There was much chuckling, guffawing and general merriment at the first Fringe Myrtles meeting for 2024. The meeting was held on Sunday 17 March at our new home, the beautiful Atheneum Library, Melbourne’s only membership library, which celebrates its 185th birthday this year.
It really was like entering a time warp as, just a jump to the left away, The Rocky Horror Show matinee was in progress at the Atheneum Theatre. Attending the Fringe Myrtle gathering were Rob Scott, Robyn Cairns, Myron Lysenko, Alice Wanderer, Robbie Coburn, Liv Saint James, Louise Hopewell and, first timer, Rodney Williams.
The meeting started with attendees sharing haiku highlights, of which there were many. To name but a few, Robyn Cairns and Jennifer Sutherland have both had poems accepted by Seashores, Robbie Coburn was delighted to finally have a poem selected by Tiny Words (a feat many Myrtles continue to aspire to), Rob Scott and Liv Saint James had a beautiful haiga published in Akitsu Quarterly, Louise Hopewell won equal first place in the KM100NZ Haiku Competition and Myron Lysenko is continuing to work on his book of haiku about the war in Ukraine. Three Myrtles, Rob Scott, Alice Wanderer and Louise Hopewell announced that they will present at Haiku Down Under 2024, an impressive representation from our small group.
The meeting had the dual themes of autumn and humour, the latter selected by the March meeting convenor Louise Hopewell, whose Haiku Down Under workshop will focus on humourous haiku/senryu. There was general agreement among Myrtles that our world needs a good laugh and we haiku writers can do our bit by writing and sharing humourous poems. Participants read some of their own poems, as well as the work of others. We agreed there is much humour to be found in themes such as relationships, ageing and dogs, as well as in observations of the bizarreness of everyday life. We also discussed the fact that the haiku form lends itself well to humour, especially its key element of juxtaposition.
Some senryu read on the day were:
middle-age now –
my hairdresser asks
eyebrows too, sir?
Rodney Williams
A bird-loving man
his six pack
for half price
English muffins
Alice Wanderer
cereal box toy
a mouse jumps out
of the weetbix
Robyn Cairns
missionaries
at the door…
the dog has his say
Madhuri Pillai
Failed Haiku #44
burger joint
our argument
comes with the lot
Louise Hopewell
Otata #34
hungover
bacon and eggs spit
in my face
Rob Scott
out of nowhere, red moon press, 2016
And on the theme of autumn:
birthday in autumn –
the candle glow
of all the street trees
Janet Howie
autumn veranda
the vine sheds all
but the nest
Liv Saint James
The Myrtles have a busy few months ahead, with a reading at Woodend Chamber Poets to commemorate International Haiku Day, as well as a series of presentations and workshops to be run for Athenaeum Library members. And, in between all that, we all hope to find time to pen a few new ku, humorous or otherwise.
Louise Hopewell
Australian Haiku Society 