Month: January 2024

Help Steer the Australian Haiku Society

Calling for Expressions of Interest to join the Executive Committee

The Australian Haiku Society is calling on Australian haiku poets to submit expressions of interest to serve in several positions on the Society’s Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is responsible for the administration of the Society so that it can fulfill its mission. The Society exists to promote and support English-language haiku in Australia and encourage the enjoyment of this poetic form in the Australian community.

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New Year, New Opportunities

January 2024

1. We are calling for Expressions of Interest in joining the Australian Haiku Society Executive Committee. Look out for the details coming shortly in a separate post.
2. Hobart Launch: under the same moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology. 16th February at Fullers Bookshop. Further details below.
3. Although it is several months away, we are encouraging you to start planning how you will celebrate International Haiku Poetry Day on 17 April. More details below.
4. Return of Haiku Down Under conference in August. See below for dates.
5. Sandra Simpson, our colleague over in New Zealand, maintains a fantastic international list of competition and publication opportunities at Haiku NewZ.
6. Congratulations to Lorraine Haig on the publication of her first haiku collection Curving into Light, available from Forty South. Congratulations to Gavin Austin, Rose van Son, Wanda Amos, Carol Reynolds and Julie Constable for their great results in the Summer Solstice Non-Seasonal and Seasonal Kukai contests. If you’re an Australian haiku poet who has recently won a prize or received an award for your haiku, haibun or haiga, if you’ve been published in a book or been invited to read your work, we’d like to know so we can share the good news. Please use the Contact Secretary form to tell us about your recent achievement.

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Results of the AHS 2023 Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai: Non-Seasonal

I would like to congratulate all the winners and thank everyone who participated in the summer solstice kukai. I looked for some interesting and somewhat different images this year, hoping that the responses would also be of a similar nature, and I’m pleased to say the winner’s list reflects just that. The seasonal image was captured looking from the porthole of the Earnslaw, a 1912 Edwardian twin-screw steamer based at Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand – a stunning cruise if you ever get the chance to view one of the most beautiful places in the world.

1st Place

childhood
the things locked
behind time’s door

Gavin Austin 

I really enjoyed such a clear and well-stated emotional poem that resonated with the strong solid image of the door. The poet uses an interesting phrase, time’s door, suggesting that so much is locked away in secret places over the passing of time. Combined with the single word first line, childhood, this is very nicely conceived poem and an interesting connection to the image, creating an effective haiga.

Continue reading “Results of the AHS 2023 Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai: Non-Seasonal”

Results of the AHS 2023 Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai: Seasonal

I would like to congratulate all the winners and thank everyone who participated in the summer solstice kukai. I looked for some interesting and somewhat different images this year, hoping that the responses would also be of a similar nature, and I’m pleased to say the winner’s list reflects just that. The seasonal image was captured looking from the porthole of the Earnslaw, a 1912 Edwardian twin-screw steamer based at Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand – a stunning cruise if you ever get the chance to view one of the most beautiful places in the world.

1st Place

wind-snapped sky—
out by the heads
the seal colony barking

Sandra Simpson

From the very first reading, I was taken by the original opening line, wind-snapped, which is a perfect description of the sharpness and power of a blue sky. The poet places us in a nautical setting with the haiku, artfully creating a subtle double meaning with out by the heads, which is of course a land mass, and perhaps also the seals barking their heads off! Such fun and a worthy winner that works very well with the seed image and, rather than describing the image, gives us a strong shift to another place with beautiful descriptive language.

Continue reading “Results of the AHS 2023 Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai: Seasonal”

Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra

Thursday, 11 January 2024

So good to be back together in the shade of bird-busy oaks —Kathy Kituai, Glenys Ferguson, Hazel Hall, Greg Piko and Jan Dobb.  We missed Marietta MacGregor, who was out of town

With a new year starting up, it seemed appropriate to assess any ‘suggestions, preferences, or complaints’ about our direction for the future months. Immediate unanimity—keep going just the way we are!  Our unstructured informality suits very well indeed.  Accordingly, we got under way. . .

Due to our curiosity at a previous gathering when Hazel spoke of Sedoka, she had kindly prepared a detailed introduction for us, complete with examples and notes to take away and ponder at leisure. . . and maybe have a go at writing?  A lively discussion was immediately under way.  For most of us this old Japanese form is new territory, even though it incorporates some familiar techniques. Again, we admired Hazel’s explorations of—and her beautiful writing of—the less familiar forms. She urged us to visit the Songbirds Sedoka Journal on the UHTS website.

Jan then produced a small book with yellowing pages that she had picked up by chance at a second-hand book fair—James Hackett: Haiku Poetry, volume three (1968).  As the book was passed around the table and various examples of Hackett’s verse were read aloud, the subsequent history and development of English language haiku became apparent.  However, we did wonder at times whether some of the ‘old’ ways are re-appearing today as ‘acceptable’ after all.  Haiku remains fluid. Hackett’s sense of wonder at things ordinary is obvious and, at times, Issa-like.  An early pioneer to be valued as ELH continues to evolve.

As we leave the table, the currawongs descend for their round of spirited interchange—this time it’s all about cold chips!

Jan Dobb 

Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal returns in 2024

Editor Steliana Voicu is currently calling for submissions for Issue 6 of Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal, with the theme of ‘Urban Blossoms’ – city in spring. Submissions close on 20th January, with a planned publication date of 14th February. Please see the current submission page for all the details.

The calendar for themes, submission periods and publication dates for 2024 is now available on the calendar page – scroll down to Issue 6 for the start of the 2024 calendar.