japanese people to share haiku internationally.
Continue reading "3rd Pacific Rim Haiku Conference, Matsuyama, Japan, April 2007" »
The prospect of a crisp Sunday morning in the Japanese Garden at Brisbane Botanic Garden Mt Coot-tha enticed lovers of Japanese poetry forms to the Queensland Poetry Festival's Second Annual Words and Water Dragons readings on Saturday July 8.
After participating in a ginko led by QPF Artistic Director Graham Nunn, our MC for the morning, and informally sharing inspirations and first-draft haiku, more than 30 people gathered in the square pavilion to hear readings of haibun, haiku and tanka complemented by the achingly beautiful sounds of the shakuhachi in Carl Rathus' skilful hands.
Jan Bostok and Jeff Harpeng were feature readers. Other Brisbane haijin including Ross Clark, Graham Nunn and John Knight read from their work, once again reminding us of the breadth of talent in this sector of Brisbane's thriving poetry scene.
Dangerously Poetic Press will be launching sand between the toes, a haiku journey through Byron Bay and beyond CD/book at the Byron Bay Writer's Festival on Sunday the 29th of July at 1:45 pm. Dr. Jacqui Murray will do the honours. Poet, journalist, historian and broadcaster, she has been writing haiku for many years. In that time she has been an international haiku judge, co-ordinated the JAL World Childrens' Haiku Contest in Australia and has been widely published. She is also a founding editor of the haiku magazine, Paper Wasp. About the cd/book, she has said, A lyrical reaffirmation of nature in haiku, music and organic sound to calm the senses and feed the soul.
Continue reading "Dangerously Poetic Launch - sand between the toes: a haiku journey through Byron Bay and beyond" »
Latest edition of Haigaonline.
See in the experimental section, "A Touch of Light," a multimedia haiga slideshow by Ron Moss with Jim Swift. See http://www.haigaonline.com/issue8-1/experimental.html.
Report by Beverly Sweeney
on behalf of
Dangerously Poetic Press
Byron Bay's Dangerously Poetic Press invited Beverley George, internationally acclaimed tanka poet and editor of Eucalypt, Australia's first literary journal for tanka, to lead our Tanka Workshop on Saturday 16 of June and to also read at our monthly poetry reading on the following day.
In the quaint little CWA hall in Brunswick Heads 15 poets, some having their first attempt at tanka, sat down pens in hand eager to learn about this fascinating Japanese form. Beverley shared her extensive knowledge of the history and current status of tanka both in Japan and other countries. There was much laughter and lively discussion demonstrating yet again the interest in this area stimulated by Japanese poetry. In the afternoon with Beverley's support we all attempted at least one tanka and were given plenty of useful feedback. There's no holding back our Northern Rivers poets when we get together. It was especially delightful that we had amongst the participants several poets experienced in this form such as John Bird and Max Ryan. We lunched, laughed and wrote and I for one have been tinkering with tanka ever since.
A two-part workshop presented by Janice Bostok
as part of the Queensland Poetry Festival 2007 Outreach programme
supported by the Brisbane City Council
and the Mt Ommaney Library
'When the pupils are ready the teacher will come.'
Full workshops and a healthy waiting list for the two free sessions at the Mt Ommaney Library in Brisbane's Centenary Suburbs this June 10th and 24th made it clear that plenty of people were more than ready to explore the pleasures and challenges of haiku and related forms under Janice Bostok's gentle guidance.
Attendances by people from as far afield as Bribie Island quieted any lingering doubts the organisers might have had about the feasibility of holding of an event at this outer suburban venue.
The workshops received excellent support from the local press as well as publicity from Brisbane Japanese cultural groups and the library itself.
Continue reading "Report on Haiku : Sensations of a Lifetime" »
Recently I was speaking to Jim Kacian of the USA a very fine poet and publisher of Red Moon Press. We first met several years ago when he spoke at our haiku group in Hobart and we have stayed in contact over the years. Earlier this year Watersmeet moved to a new venue and I asked Jim to be our virtual guest and he obliged us with a wonderful talk and inspiring haiku....
Ron Moss
Greetings from the winter of Virginia:
Ron was kind enough to invite me to say a word or two and contribute a couple poems to celebrate the new venue of Watersmeet. Let me begin by saying yours is the most poetic name in the world of haiku--nicely chosen.
It seems like quite a long time ago that I met with the dozen or so poets in the Botanical Gardens in Hobart. The scene I met there was the same as what I encountered throughout that trip around the world--poets, some experienced, most not, who were all relatively new to haiku and were using the opportunity not only to learn more about it, but to create community through it as well. There was an eagerness to the proceedings that we were unlikely to regain again. Now, a half-dozen years along the way, perhaps we have attained something else--a maturity, and undoubtedly a good deal more knowledge of what haiku is and can be. The challenge of haiku for us remains what it always has been--one of finding a way of being with it which permits us the use of our increased knowledge without sacrificing that eagerness, that newness.
Continue reading "Jim Kacian a virtual guest at Watersmeet" »
English Haiku wanted
The Deadline: Tuesday July 31st, 2007
What we are looking for:
We are looking for Haiku written in English that are original submissions or are unpublished work for our Haiku competition to be held during the Basho festival on October 12th.
(Double submissions or work previously published under a different name may not be used in the competition).
Wollumbin Haiku Workshop
presents its latest collection of haiku on:
Previous collections may be found on the site under 'archives'.
Please feel free to forward this email, or send the workshop web
address, to any groups or individuals you think might find it of
If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please notify the
Workshop by using the email address below.
Nathalie Buckland
The first round of results have just been announced in the recent Haiku Contest on the theme of Tea, co-organized by Chajin—The House of Japanese Green Tea, and the Association for the Promotion of Haiku.
The jury, made up of Morgan Beard, Carol Négiar, Drew Hanson, Gilles Maucout and Dominique Chipot, has determined the first ten authors.
Haiku Oz would like to congratulate Beverley George & Janice M. Bostok who have had work selected.
A new Showcase section has been added to the Haiku NewZ website. The Showcase will be added to on a regular basis, highlighting the work of two outstanding New Zealand haijin at a time.
Our inaugural writers are Barbara Strang (Christchurch) and Bernard Gadd (Auckland). The pages also include an article of the Katikati Haiku Pathway, and a glossary of New Zealand terms to aid overseas readers.
New Zealand does not have its own haiku society, however the New Zealand Poetry Society has offered a home for our web presence for which are extremely grateful.
Please do call by and enjoy haiku from this amazing corner of the world:
A review by Johnye Strickland of Beverley George's haiku collection Spinifex, published by Pardalote Press www.pardalote.com.au is now available from Simply Haiku Summer 2007 www.simplyhaiku.com/
The results of the Eighth Jack Stamm competition up on the Paper Wasp site, at:
You can also get to a list of selected haiku from 2006 (and earlier) issues of Paper Wasp from this same page.
1st May 7 – 9 pm Haiku - Writing Workshop with LYN REEVES
An introduction to haiku
Rosny Library Meeting Room, Bligh Street, Rosny Park, Hobart – near Service Tasmania.
Haiku are tiny poems that were first written hundreds of years ago. People from all over the world are discovering the pleasure of these condensed capsules of poetic insight, so that Haiku-in-English has become the fastest-growing literary genre. Today's haiku have their beginnings in ancient Japan, but today's poets use haiku to express the uniqueness of everyday experience and the environment they live in. A haiku captures a moment in time and shares that experience with a reader. The skills developed by writing haiku can make all types of writing more vivid and immediate.
Lyn Reeves is the haiku editor for the Tasmanian literary journal Famous Reporter. As representative editor for the Australian Haiku Society she has selected Australian content for the Canadian-based ezine above ground testing and for the World Haiku Association's website. She also served as secretary for Australia's haiku association, HaikuOz and is currently its vice-president.
All welcome. There will be a $3 charge to cover venue hire and supper. Enquiries 6248 8496 or 6248 8726
There are two reviews of Beverley George's new haiku collection, Spinifex, now online.
http://www.styluspoetryjournal.com/main/master.asp?id=737 Reviewed by Patricia Prime
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~writerslink/reviews.html Reviewed by Lorin Ford
Sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Central Maryland
Judge: Billie Wilson, Juneau, Alaska
summer dawn
the bones of the bonfire
charred black
~Kate Bosek-Sill, Rochester, NY
A new day is dawning, and the remains of this fire remind us that yesterday is gone forever—as fully consumed as the wood (the "bones") of that bonfire. There is a nice edge of wondering why the fire was built. The use of "bones" is not only intriguing within the haiku, but within the context of etymology, since "bonfire" comes from the medieval "bone-fire." This is an excellent poem to be read aloud. The inner play of the long "o" sound of "bones" with the short "o" in "bonfire—the near-rhyme of "dawn" and bonfire"—and the alliteration of "b" words in the second and third lines—add layers of pleasing sound.
whaling station—
the weight of rust
on the snowline
~Ron Moss, Tasmania, Australia
An unusual topic. The freshness of the material is appealing, and the juxtaposition is compelling. Even in abandonment, the very existence of this station "weighs" heavily against human history. The damage done is powerfully captured in understatement: that feather-light rust is like blood against the snow.
in my pocket
a small stone
from the top of the mountain
~Karen Sohne, Toronto, ON, Canada
The use of a pivot line showcases the tiny stone that symbolizes the conquering of a mountain. And within that symbol is a gift of encouragement regarding any mountain that might seem to be blocking our path.
Continue reading "RESULTS FROM 2007 ANITA SADLER WEISS MEMORIAL HAIKU AWARDS" »
It's time for me to head to Matsuyama, for the Third Pacific Rim Haiku Conference.
2007 is the 140th anniversary year of the birth of the poet Shiki in Matsuyama. I look forward to seeing much of the city on foot, keeping a sharp eye out for stones that carry Shiki's haiku.
The Matsuyama Declaration was signed here in 1999 to establish the Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Research Center and to signify the generous intent of Japanese people to share haiku internationally.
It's spring in Matsuyama. If you visit the conference web-site
you can glimpse what is it like to go on a cherry blossom ginko at Matsuyama Castle.
The premiere issue of Shamrock Haiku Journal, the new online magazine of the
Irish Haiku Society, is now available at
Shamrock is an international quarterly online journal that publishes quality
haiku, senryu and haibun in English, and has a home page at
Famous Reporter #34
The December issue of Famous Reporter is replete with wonderful haiku from some of Australia's leading haiku poets. It contains 65 haiku over 11 pages, with a significant contribution from northern NSW haijin. In addition to this you will find John Bird's prize-winning haiku sequence, 'The Fence Rider, 1950 Australia'. This outstanding poem is in six parts, each part a sequence of seven haiku.
If you want to read haiku with a distinctive Australian flavour, Famous Reporter #34 is essential reading. $8 posted (within Australia) from Walleah Press, PO Box 368, North Hobart, TAS 7002 – or $15 for a subscription.
Submissions for issue #35 close end of April.
Here are some quotes from Christopher Bantick's review of Spinifex: haiku by Beverley George in The Sunday Tasmanian (18/2/07):
'it celebrates the strength and diversity of haiku as a poetry form'
'The poems rest on the page like perfectly cut templates of experience'
'Apart from the poems that will make readers stop and regard the world perhaps a little more thoughtfully, the design of the book also deserves comment. Besides the convenient size that's ideal for handbags and pockets, the poems are not cluttered on the page…Reeves has presented the poems with a filigree of grass on the pages. This adds to the delicate feel of the book. The result is an excellent gallery of words and shape.'
'hard to imagine a better example of the form'
'a book of quiet contemplation and stolen moments of peace winnowed from busyness'.
Spinifex: haiku is available from Pardalote Press http://www.pardalote.com.au
Patricia Prime is well-known as an interviewer and reviewer, generous with her time for others' poetry.
We thought you might like to read about her own life and poetry. An interview by Beverley George has now gone up on Simply Haiku Spring 2007 www.simplyhaiku.com/
Small Change Press (www.smallchangepress.com.au) is proud to announce the launch of their first title for 2007, Home is where the Heartache is, a collection of haibun, by Julie Beveridge.
"Compressed energy and an unswerving courage to tell the truth about bad things gives these haibun a sharp edge – a kind of grim elegance. Journeying with Beveridge is not always comfortable but it is always compelling."
Beverley George
President, Australian Haiku Society
Date: Friday 30 March
Time: 6:30pm
Venue: Queensland Writers Centre
Level 2, 109 Edward St, Brisbane
Tickets: $15.00 (including a signed copy of the book and glass of wine)
Bookings Essential: To book call QWC on (07) 3839 1243 or buy online at www.qwc.asn.au.
For more information email Graham Nunn at firstname.lastname@example.com
A review by Robert L Wilson of Beverley George's tanka anthology empty garden is now available on Simply Haiku Spring 2007
Previous reviews of this book may be found on www.eucalypt.info under the heading empty garden