President’s Message
Haiku as a practice thrives on solitude. Time alone – going on a ginkō or doing a mundane task such as peeling vegetables, washing dishes or pulling weeds – allows us to pay attention to bodily sensations and our mind’s wanderings. Such solitary experiences often provide substance for our poems.
Our haiku practice also grows through connecting with fellow poets. That might be as simple as reading another poet’s work, or listening to a podcast. It’s perhaps when we are able to actively engage with other poets that our own practice has the most opportunity to develop through exposure to varied perspectives and sometimes challenging ideas about what makes a good haiku. Workshopping poems or discussing haiku with others, whether in-person or through electronic means, can really deepen our understanding of the form and improve our own writing practice.
Preparations are now in full-swing for Haiku Down Under 2024, which will take place via Zoom next month, 16th-18th August. While I acknowledge that meeting online has many limitations and doesn’t work for everyone, the weekend will provide a unique occasion to explore haiku in depth and connect with communities of haiku poets In Australia, New Zealand and beyond. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to take a look at the exciting programme that our amazing presenters are set to deliver. To take part in the weekend and make the most of the opportunity to actively engage with fellow haiku poets, please register via the online form by 11th August. It’s free! As one of the four co-organisers, I look forward to ‘meeting’ many of you next month.
Leanne Mumford.
Winter ginko in Perth
Paperbark Haiku’s winter ginko will be held from 10.00am 26th July 2024. Participants are invited to meet in The Lounge Room on James, 187 James Street in Guildford, WA., opposite Guildford Train Station. Pop on your beanie and woolly socks for an exploration of Guildford. New or old practitioners to haiku are all welcome. Contact Coral Carter at coralacarter @ gmail.com.
Haiku as meditation, with Vanessa Proctor
Society of Women Writers
Wednesday 14th August 2024 – 10:15 am to 12:00 pm
Place: Dixson Room, State Library of NSW, Sydney
Cost: Members $40, non-members $55
Haiku can help us to slow down in our fast-paced lives and see the world differently. In this workshop we will discuss the construction of haiku in English and work at juxtaposing images to create vibrant short poems. The practice of writing haiku is also beneficial for other types of writing as it hones our work, cutting out all unnecessary words. Together we will immerse ourselves in images of the natural world and our daily lives. Beginners and more experienced haiku poets are welcome.
For further details and to book, see the Society of Women Authors webpage.
Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival
The annual Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival will take place at Auburn Botanic Gardens from Saturday 17th August to Sunday 25th August. Vanessa Proctor will facilitate a haiku event on Wednesday 21st August from midday. The festival is a popular and ticketed event. See the Cumberland Council website for general information about the festival, including how to buy tickets.
Spring equinox haiga contest
For the spring equinox in September AHS will run a haiga contest, inviting submissions of haiku in response to artwork provided by Olivia Ark. We’ll announce submission dates and conditions on the website in September, and look forward to your entries.
Echidna Tracks – September submissions
For Echidna Tracks: Issue 14 Summer/Autumn 2025, we invite your best and previously unpublished haiku and senryu on any topic that stirs your imagination.
The submission period for Issue 14 will be open during September 2024. Please carefully read the guidelines on the Submissions page, and make your submissions via the Submissions form. Anyone can submit work, but as this is a website for the collection of Australian haiku, we are looking for work that comes from an authentic experience of living in or visiting Australia.
Good news
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.
Resources for you
We’ve updated our Resources page to help you find useful haiku content online. When you’re looking for The Australian experience, guidelines for new haiku poets, or eBooks by Australian poets, start from the Haiku tab or follow this link.
Keep warm, and we’ll see you at Haiku Down Under next month. From the Australian Haiku Society Committee.
Australian Haiku Society 