Australian Haiku Society

December 2024 Members’ News

President’s Message

Since the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1873, the New year is counted as a brief season on its own In Japanese Saijiki. The New Year period in Japan is a time for family gatherings with festive meals over several days. There are many traditions and observances that appear as kigo, including decorations, cards, gifts, games and special food, as well as numerous kigo with the first of something, such as first sunrise. While we may not follow kigo in our Australian haiku, we do write poems that reflect the festive season of family and social gatherings, celebratory meals and other traditions, as well as marking new beginnings and reflecting on the past year.

Featured Haiku – Under the Same Moon (Australian Haiku Anthology)

This week’s featured poet from ‘Under the Same Moon’, the Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, is Sydney-based poet and current president of the Australian Haiku Society, Leanne Mumford.

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Illawong Haiku Group Summer Meeting

27 November 2024

Just a few days shy of our official Summer, Carol Reynolds, Ros Pitt, Alison Miller, Pat Meredith and Margaret Mahony met at Oatley RSL. We missed Rita Potente who was unavailable but welcomed new member Kathleen Ann.

Featured Haiku – Under the Same Moon (Australian Haiku Anthology)

This week’s featured poet from ‘Under the Same Moon’, the Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, is Melbourne-based artist, Olivia Ark. Olivia was also responsible for the illustrations that appear throughout the anthology, as well as the art for the front cover.

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Featured Haiku – Under the Same Moon (Australian Haiku Anthology)

This week’s featured poet from ‘Under the Same Moon’, the Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, is Nathan Sidney.

planting moon
the mountain’s own names
for its flowers

swelling inside the bud wing colours

sphagnum bog
the sound of it
in its own tongue

– Nathan Sidney

Buy your copy of the anthology here

Cloudcatchers Spring Ginko No. 75

7 November 2024

Cloudcatchers’ Spring Ginko was held at Victoria Park, Dalwood NSW (near Alstonville). This was the group’s tenth visit to this magical location on the far north coast. It is a remnant of sub-tropical jungle, part of the Big Scrub, and once home of the Widjabul people of the Bundjalung nation. Here there is a vast array of forest flora and a great variety of insect and birdlife. Some of us did hear a distant thud-thud of a pademelon, but none were sighted. We viewed a giant scrub turkey nest extending over the boardwalk, and spied a yellow robin and its nest, believed to be an indicator of a healthy forest environment.

Featured Haiku – Under the Same Moon (Australian Haiku Anthology)

This week’s featured poet from ‘Under the Same Moon’, the Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, is Gail Willems.

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Catchment – Poetry of Place : third edition

SUBMISSIONS FOR CATCHMENT closing on 21st November

A reminder: Australian poets are welcome to contribute tanka and/ or longer poems to Catchment – Poetry of Place – the submission period closes on 21st November. Focussing on a sense of locality, tanka poets may offer up to five (5) stand-alone poems, or a four-piece string/ sequence, using the submission portal found online here.