Author: Simon Hanson

Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra

Tuesday 14 April 2020

These days one never knows what to expect! The year began with our diaries marking the second Tuesday of each month for Haiku @ The Oaks. Thus, in February and again in March, we enjoyed our usual camaraderie around an old wooden table beneath the trees. Admittedly, in March we exchanged elbow bumps instead of our usual hugs. Far from usual was the growing health uncertainty.

Today the Oaks Brasserie lies silent behind its closed doors. Stay-at-home is the order of the day. How quickly it all came about! We can only dream of the second Tuesday of some future month when again we shall celebrate haiku around a table at The Oaks.

Meanwhile, April was an experiment . . .

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NZPS Competition Open for Entries

The New Zealand Poetry Society Competition for 2020 is now open for entries!

Our competition is open to all members and non-members, worldwide, with members receiving an entry fee discount.

There are cash prizes to be won in each category, and all entries are eligible to be published in our anthology. Our annual anthology includes all placed and commended poems, as well as a selection of other favourite poems from the competition.

Poets can enter one of these four sections:
* Open verse for adults (18 years and over)
* Open verse for juniors (17 years or younger)
* Haiku for adults (18 years and over)
* Haiku for juniors (17 years or younger)

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Fringe Myrtles Meeting Report

The Fringe Myrtles is a new haiku group in Melbourne which had its most recent meeting online due to the social distancing regulations associated with the Coronavirus. The theme of the meeting was to write haiku about the impact of Covid-19. And seeing as it was the first Zoom meeting for so many of us, it went as well as could be expected!

Group member Myron Lysenko commented, “It was wonderful to hear and see everybody read out their haiku. So many of our haiku had a focus on what is missing now.” All of the haiku shared with the group touched on this sense of loss – of what life was like before the virus. One member, Robbie Cairns, submitted a haibun which captured the mood of the current circumstances.

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Vale Stuart Quine, 1962-2020

Sad news has been received that Stuart Quine, the English haiku poet, died on March 24 from the Covid-19 virus. A former associate editor of Presence haiku journal (he rejoined for a time after the unexpected death of his friend Martin Lucas), Stuart had one of his poems added to the Katikati Haiku Pathway collection last year and kindly agreed to having the one-liner engraved as three lines to fit the boulder. Stuart and Martin attended the 2009 Haiku Pacific Rim conference in Terrigal, NSW, Australia. Continue reading “Vale Stuart Quine, 1962-2020”

Bombora Autumn Virtual Meeting

What a unique but sad time to be writing a report for the Bombora Haiku Group. My husband and I began to self-isolate on March 11th, and my mind began working on ways to lead our group online. I think Covid-19 will show many of us just how resilient and inventive we can be. With advice from the younger generation, I downloaded the app, Zoom, and four of us held a short shaky meeting on Tuesday March 31st . We agreed to weekly catch up meetings each Tuesday thereafter. If all goes well, there will be six or seven of us for the next meeting. Also, we may be able to include Ulla currently in Spain by planning an evening meeting.

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The Awakened One – submission invitation

The editors are looking for contemporary haiku, published or unpublished, which are Buddha-themed, haiku which may or may not mention the Buddha specifically, but which are infused with the spirit of Buddhism, Zen Buddhism or any other school of Buddhism such as Pure Land Buddhism, Celtic Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and so on. The meditative spirit is universal and Buddhist self-effacement and egolessness can be found in other traditions as well, such as Daoist, Christian, Sufi etc. Haiku that are influenced by Buddhist-like teachings and practices will also be considered. Maximum of 6 haiku to be submitted to the editors before Buddha’s birthday, May 8th and a brief biography, not more than 200 words. English translations required of haiku submitted in languages other than English. Please kindly share the Call for Submissions with like-minded haijin.

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