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
birth-marks
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
http://www.geraldengland.co.uk/
A workshop for anyone interested in haiku and Zen Buddhism
perched
upon the temple bell
the butterfly sleeps
Buson
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
"THANGS CAFE"
502 Lygon St East Brunswick 8pm FREE
*
THURSDAY MARCH 20th, 2008.
*
HAIKU NIGHT
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: roypg@unimelb.edu.au
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.
http://athenaeum-language.blogspot.com/2008/01/whc-german-winter-20072008.html
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)
HAICOM
HAIKU INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CASCINA MACONDO
PRESENTS
HAIPOMACÒ - ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL
HAIKU POSTCARDS MAILING ART COLLECTION
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 secretary@haikuoz.org 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, bhstrang@yahoo.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:
quendrythyoung@bigpond.com
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 quendrythyoung@bigpond.comquendrythyoung@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.
NOCTURNE : JANUARY 2008
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
Kosky.
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 >
http://www.haikuworld.org/kukai/current.html
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.
http://postherdmusic.googlepages.com/home
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.
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 nzhaiku@gmail.com for details of the payee account, or for the cost if you wish to purchase more than 2 guidebooks.
THE NEW ISSUE OF HAIKU REALITY IS OUT
(to close Sponsored Links on the right of each page click on << next to them)
http://www.geocities.com/ana_vazic/indexeng.htm
Contents
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
johnbird@bigpond.net.auBeverley 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
President
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.
http://www.haigaonline.com/
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:
http://users.mullum.com.au/jbird/Wksp/W-home.html
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.
If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please notify the
Workshop by using the email address below.
Nathalie Buckland
wollumbin@fastmail.fm
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:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/paperwasp/selections.html
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
2007 ANITA SADLER WEISS MEMORIAL HAIKU AWARDS
Sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Central Maryland
Judge: Billie Wilson, Juneau, Alaska
FIRST PLACE
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.
SECOND PLACE
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.
THIRD PLACE
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
http://hpr-conference.com/index.html
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
www.freewebs.com/shamrockhaiku/currentissue.htm
Shamrock is an international quarterly online journal that publishes quality
haiku, senryu and haibun in English, and has a home page at
www.freewebs.com/shamrockhaiku
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 geenunn@yahoo.com.au
A review by Robert L Wilson of Beverley George's tanka anthology empty garden is now available on Simply Haiku Spring 2007
www.simplyhaiku.com/
Previous reviews of this book may be found on www.eucalypt.info under the heading empty garden
Wild Grapes is a Blog dedicated to providing readers with the latest Australian Poetry news.
The inaugural issue of Eucalypt, Australia's first literary journal for tanka only, is now available.
The first issue features the work of 27 Australian tanka poets, as well as that of leading tanka poets from Japan, USA, NZ, Canada, England, South Africa, Croatia and India.
Eucalypt is attractively produced on Hanno Art Silk paper and contains poems only It is supported by a free electronic occasional newsletter and a web-site www.eucalypt.info www.eucalypt.info
"Tanka Online at www.tankaonline.com which premiers February 1, 2007, is a website teaching poets new to the form how to write tanka. A collaborative effort by poets Jeanne Emrich, Michael McClintock, Tom Clausen, Margaret Chula (all of the USA), Amelia Fielden (Australia) and Mariko Kitakubo (Japan), it features essays and articles on writing and appreciating tanka, a tanka gallery, recommended reading, and more."
The Haiku Section in the magazine FreeXpresSion has been launched and
the first edition is now available. The two page centrespread presents
haiku from around the world, with contributions from Peggy Willis Lyles
and Ferris Gilli (USA), Dhugal Lindsay (Japan) and Ernest Berry (New
Zealand). Also represented are respected Australian writers, such as
Janice Bostok, Beverley George, John Bird, Myron Lysenko, Ron Moss,
Ross Clark, Vanessa Proctor, Lyn Reeves, Graham Nunn and others.
Members of HaikuOz are invited to submit material, up to five
unpublished haiku at a time, not on offer elsewhere. Send these direct
to the Haiku Editor, Quendryth Young (quendrythyoung@bigpond.com),
including your postal address. Please keep a copy of your submission.
You will be notified within seven weeks concerning the acceptance of
your work. Any writer whose work is published receives a complimentary
copy.
JODIE HAWTHORNE has a new haiku book WATCHING PILGRIMS, WATCHING ME, published by Pardalote Press. It was launched in Tasmania. Kaye Aldenhoven had an opportunity to talk to Jodie in Darwin, as she waits for the birth of her child, before returning to China.
Kaye: I enjoyed reading your newly launched book of haiku. I admire this village image:
where children play
the words of Mao
whitewashed
How did you come to write haiku?
Jodie: I remember writing haiku in primary school; year 5 or 6. At that time it was part of the school curriculum and we wrote it according to syllable count, which is perhaps not the best way but helps children to write to form.
I remember the haiku were hung from the school ceiling on coloured cards and I was very proud as the teacher made a special remark about my haiku in front of the class. I never forgot the experience and a whole 18 years later (year 2002) while I was staying in Melbourne with a friend haiku entered my life again.
My girl friend was asked to teach a practical writing class to an adult group but couldn't think of any writing form that she could cover in 3 one hour sessions. I asked her if she had heard of haiku. She hadn't, but was inspired by my brief description and raced off to the library to find some reference books. I read through the books as well to refresh my memory, learning more about haiku and its history, form etc. and began to compose some.
Haiku Journey Computer Game
(Report by Michael Dylan Welch)
A new computer game for word-game lovers from Hot Lava Games, available for free preview at http://www.nstorm.com/games/game_detail.asp?game_id=492. Featuring 540 haiku by 45 leading English-language haiku poets, selected by Michael Dylan Welch.
Hot Lava Games has just released Haiku Journey, a computer game that lets you explore Japan while "solving" some of the best English-language haiku available today. If you enjoy haiku and the board game Boggle, you'll enjoy Haiku Journey. In the words of Hot Lava Games: "Escape to picturesque and pastoral Japan at the foot of Mount Fuji in this new word puzzler. The unique experience of Haiku Journey is part logical mindbender and part relaxation therapy! Build words to gain inspiration and reveal/solve original haiku. Collect ancient artifacts along the way to power up your abilities. Includes two modes of play and a tranquil screensaver." And in the words of GameZebo: "Haiku Journey offers a unique experience. Relaxing and brain-straining at once, this oriental word-puzzler oozes atmosphere and high production values. From its slick interface to stunning visuals to tranquil music to challenging puzzles, it has it all, even a calming screensaver."
Haiku Oz members, John Bird, Quendryth Young and Nathalie Buckland have just posted the second edition of their website, Wollumbin Haiku Workshop. The web address is
http://users.mullum.com.au/jbird/Wksp/W-home.html
Comments are invited so please, visit the site, read the haiku and offer your feedback.
There is a now a review by Patricia Prime of Beverley George's tanka anthology, empty garden, on Stylus www.styluspoetryjournal.com see 'Reviews'. The review by Dave Bacharach for MET (Modern English Tanka) Issue 2 can be found on www.eucalypt.info under empty garden
Yellow Moon 20, Summer 2006, the final issue, was mailed on Wednesday, 20th December. It seems to have reached a number of people just in time for Christmas. If, within Australia, you haven't received it yet, hopefully it will be with you next week. A week or so later for overseas poets.
Season's Greetings,
Regards,
Beverley
Beverley George
www.eucalypt. info
Chrysanthemum was originally a Latin word (the same in German & English) that emphasized the connection of the ancient Greek-Roman tradition to the Japanese. The chrysanthemum is known as one of the Five Noble Plants in the Chinese-Japanese tradition.
Chrysanthemum is an international internet magazine that will appear twice a year, and will showcase previously unpublished Haiku/Senryû, Tanka, Haibun, Essays and Interviews in German and English. Haiku/Senryû submitted in English will be translated into German, if not already accompanied by a German translation, which is welcome but not required. Tanka, Haibun, Essays and Interviews will appear only in their original language. Submissions in languages other than German or English are also welcome as long as as they are accompanied by a translation into German or English.
Chrysanthemum welcomes work based both on traditional values as well as modern, innovative contributions in form and content, although there will be a special focus on innovative work of quality. Chrysanthemum hopes to achieve a connection between the heritage of the genre and the development and adaption in countries outside Japan.
A new outlet for haiku in Australia will be launched in January 2007. For thirteen years the monthly literary magazine, FreeXpresSion, published by Peter Pike (currently president of the Fellowship of Australian Writers, NSW Inc.) has comprised stories, poetry and articles from up to 400 subscribers. A haiku section is to be incorporated, and members of HaikuOz are invited to submit material, up to five unpublished haiku, not on offer elsewhere.
Continue reading "A new publication opportunity for haiku poets" »
low tide
I walk to you
across the sky
On 2nd October Jeanette Stace died peacefully after suffering a stroke. She was one of New Zealand’s leading haiku poets and made an important contribution to English language haiku, not only through her own poetry, but also by encouraging others to write and enjoy haiku. She received many awards for her work, but was always modest about her achievements. Jeanette was an invaluable member of the New Zealand Poetry Society committee for many years, co-edited two NZPS anthologies and judged the NZPS junior haiku competition. She was involved in the Windrift and Zazen haiku groups and helped organise several haiku projects, such as the Ikebana, Haiku, Bonsai exhibition in Wellington earlier this year. She was still leading haiku workshops in her late 80s.
Jeanette touched many people’s lives. She was warm, energetic and had the most wonderful sense of humour.
grandson’s visit
we compare notes
on his parents
by Vanessa Proctor
Red Moon's new web-site is http://www.redmoonpress.com/
Be sure to visit.
Beverley George's tanka collection, empty garden, is now available.
Details and an order form are on www.eucalypt.info see empty garden.
This small book is exquisitely designed and is printed on quality gloss paper.
To read a review by Dave Bacharach, published on Modern English Tanka, go to
http://www.modernenglishtanka.com/digital/2006d/emptygardenreview.html