Our hearts go out to the people of New Zealand, especially the Muslim community over the recent tragedy in Christchurch, we stand with you, share your pain and embrace your love and friendship.
Autumn Equinox Haiku String
Thank you to all participants in our recent Autumn Equinox Haiku String on the theme of City Life, your contributions are much appreciated. You can revisit the String at your leisure here .
Review: Changing Light by Gavin Austin
Below is an excerpt from a review by Patricia Prime on Gavin Austin’s recent book, Changing Light.
“The haiku in changing light give voice to or comment on the everyday or less everyday objects, places and experiences. These are quiet, hard-won poems, mature and youthful at once, in which one life, its secrets kept, its inner life explored, becomes all our lives. You’ll find reflections on everything from a spider’s web to an old stockman to the sea’s song; honest and urgent meditations on solitude, urban life, death and the human condition. It is a thought-provoking work of art by a gifted poet. This is a collection to cherish and return to for its intense observation and contemplation. Austin explores his country in ways at once lyrical and dramatic, with a rich human sympathy and curiosity, and with a powerful sense of memory.”
Patricia Prime
Kokako 30
April, 2019
Ordering details for Changing Light can be found on the Alba Publishing website.
Echidna Tracks
Echidna Tracks Issue 2: Landscapes is now complete. The editors sincerely thank all who contributed to the issue as well as those who visited the site now and then to enjoy the many offerings. Issue 3: Insects, Animals, Birds and Fish is now open for submissions.
Issue 3: Insects, Animals, Birds and Fish (Submissions Accepted during April 2019)
For Issue 3 we will be looking for previously unpublished haiku sharing your observations and interactions with insects, animals, birds or fish. Species definitions do not matter here; amoeba, spiders, butterflies, molluscs, whales, coral reefs, ecosystems and our own animal nature all lie within our scope. We prefer haiku compatible with an appreciation of all with whom we cohabit the earth. Our focus will be on Australian fauna as well as introduced species that now feature in the Australian context.
Haiku submissions for Echidna Tracks Issue 3 may be made via the form that will appear on the Submissions page throughout the month of April 2019.
Lynette Arden, Lyn Reeves Simon Hanson
Haiku at Hamilton
by Beverley George
It was a pleasure to accept an invitation from Hunter FAW to present a haiku workshop on March 6th. This lively group of writers practices a variety of genres, and the 14 members and friends present were very receptive to first reading aloud around the room a selection of haiku of the Japanese masters and then of contemporary Australians, jotting notes and later sharing their thoughts. Since the meeting, messages received from various members and from president, Brian Noble, indicate that there will be many imaginatively and carefully prepared original new haiku brought to the next meeting for discussion and group workshopping.
Beverley George
Convenor: White Pebbles Haiku Group
Editor: Windfall: Australian Haiku
Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group Presents
An introduction to Haiku
haiku
what are they
why we write them
Saturday 6 April, from 12:30 – 2:30 pm
Box Factory Upstairs
Cost: $8
The haiku is an ancient Japanese poetry form, but it is as relevant today as it has always been. Western poets have adopted and adapted the form to suit contemporary tastes, and the fact that the form continues to evolve in Japan is, paradoxically, entirely in keeping with tradition.
Bindii member Julia Wakefield will give a brief introduction to the combined complexity and simplicity of the haiku form. After a short break, there will be a series of group exercises that focus on composing haiku.
Refreshments provided.
To book, contact Julia at Julia.wakefield@gmail.com or call 0433975590
Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group wishes to thank Lee Bentley for her contribution as Co-Convener since assuming the role in 2013. Lee, in addition to her organizational role for the group as Co-Convener, has been our Treasurer, managed our book sales and run workshops including email workshops for the group. Lee edited our anthology Willow Light and was the judge for the Langhorne Creek Literary Competition for haiku in Primary Schools, sponsored by Bindii for the four years of the competition from 2015 to 2018. Lee has made an outstanding contribution to the Bindii group and to the fostering of haiku in South Australia. She has stepped down from her role as Co-Convener because of work and personal commitments. Thank you Lee.
Groups and Gatherings
Catch up on the latest reports from some of the regional groups by clicking on the links below.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Louise Hopewell for runner-up in the Annual Readers’ Choice Best Senryu published in Shamrock for 2018 with:
moving day
you leave behind
the welcome mat
Louise Hopewell
(Shamrock # 40, 2018)
You can read all selected Readers’ Choice Best Haiku and Senryu in Shamrock’s current issue.
THF reVirals
Among the interesting commentaries on this haiku by Julie Warther, Lorin Ford’s thoughts were selected for re:Virals 181
late summer
what the cicadas insist
I know
Julie Warther, tinywords 18:2 (2019)
Haiga / Music Collaboration
Exploring a mix of haiku, black & white photography and music; Wild River is the latest enthralling collaboration by Ron C. Moss and Steve Hodge – enjoy.
The Mainichi English Haiku Best of 2018
Selections and comments by Dhugal J Lindsay are now available in pdf
Planned Ginko / Haiku Gathering
If you’re in Perth, Western Australia, come and join the Paperbark Haiku Group for an Autumn Ginko/Haiku Gathering
25 Francis Street
Perth Cultural Centre
Perth WA 6000
10 am onwards
International Haiku Poetry Day
The Haiku Foundation has some suggestions about ways of getting involved in International Haiku Poetry Day on April 17 including the invitation to participate in the HaikuLife Film Festival and the Earth Rise Rolling Haiku Collaboration with a poem or poems relevant to this United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages.
You can visit their archive here to access various contributions in previous years.
Members News compiled by Simon Hanson
Australian Haiku Society 