Author: Lyn Reeves

Watersmeet Spring Ginko September 2020

We braved the inclement weather for our spring ginko to meet at the Hobart Royal Botanical Gardens.

Following 30 minutes of solitary walks, soaking up the gardens in all their spring glory and jotting down haiku or haiku ideas, we gathered in Succulent (the garden’s restaurant) for brunch.

It was a full house with Irene McGuire, Ross Coward, Ron Moss, Lyn Reeves, Leanne Jaeger, Lorraine Haig, Terry Whitebeach and Jane Williams. As this was the first time all eight members had managed to meet in quite a while, the atmosphere was buzzing joyfully.

Continue reading “Watersmeet Spring Ginko September 2020”

Watersmeet Ginko – 26th June 2020

A winter walk in Hobart is always unpredictable because of the uncertainty of the weather. In the week leading up to our scheduled ginko we experienced days of heavy rain but we had the good fortune of a clear day and the use of an air b&b at Fern Tree, Mount Wellington for our get-together. The easing of restrictions meant that we could gather as a small group so we decided to make a day of it, sharing lunch, haiku, ginko and companionship. Continue reading “Watersmeet Ginko – 26th June 2020”

Watersmeet Zoom 22 May

Like other haiku groups, Watersmeet members had to rely on the internet for our May gathering, and scheduled a Zoom meeting for Friday 22 May.

Lorraine Haig initiated the topic for discussion some weeks beforehand, sending us articles on the topic of yugen, and inviting us to research and contribute further findings on this elusive term. Email exchanges followed, sharing more thoughts on the subject and links to relevant articles. We prepared for our meeting by looking for haiku that we felt expressed the aesthetic of yugen. These could be haiku written by ourselves or by others. Those able to take part in our Zoom discussion were Lorraine Haig, Ron Moss, Ross Coward, Lyn Reeves and (briefly) Jane Williams.

silenceRon mentioned that yugen is something that he aims to express in his brush paintings, an element of many of his haiga, and that the following words describing the symbols for yugen, from an article by David Anderson, ‘Yugen – a spiritual feeling too deep for words’ held particular resonance for him. Continue reading “Watersmeet Zoom 22 May”

Watersmeet Virtual Ginko

Since last year’s “Haiku Windows” event at Fullers Bookshop where Watersmeet members celebrated International Haiku Poetry Day with customers and passers-by, we have continued to meet, interspersing monthly meetings with seasonal ginkos in various places – Cornelian Bay, The Botanical Gardens and Kingston Beach, followed by sharing our haiku over lunch.

photo: Mount Nelson by Ross Coward

The first ginko for this year was planned for 27th March at Mount Nelson. Ross Sampson Coward, our designated leader for the walk, came up with the idea of a virtual ginko. He visited the location, created a mud map and took photographs of the points along the way. He then emailed us:

Continue reading “Watersmeet Virtual Ginko”

Cloudcatchers Summer Ginko #56

There were ten of us visited Torakina Park, at the mouth of the Brunswick River, to participate in the Cloudcatcher’s fifty-sixth ginko. It was very warm, but the sea breeze contributed to our comfort.

The site had been chosen in the hope that our beloved founder and patron, John Bird, who lives in this area, might have recovered sufficiently from his heart surgery last June to be able to join us. And he did! It was the first time for eighteen months, and our delight at having him with us once more was immense. Yes, he does carry some physical evidence of his long illness, but maintains that lovely smile, that wondrous voice, and a hug for each one as warm as ever! He involved himself in the readings, and from his lips we received some guiding words and concepts once again.

A request had been made that participants bring up to five haiku written since our last meeting, on the themes of bushfires, heat and the festive season. These were read in turn around the table, and readers and listeners noted any that warranted workshopping after the readings. Continue reading “Cloudcatchers Summer Ginko #56”

Writing Haiku – workshop this weekend!

MyronAs part of the Melbourne Spoken Word Festival, Myron Lysenko will be leading a haiku workshop on Sunday 14th July.

Myron has been teaching contemporary haiku since the end of the twentieth century. He will show examples of haiku and will teach you how to compose haiku and how to use specific techniques to achieve this. If you are in Melbourne this weekend take the opportunity to learn more about the art and craft of contemporary haiku.

You can find more details and book for the workshop here Continue reading “Writing Haiku – workshop this weekend!”