Month: May 2015

Publication of John Carley’s “Renku Reckoner”

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 athttp://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.

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Cloudcatchers’ Ginko #37

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.

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Australians prominent in Wild Plum Haiku Contest 2015

Congratulations to Australian haiku poets Vanessa Proctor (Sydney), Simon Hanson (Allendale) and Marietta McGregor (Canberra) for figuring prominently in the Wild Plum Haiku Contest 2015.

Vanessa won third prize with the following poem:

an open door
evening shadows reach out
to frogsong

Haiku by Simon –

shaping water
and my reverie
river stones

and by Marietta –

my kitchen garden
overrun with orange pumpkins
the weight of summer

gained two out of the six Honourable Mentions conferred.

With both of the top two prize-winners hailing from Romania, and with other Honourable Mentions arising from India, New Zealand and Canada, the Wild Plum Haiku Contest 2015 truly was an international affair.

Given that 105 poets from 27 countries entered the competition, it is all the more noteworthy that Australians filled three out of the top nine placings.

Comments from the judge Gillena Cox regarding Vanessa’s haiku (along with responses to the first two place-getters, plus the text of all six Honourable Mentions) can be accessed at this link:

Success for Jan Dobb – With Words Haiku Contest

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:
http://area17.blogspot.com.au

Readers accessing this blog will find – at the top – the names of poets whose haiku have been rated as Highly Commended and Commended.

The prize-winning poems appear further down the page (beneath other visual material).

Competition rules allowed poets to offer pieces which had been previously published – Jan’s winning haiku first appeared in “Windfall 3”.

Jan Dobb’s success here goes hand-in-hand with another haiku of hers having been short-listed recently in the Touchstone Awards.