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8 November 2008 Ginko

SA Haiku Group: Ginko Report

The SA Haiku Group met on Saturday 8 November 2008 for a ginko, at the Himeji Garden on South Terrace, Adelaide, with nine haiku poets attending on a windswept and showery morning.

The garden, opened in 1985, was built to symbolize bonds of friendship with Himeji, Sister City of Adelaide and to help the people of Adelaide understand Japanese culture. It blends two classic Japanese styles: the ‘senzui ‘(lake and mountain garden) and the ‘kare senzui’ (dry garden) and contains features which are of profound religious significance to the Japanese people.

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Defining haiku

In 2007 the Australian Haiku Society committee requested John Bird to advise the Society on haiku definition(s) and to try to formulate one that we could adopt, officially, as meaningful for our members and helpful to those new to the genre.

John reports that he has considered many descriptions and definitions of haiku by overseas writers and now wants to understand how Australian poets, at all levels of experience, think about haiku.

He hopes to include some examples of the latter in his published report and would like to share a subset of these on the Australian Haiku Society [HaikuOz] site, if this is agreed to by their authors. If you would like your views to remain anonymous, please say so at the time you submit them. This will be respected.

Haiku are elusive to define. But in attempting to describe them we may come to understand them better. Please don’t feel intimidated that your definition must be academic, or even wise. It’s simply what you think haiku are about that counts. Please send John your personal definition of haiku, whether long-standing or written for this exercise, at: link removed

Please try to restrict your thoughts to 40 words, preferably no more than 25. If you have adopted a published definition written by somebody else, please include all details.

Below are two personal definitions of haiku. You are warmly invited to share yours.

Beverley George
President
Australian Haiku Society
www.haikuoz.org

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Cloudcatchers Haiku Workshop – a report

Cloudcatchers Haiku Workshop

Sunshine and a light breeze made a perfect day for the Cloudcatchers Haiku Workshop, held in the CWA hall in Ballina, on Sunday 26 October. Eleven poets assembled at 10 am from as far away as Brisbane and Nimbin, with the group comprising both beginners and members of the local ginko group ‘cloudcatchers’. Quendryth Young tutored the workshop, which was supported by a comprehensive booklet of notes and examples. An introductory talk included a respectful outline of the ancient Japanese origin of the genre, followed by discussion of various definitions suggested for the form.

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October 28, 2008 Ginko

Lynette Arden (on behalf of HaikuOz SA representative, Martina Taeker)

GINKO (HAIKU WALK) IN THE ADELAIDE BOTANIC GARDENS

previously published by the Society of Women Writers South Australia Inc.

On Saturday 13 September a group of twelve haiku enthusiasts met at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens for a ginko In a sudden burst of spring warmth, the gardens were at their best. After a short meeting to discuss our plans the group split up, so individuals were free to walk about the gardens or, if they chose, to find a special place to pause and observe the variety of plant life, creatures and humans sharing the gardens on this sunny morning.

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RESULTS OF THE 5th INTERNATIONAL KLOSTAR IVANIC CONTEST FOR HAIKU IN ENGLISH

This year, our International haiku contest in English received 306 haiku written by 97 authors from 25 countries: Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Macedonia, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Trinidad and Tobaggo, and The United States of America. Members of the jury were prof. Ruzica Mokos and prof. Vida Pust Skrgulja.

1st Prize

solemn quietness
in a full moon’s night –
ticking of a clock
Ivan Ivkovic, Veliko Laole, Serbia
2nd Prize

bouncing merrily
in the playground –
hailstones
Robert Naczas, Poland
3rd Prize

waterfall –
all I want is
to pass water
Ernest J. Berry, Pincton, New Zealand

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Bowerbird Tanka Workshop

The second Bowerbird Tanka workshop was held on 26th October, 2008 at Beverley George’s welcoming home at Pearl Beach, NSW.

The presenters, Beverley George and Amelia Fielden, led a most enthusiastic and creative group of thirteen women throughout the perfect spring day.
Workshopping began with prepared tanka on the theme sport/recreation/hobby or an interest which was followed by a highly informative talk by Amelia Fielden about shasei (sketching from life).After lunch on Beverley’s sun deck by the lagoon, we worked in pairs rising to the challenge of writing a responsive string using memories as a theme and incorporating the newly learnt shasei.

Tanka Prose Anthology

Engineering Tanka Prose & Haibun:

Considerations Arising from the Tanka Prose Anthology

The Tanka Prose Anthology. Edited with an Introduction by Jeffrey Woodward.
Baltimore, MD: Modern English Tanka Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-9817691-3-4.
Perfect Bound, 6” x 9”, 176 pp., $12.95 USD.

Contributors to the anthology: Hortensia Anderson, Marjorie Buettner, Sanford Goldstein, Larry Kimmel, Gary LeBel, Bob Lucky, Terra Martin, Giselle Maya, Linda Papanicolaou, Stanley Pelter, Patricia Prime, Jane Reichhold, Werner Reichhold, Miriam Sagan, Katherine Samuelowicz, Karma Tenzing Wangchuk, Linda Jeannette Ward, Michael Dylan Welch, Jeffrey Woodward.

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Cloudcatchers Ginko No.11 (spring) 2008

The Cloudcatchers’ Spring ginko was held on Friday, 19 September 2008, the eleventh since we began with a summer ginko in December 2005. The weather was cloudy and breezy, but fine and cheerful. We had a great day, gathering at 9.30 am at the Bangalow Weir (Far North Coast NSW). There were ten of us, including our unofficial Patron, Janice Bostok, whom we always love to welcome, and John Bird, whose idea it all was in the first place. Three poets participated for the first time, with two of them having graduated from local workshops. The area offers the dammed Wilson’s Creek, a bit of wilderness and some semi-rural environment.

Opportunity was given for swapping of books, information about members achievements, and up-coming activities, including the 4th Pacific Rim Haiku Conference next September.

The ginko itself lasted forty-five minutes, and was followed by some serious writing, and then the sharing of first drafts. Many worthy haiku were created, with other captured moments awaiting a bit of polish. These were read aloud, one at a time, around one big table. Great enthusiasm and quite a bit of laughter! Then, at noon, we lunched together at the Bangalow Hotel.

Following the ginko an email Round Robin is currently being conducted, comprising five submitted haiku, written at the ginko, from each poet. Each participant will comment on all offered material. And we love it. If you are in the area and wish to join us for the summer ginko, contact Quendryth Young at: quendrythyoung@bigpond.com

Quendryth Young