Month: September 2008

Cloudcatchers Ginko No.11 (spring) 2008

The Cloudcatchers’ Spring ginko was held on Friday, 19 September 2008, the eleventh since we began with a summer ginko in December 2005. The weather was cloudy and breezy, but fine and cheerful. We had a great day, gathering at 9.30 am at the Bangalow Weir (Far North Coast NSW). There were ten of us, including our unofficial Patron, Janice Bostok, whom we always love to welcome, and John Bird, whose idea it all was in the first place. Three poets participated for the first time, with two of them having graduated from local workshops. The area offers the dammed Wilson’s Creek, a bit of wilderness and some semi-rural environment.

Opportunity was given for swapping of books, information about members achievements, and up-coming activities, including the 4th Pacific Rim Haiku Conference next September.

The ginko itself lasted forty-five minutes, and was followed by some serious writing, and then the sharing of first drafts. Many worthy haiku were created, with other captured moments awaiting a bit of polish. These were read aloud, one at a time, around one big table. Great enthusiasm and quite a bit of laughter! Then, at noon, we lunched together at the Bangalow Hotel.

Following the ginko an email Round Robin is currently being conducted, comprising five submitted haiku, written at the ginko, from each poet. Each participant will comment on all offered material. And we love it. If you are in the area and wish to join us for the summer ginko, contact Quendryth Young at: quendrythyoung@bigpond.com

Quendryth Young

New Haibun by Beverley George on Haibun Today

Haibun Today edited New haibun by Beverley George on Haibun Todayby Jeffrey Woodward has a new haibun by Beverley George ‘Sticky Fingers ‘ on its blog spot. To view the poem visit: http://haibuntoday.blogspot.com/2008/09/beverley-george-sticky-fingers.html

Beverley’s previous haibun ‘Roadsidia ‘published on September 6 is also available from this web-site.

September 16, 2008

WA Workshop

On Monday 1st September 2008, during National Poetry Week 2008, I was fortunate to attend a Haiku Workshop organised by the City of Perth Library, and held in the Library in Hay Street, Perth.

The workshop was skilfully presented by Maureen Sexton. Maureen is the WA Regional Representative for HaikuOz, the Secretary of WA Poets Inc, and has been published both in Australia and abroad.

The 2 hour workshop was one of several events organised by the City of Perth Library. The other events included a Haiku Competition, a Haiku Display and two Poetry Sessions with local poets. The winners of the Haiku Competition were announced the morning of the workshop.

We enjoyed an interesting and informative introduction to Haiku. We listened with enthusiasm as we learnt about its history and pioneers.

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Spring Meeting of the Red Dragonflies (akatombo)

The spring meeting of the Red Dragonflies was held on 13th September at Lesley Walter’s home in Summer Hill. Vanessa Proctor led members, Beverley George, Barbara Fisher, Lesley Walter and Cynthia Rowe in a productive afternoon. Dawn Bruce sent her apologies.

Special guest Katherine Samuelowicz, editor of paper wasp and respected haijin, inspired with her talk about time and the sense of place in poetry.

Beverley George briefly outlined the progress of organising Wind over Water, the fourth Haiku Pacific Rim Conference, due to take place 22-25 September 2009 on the NSW Central Coast.

by Cynthia Rowe

Haiku and the Seasons: an exploration

Beverley George

Beverley George is president of the Australian Haiku Society

The entire Japanese poetic tradition is grounded in the observance of the passing of the seasons, and it is quite simply second nature for Japanese to view human emotions through seasonal metaphors. Liza Dalby

The link between seasonal awareness and the writing of Japanese haiku is apparent. What is not so clear and causes much debate is whether this essential aspect of Japanese haiku can be successfully adopted into other cultural sensibilities and linguistic frameworks, including the English language.

In this article I would like to discuss the situation in Japan as I have observed it directly, rather than relying on readily accessible texts such as those by William J Higginson and Donald Keene and the pioneering work of RH Blyth, Harold G Henderson and James W Hackett, with which readers interested in haiku will already be familiar. I would then like to offer some thoughts about the importation of haiku into Australian writing and how it might be more widely understood and better incorporated. Three visits to Japan in the past two years and ten years of studying haiku do not an expert make, and I hope the tone of this paper is discursive and exploratory rather than in any way prescriptive. Writing haiku is a journey, not a destination, and it has many pilgrims.

Read the entire article by Beverley George as a PDF file

seasons

Haiku Workshop

Haiku Workshop Opportunity

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.
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Members Publication – Haiga Moments: Pens & Lens

Announcing the release of Haiga Moments: Pens & Lens, a delightful little volume of photographically illustrated Haiku/Senryu poetry, by photographer Raymond Belcourt and Haiku poet Dr. Ignatius Fay.

The authors’ styles are rooted in a visceral understanding and appreciation of the world around us at its most elemental, most unadorned. Their work reveals deep-rooted fascination with nature and a need to express their observations through their particular art forms. The result is more than a simple linking of photograph to verse. At times poignant, pointed, irreverent, even humorous, these Haiga are always engaging, thoughtprovoking.

Continue reading “Members Publication – Haiga Moments: Pens & Lens”