There was a strong Australian contribution to the contest this year as highlighted by Professor Oba in his report shown below. Hearty congratulations to Pamela Smith for winning the grand prize in the foreign country section and to Nathalie Buckland for her distinguished work prize. Their poems in English and Japanese can be seen at:
Continue reading “3rd Yamadera Bashō Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest”
Workshopping of members’ work: Each member shared Renku and haiku and also requested suggestions and improvements from other members.
A dozen Cloudcatchers wore their scarves and woolly hats to the winter ginko at Torakina Park, Brunswick Heads, on Thursday 30 June 2011. This is our favourite site, at the mouth of the Brunswick River, and although it was the tenth time we have held a ginko here, it was our first in winter.
The sky was overcast, and choppy white water rollicked across the treacherous bar. There was a quietness about the beach. The bittou bush, usually buzzing with life, was bee-less. The wattle buds still bulged green. And then the sun came out. The river was spangled once more, and the basalt breakwater sparkled with crystals. An occasional bather braved the chilly water, turning open-armed to the sun, and a single head swam across the bay. Birds in the littoral forest were as noisy as ever, as we read our first drafts in turn around the table. In contrast to the meditative silence of the ginko, this is always a time for involvement and laughter. And then came lunch. Any poet wishing to partake of these delights would be welcomed to join us at the Spring ginko in October.
Contact: quendrythyoung@bigpond.com.
Quendryth Young
Cloudcatchers Coordinator
Dawn’s winning haiku was:
moonrise
a flow of shadows
along the river
While Jo’s haiku was:
bare hills
the horizon looped
between post and wire
As Jacqui Murray says in her introduction to the Jack Stamm Anthology, ‘Both haiku have an elegant but non-obtrusive complexity that throws up one image whilst inviting more’.
Congratulations also to Jan Dobb for her lovely haiku that was awarded third prize:
spilling
from the sound of thunder
a rain drop
Greg Piko
Secretary
HaikuOz
Jane Hirshfield, translator with Mariko Aratani of the poety of Shikibu and Komachi in the ‘Ink Dark Moon’ has had a new e-book about Basho released by Amazon in the Kindle Singles series.
The new book is titled ‘The Heart of Haiku’ and is based on a lecture she gave several years ago. It is available from:
Beverley George
Renku Workshop: Lyn Arden gave a workshop on writing Renku. History and principles were outlined and then we divided into two groups to write shisan Renku. The shisan Renku started in this session will be continued by email and presented for feedback at the July meeting.
The fact that there was little business to discuss other than the positive advantages of keeping an Awards and Publication book for Limestone Tanka Poets next meeting onwards (contents to be published in ACT Writers etc. as another means of ‘outing’ tanka in Canberra), June Foster, Kate King, John Van De Graaff, Gerry Jacobson, Michael Thorley and I, did not mind at all. We were about to embark on a Japanese way of responding to tanka in a workshop by Amelia Fielden, who assured of a method that was both gentle and informative.
Continue reading “Limestone Tanka Poets, 22nd May, 2011 meeting”
Red Moon Press has released A New Resonance 7, the latest in its biennial series featuring emerging voices in English language haiku from around the world.
This volume, edited as usual by Jim Kacian and Dee Evetts, includes haiku by Lorin Ford, Quendryth Young and Greg Piko from Australia, and Andre Surridge from New Zealand.
Also included are a further 14 poets living in Canada, Scotland, Japan and the United States. Each poet is featured with a selection of 15 of their haiku, biographical details and commentary by the editors.
A New Resonance 7 showcases writers who are making a mark in the global haiku community, providing a broader exposure for these poets than might be achieved through the publication of individual haiku in journals or on the net. Copies of A New Resonance 7 (186 pages, perfect softbound) are available from:
Lorin Ford’s email: geanhaiku(at)googlemail(dot)com
Greg Piko’s email: gregpiko(at)hotmail(dot)com
Congratulations to Lorin, Quendy and Greg as inclusion in this prestigious publication is by invitation of the editors based on their own reading and suggestions from previous New Resonance poets.
Dawn Bruce
Vice President
HaikuOz
Australian Haiku Society 