March 2024
Thanks to everyone who contacted AHS to let us know the good news about various poets in our community. Please keep sending in news items for sharing.
In this issue:
* competition wins and other awards and recognition
* International Haiku Poetry Day
* Haiku Down Under 2024 update
6th Basho-an competition results feature Australian poets
Hearty congratulations to Simon Hanson for his Basho-an Award, one of three in the 6th Basho-an International English Haiku Competition. Simon’s winning poem, judge’s comments and Simon’s response are all available on the Basho-an web page. Greg Piko and Mark Miller also had winning poems. The contest attracted 1768 entries from 44 countries and regions. For full details of the winners see the basho-award-2023 PDF.
Trailblazing by Gregory Piko
Gregory Piko’s intriguing Gundaroo was one of the Haiku winners in the Trailblazers Contest of 2023. This contest challenges poets to use haiku and tanka in new and unusual ways. The poem is a multi-ku using the technique of ‘haiku shuffle’. You can read more about the poem and how to ‘haiku shuffle’ on Gregory’s website.
Book award for Maurice Nevile
Last year Maurice Nevile’s first book of haiku, titled ‘Translating Loss: A haiku collection’, won an ACT Notable Book Award for Poetry (2023). The book collects poems mostly previously published in national and international haiku/senryu journals and sites (e.g. Frogpond, Modern Haiku, cattails, Wales Haiku Journal, Echidna Tracks, Failed Haiku, Presence, Prune Juice, Stardust Haiku)
Haiga success
Julia Wakefield’s haiga out without my phone received a ‘Traditional Honorable Mention’ in the Eighth Jane Reichhold Memorial Haiga Competition. This contest is facilited by the senryu journal failed haiku.
Hobart readings by Ron C. Moss
In February Ron C. Moss appeared at two events at Fuller’s Bookshop in Hobart. On the 9th Ron was in conversation with Susan Murphy, Zen teacher and author. Ron was invited to contribute haiku from his 2021 collection Cloud Hands as a capping verse to each chapter of Susan’s book A Fire Runs through All Things: Zen Koans for Facing the Climate Crisis. The following week, on the 16th, Ron was one of several Tasmanian poets to read their work at the launch of Under the Same Moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology.
International Haiku Poetry Day – 17th April
International Haiku Poetry Day takes place next month on Wednesday 17th April. The Australian Haiku Society is currently putting together an online event for haiku groups to be held on the evening of the 17th. If you are planning a local public event or activity to celebrate the occasion, and would like it promoted, please use the Contact Secretary form to get in touch with us with the details so we can let others know.
Haiku Down Under 2024 update
Thanks to everyone who submitted proposals for presentations, workshops and other activities. An exciting line-up of confirmed presenters has now been announced. The programme will be posted online in April and registrations will open on 1st June 2024. The conference will run Friday to Sunday 16th to 18th August. Visit the website, follow on Facebook or subscribe to the email list for updates.
Australian Haiku Society 