Realising World Haiku Day was suddenly upon us, an event was organised to celebrate. A group of thirteen interested haiku writers gathered at the Maylands Library, Western Australia, and presented three of their favourite haiku and an explanation why the haiku were loved. Discussions followed.
Barry Sanbrook gave a short talk on the father of haiku, Matsuo Basho and recommended The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches by Matsuo Basho, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa and published by Penguin Classics.
Coral Carter presented jampackedelevatoreverybuttonpushed
John Stevenson USA from Haiku English The First One Hundred Years Allan Burns Norton Press 2013.
Fiona Evans read Nina Singh’s Honourable Mention in H. Gene Memorial Senryu Contest 2024
silent walk
her dog collar
in my pocket
Mike Spark gave us Jack Kerouac from On the Road
a snowflake
falls
into my beer
From Yosa Buson in The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse 1964, Rita Tognini loved
scampering over saucers
the sound of a rat
cold, cold
It was an interesting mix of old and new. Some participants presented their own work. We found the time allotted was too short for our planned activities.
Shae O’Reilly put together a document with the contributions of other attendees:
Barry Sanbrook read from The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches by Matsuo Basho, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa and published by Penguin Classics
Coral Carter, Haiku read or referred to
letting
the dog out —
the stars out
William J Higginson USA
letting out a fly
I let a fly in
Matt Hetherington Australia
jampackedelevatoreverybuttonpushed
John Stevenson USA
the
animal
in
me
can’t
be
spo
ken
to
tem
p
o
l
e
Peter Newton USA
a child’s drawing
the ladder to the sun
only three steps
Scott Metz USA
All haiku except Matt Hetherington’s are from Haiku in English The First Hundred Years edited by Jim Kaican, Philip Rowland and Allan Burns from Norton Press 2013
Matt Hetherington’s For Instance from Mulla Mulla Press 2015
Books mentioned
Natalie Goldberg’s Three Simple Lines– A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and
Homeland of Haiku
Natalie Goldberg’s Long Quiet Highway
Clips we didn’t see
Selected Haiku from 2018 from Alice Wanderer
Amazement Through the Ordinary Alan Summers
Selected haiku and senryu Louise Hopewell
Fiona Evans
Haiku read or referred to
her hand
on my wrist
moth dust
Sheila Sondik, Tinywords Issue 18.2, 17 October 2018
he digs
I daffodil
forty-odd autumns
Michele Root-Bernstein, Kingfisher Journal, Issue 7, 2023
silent walk
her dog collar
in my pocket
Neena Singh; Honorable Mention H. Gene Murtha Memorial Senryu Contest 2024
(dedicated to her beloved dog Rumi) Fiona H Evans website
Glen Phillips
Haiku read or referred to
FOUR APRIL HAIKU
GIRASOLE
New sun in spring begs
sunflower’s adoring gaze.
And grain grows gold again.
SKIPPING HAIKU
On the green pool’s skin
dragonflies do skip and spin.
Ink skips under pen.
LEAVES OF GRASS
Just a blade of green.
To defend turf, bamboo groves
grow as tall as trees.
DEATH BEAMS IN THE NIGHT SKY
We peered at shifting
Search-lights in those dark night skies.
War’s graffiti warned.
THREE HAIKU OF SUMMER
FINAL OBSERVATIONS
Raindrops falling down
ahead. This dry dust awaits
its latest assaults.
CAROLS BY FIRST LIGHT
Full-throated clear peals
at dawn announce black and white
magpie song assaults.
GREEN CRESCENTS
Tang on tongue of green
eucalypt crescents. They grow
tall under blue skies.
Four April Haiku and Three Haiku of Summer – Glen Phillips, 2025
Michael J Spark
Haiku read or referred to
a snowflake
falls
into my beer
Jack Kerouac – On the Road
‘Reflects Kerouac’s embrace of spontaneity and the beauty of everyday moments.’
parched
i breathe
into my cup
Mike Spark
dying tree
eternal forest
a bridge
Mike Spark
Nita Teoh
Haiku read or referred to
invigorating water
just my breath
in and out
Nita Teoh
screeching wakes me
yellow-tailed black cockatoo
delicately devouring olives
Nita Teoh
airport frenzy
eat, wait, board
ready! – like sardines in a can
Nita Teoh
Rita Tognini
Haiku read or referred to
Clouds now and then
Giving men relief
From moon viewing
Matsuo Basho
Scampering over saucers —
The sound of a rat.
Cold, cold.
Yosa Buson
For fleas, the night
Must be so very long,
So very lonely.
Kobayashi Issa
These three haiku came from The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse, 1964.
Translated with an introduction by Geoffrey Bowman and Anthony Thwaite, Penguin Books
Alba
As cool as the pale wet leaves
of the lily-of-the-valley
She lay beside me in the dawn
Ezra Pound – Selected Poems – Faber and Faber
Shae O’Reilly
Haiku read or referred to
flowers bloom and die
wind brings butterflies or snow
a stone won’t notice
worker bees can leave
even drones can fly away
the queen is their slave
watching white moon face
the stars never feel anger
blah, blah, blah, the end
All haiku are from Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk – W.W. Norton & Company, Inc
1996
Instagram: @ sopunk_art
Susanne Harford
Haiku read or referred to
O snail
Climb Mount Fuji,
But slowly, slowly!
Kobayashi Issa
This poem particularly appeals to me from my now-aged perspective. Looking back over my life endeavours I see how little I achieved. See, perhaps, my life would have been far more joyful if I’d listened more carefully, and that seems (to me, now) to be part of moving on in life slowly, slowly…..
Book mentioned
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem by Nam Le
Which book I comment on here as this poet’s steely English language variations of style, structure, and form provided me a unique and valuable comparison to traditional haiku/senryu presented in English language in multicultural, cross-cultural WA today.
Instagram: @ muminthelongrun
WA Paperbark group plans to make the World Haiku
Day an annual event in future.
Glen Phillips provided an original watercolour for the book’s cover.
Australian Haiku Society 