To our valued members,
Firstly, our thoughts are with you and your loved ones during this unprecedented time. On behalf of the Australian Haiku Society Committee, we hope you’re all staying safe and well.
The outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) is a pandemic unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes. Now more than ever, we need to unite and look after each other, we need to do our part by staying at home and following the guidelines of social distancing.
Writing haiku has many benefits. It deepens our understanding of the world and ourselves. In times like these, exploring one’s thoughts and feelings can be therapeutic. Equally, the act of sharing haiku in an uncertain world has the capacity to inspire, move and gladden the hearts of other people, helping to forge deeper connections with each other. We encourage all our members to continue to write and share haiku in any way they can.
On that note, we understand that many of you would have had scheduled regional haiku group meetings during this time, and while it may not be possible to physically attend these gatherings, we encourage you to find an alternative means of communicating and sharing haiku. Fortunately, we live in times where it is relatively easy to stay connected with a vast array of platforms to choose from. I hope you are able to find one that suits your needs and look forward to seeing the results of your ‘virtual meetings’.
In 2020, the AHS is celebrating 20 years of promoting and sharing haiku and there are many exciting activities planned to mark this significant milestone. So, while you are cooped up in your homes, make sure you check back to our website regularly for announcements relating to that. We can’t wait to share this news with you!
One day down the track, the sun will shine and it will be safe for everyone to resume usual activities. Until that day, stay well, look after yourself and those around you. And write haiku.
Yours in haiku,
Rob Scott
President, AHS
Echidna Tracks Submissions
Echidna Tracks will be accepting submissions for Issue 5: Open Theme throughout the month of April. The editors invite your previously unpublished haiku and senryu on any topic that sirs your imagination and that is likely to stir the imaginations of our readers.
Please read the guidelines carefully.
Submissions may be made via the form that will appear on the Submissions page throughout the month of April 2020.
Lynette Arden
Lyn Reeves
Simon Hanson
Groups and Gatherings
To catch up on the latest from these regional groups click on the links below.
AHS Autumn Equinox Haiku String
The Australian Haiku Society Autumn Equinox String for 2020 is now completed. We sincerely thank everyone who contributed haiku to the String as well as those that simply visited the event to enjoy the offerings. If you wish you can revisit the event here.
And from an astronomical perspective what is the Equinox and Solstice you might wonder?
THF Touchstone Awards
The Haiku Foundation Touchstone Awards shortlists for both Individual Poems and for Distinguished Books for 2019 have been announced. Among those selected for individual poems were:
three tiny bones
in my inner ear
meadow lark
Marietta McGregor, The Heron’s Nest XXI:4
wind song
between boulders —
ochre handprints
Leanne Mumford, Echidna Tracks 2
moonlight what’s left of the river
Lorin Ford, The Heron’s Nest XXI:2
All haiku making the shortlist for Individual Poems can be found here.
Among those shortlisted for Distinguished Books was Ron C. Moss with Broken Starfish (Walleah Press, 2019)
All selections in this category can be found here
24th Kusamakura Haiku Competition
Congratulations Madhuri Pillai in sharing second place in the Kusamakura competition with:
almost spring
I stir a magpie trill
into my tea
Madhuri Pillai
All selections for this competition can be found here
Basho-an International Haiku Competition
Congratulations to Gregory Piko for being among the winners with:
little bits of sky
woven through straw –
my hat on my face
Gregory Piko
All results for this competition can be accessed here
Soka Matsubara International Haiku Competition
Congratulations to Gregory Piko for being placed in the Outstanding Haiku category with:
breaking
my journey
this pine
Gregory Piko
and also to Ron C. Moss for an Honourable mention with:
ancient pine
the teahouse entrance
scented with rain
Ron C. Moss
All results can be found at this link
British Haiku Society Awards 2019
Congratulations to Simon Hanson who received an Honourable mention with:
moon and mist
each becoming
a little of the other
Simon Hanson
Congratulations also to David Terelinck for an Honourable mention in the Tanka section and to Marietta McGregor for First Place and runner up in the Haibun section.
All of these works along with the other selections and judge’s comments can be found here
Maya Lyubenova International Haiku Contest 2020
Congratulations to Leonie Bingham for Third Place with:
bushfire haze
the fishpond frog
calls a mate
Leonie Bingham
All results can be read here
Third Edition Santoka International Haiku Contest
On the theme of Loneliness
Congratulations to Ron C. Moss who received a Highly commended with:
.
lunar eclipse . . .
a single moonflower
awake in the dark
Ron C. Moss
Click here to access all results.
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Wild Plum Haiku Contest 2020
Congratulations to Vanessa Proctor for an Honourable mention with
misty moorland . . .
taking shape the antlers
of a highland stag
Vanessa Proctor
All results for this contest can be found here
2020 AHA Haiku / Senryu Contest
Congratulations to Mark Miller for being Commended with:
shooting star
all the things
I might’ve been
Mark Miller
These results were announced in the February issue of Seedpods. To see all the selected poems along with judge’s comments click on this link. As Alan Summers wrote in the preamble to announcing these competition results; “I am so incredibly grateful for all the entries, whether ‘placed’ or not.”
It is well to be mindful of the wholly subjective nature of all human endeavour and activity and this is especially so in the creative arts where many great works lay unnoticed an uncelebrated; still, they are done and they enrich the world so.
hidden and unseen the burgeoning life in buds and bellies
Stuart Quine, 1962 – 2020
An inspirational selection of Stuart’s haiku can be found here.
Members’ News compiled by Simon Hanson
Australian Haiku Society 