Number Eight Wire is the long-awaited Fourth New Zealand Haiku Anthology. The last anthology, the excellent The Taste of Nashi, was published a decade ago. The title Number Eight Wire is a reference from a haiku by Karen Peterson Butterworth to the New Zealand trait of innovation and resourcefulness – to be able to mend anything with number eight wire. It’s a fitting title which holds together a strong selection of 330 haiku from 70 poets which are, as the editors state in the introduction, ‘100% pure Aotearoa’, yet also universal. Continue reading “Number Eight Wire – Review by Vanessa Proctor”
Author: Lyn Reeves
Haiku Window- International Haiku Day
The poets of Watersmeet celebrated International Haiku Day on Wednesday 17th April by creating a window of haiku at Fullers Bookshop in Hobart. Fullers generously made space in the front of the shop, pushing back shelves and placing a table just inside the window where we spread a collection of haiku books for people to browse. The staff provided us with A5 size cards, the border designed by Ron Moss, on which we wrote our own or a favourite haiku. These we taped to the window for passers-by to read. A similar event held in 2006 was “Haiku Grafffiti” where we wrote on the shop windows – because of the time it took to clean the windows back then, it was decided to use cards this time. Continue reading “Haiku Window- International Haiku Day”
International Haiku Day with Watersmeet
Haiku Window
The haiku poets of Watersmeet will be creating a window of haiku at Fullers Bookshop in Collins Street Hobart to celebrate International Haiku Day, on Wednesday 17th April. Come along between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm to view the haiku and, if you feel inspired, add your own creations to the window display. Everyone welcome!
another Christmas
the dog and I
grow whiter
Joanne Watcyn-Jones
raking stones (Ozku, 2012)
Red Kelpie Haiku Group #18
Having woken the cat and I with a huge sonic boom, the thunderstorm climaxed and passed in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, 2nd December, the date of the RKHG’s summer meeting. Although it was a cool morning with a forecast of “possible showers”, we were in luck: no rain. Five members of the RKHG met at the Botanic Gardens and apologies were received from Robyn Cairns, Robbie Coburn and Marisa Fazio. Many plants were in flower, including the small yard of Flanders Poppies near the Shrine of Remembrance, the Southern Magnolia with its huge blossoms and the lovely, old-fashioned hydrangeas. The air was fresh after the night’s rain and we saw, unusually, a single shearwater (mutton bird) dozing in the sun. It had probably sought refuge there from the night’s storm.
Our topic for the day, led by Takanori Hayakawa (Taka) was both challenging and interesting: ‘Kigo in Kyoto and Melbourne’. We were privileged to be guided through kigo culture “from the horse’s mouth”, so to speak. Continue reading “Red Kelpie Haiku Group #18”
Watersmeet Spring Ginko
Watersmeet Haiku Group held its Spring ginko on 16th November at Princes Park, Battery Point. We were a small group. Irene McGuire, Leanne Jaeger, Ron Moss and Lyn Reeves were joined by Jenny Barnard, an original member of Watersmeet, who had been unable to come to meetings for some time. It was a delight to have her with us again.
In the park, swallows wheeled in swift circles across the grassy hill that sloped down towards the road, and one or two solitary walkers traversed the paths. A mother and her toddler climbed on the wooden boat-shaped play structure that gives the green space its local name of The Boat Park. The new green leaves of shade trees ruffled in a slight breeze from the waterfront where the CSIRO’s research vessel, Investigator, had docked that morning after a month-long voyage studying currents around Antarctica.
Watersmeet Winter Ginko
On Friday 17th July, Hobart experienced a break in the weather – no rain expected until late in the day – perfect for our winter ginko. As a change from our usual venues we headed out to the historic town of Richmond, meeting up by the river near the national heritage bridge. The morning was crisp and clear, winter sunlight playing on the river. Ducks of various colours, rails and coots, along with the odd cormorant and one exceptional black swan, splashed, paddled and dabbled in the water, patrolled the grassy banks and fought over bread thrown to them by children. Continue reading “Watersmeet Winter Ginko”
Australian Haiku Society 