November 2023
melbourne launch of under the same moon
The Melbourne Launch of under the same moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology will be held at the Melbourne Athenaeum Theatre Library, Saturday 11 November, 3pm-5pm. Rob Scott’s interview about the anthology, hosted by Melbourne poet, Di Cousens and broadcast on 2nd November on Radio 3CR in Melbourne, can be heard here.
competition success for australian haiku poets
Australian haiku poets have recently enjoyed success in competitions and been awarded prizes. We extend our congratulations to them.
Alice Wanderer received an Honorable Mention in the United Haiku and Tanka Society Samurai Haibun Contest for her haibun Swung into Place by Construction Cranes.
Rob Scott received a Sakura Award in the International section of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival competition.
Rob Scott and Olivia Ark received an Honorable Mention in the Eighth Jane Reichhold Memorial Haiga Competition organised by the senryu journal Failed Haiku.
Poets who received 2023 Creatrix Haiku Awards from WA Poets, Inc in September included Gavin Austin (twice), Jaya Penelope, Matt Hetherington and Hazel Hall.
Haiku Down Under still seeking conference proposals
The programme for Haiku Down Under 2024 – A Sensory Journey will be shaped by the questions and ideas about haiku and related forms that practising poets are willing to share through presentations, workshops and other engaging activities. The organisers therefore welcome proposals that seek to explore and discuss such topics as how we can draw deeply on all our senses, how senses can be combined through synaesthesia, ways to stretch creativity, and more, in order to create unique poetry with surprising layers of meaning or unexpected intensity.
Proposals relating to senryu, linked forms, haibun, haiga, tanka and other cross-genre art forms, including those exploring unusual combinations of other art forms with poetry, are also very welcome.
Detailed information is on the Call for Proposals page of the HDU website, where there is a ‘Submit your Proposal’ button linked to the confidential proposal form. Anyone unsure about putting forward a proposal idea is encouraged to reach out to the Haiku Down Under team via their Contact Us page before submitting. Conference proposal submissions close on November 30.
Summer solstice haiga kukai
The Australian Haiku Society will be holding a Haiga Kukai for the Summer Solstice, occurring this year in Australia on the 22nd December. Once again Ron Moss will provide the inspiration, on this occasion supplying one image, which will be displayed on the AHS website from the 22nd to the 29th of December, and poets will be invited to submit one previously unpublished haiku or senryu inspired by the image. Ron will then select the winning poem, which will be displayed on the AHS website.
Other recognition for Australian Haiku Poets
Gavin Austin has been selected as Poet of the Month for The Haibun Gallery published by Triveni Haikai India.
Vanessa Proctor and Leanne Mumford were invited to programme The Haiku Foundation’s Haiku of the Day feature for the month of October. Many Australian poets were included in their theme of Inland Waters. Poems can still be viewed in the archive at The Haiku Foundation.
Australian Haiku Society 