Haiku in Australia was in the doldrums for quite a time after Janice M Bostok’s pioneering work. By the late 1980s only a few isolated poets were still engaged with haiku. All that began to change in 1988 – the year of World Expo 88 in Brisbane. The impetus came directly from Japan when Japan Airlines (JAL) decided to be a major sponsor of the Japan pavilion by sponsoring a haiku contest for children and other associated activities. This followed other successes in America and Canada. Continue reading “Perspectives on History – Haiku History 1980 –”
News
Haiku in the Garden
Haiku in Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden, 5 July 2008
report by M L Grace
These lovely Japanese style gardens provided a perfect setting for the reading of haiku,
with last autumn leaves clinging to maples and a backdrop of silver birches overlooking a koi pond and pagoda.
Beverley George ─ President of The Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) and well known, widely published poet, organised the readings which were preceded by dynamic Taiko drummers who awoke the audience and provided the contrasting silence for the haiku readers.
July 02, 2008
Haiku News from Western Australia
News from Western Australia
sent by the Australian Haiku Society Regional Representative Maureen Sexton
Perth haiku poet Nicholas Barwell, has had nine haiku published on the Swan River Trust’s new River Guardians website. The River Guardian website relates to the Swan and Canning Rivers, which flow through the suburbs of Perth.
Congratulations Nicholas!
Central Coast NSW – Haiku reading at Edogawa Gardens
On July 5 between 11 and 1, the Central Coast branch of the Australian Sister Cities Association will host an event at the Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden. This is to celebrate International Sister Cities Day.
Entertainment will include drumming, haiku reading and “Spirit of the Coast Harmony. Refreshments are provided and entry fee is $5. RSVP Margaret Hardy 02 4369 4534 Margarethardy1@bigpond.com
Sydney The Red Dragonflies winter meeting
Focus for this meeting was on the June solstice and other aspects of winter.
The meeting took place – most appropriately – in a Japanese style private garden and concluded with quietly listening to Poetica and enjoying the readers’ voices and the expert sound engineering of that program.
MPU Haiku & Rooku Workshop
Friday 27th JUNE — Melbourne Poets’ Union Haiku and Rooku Workshop.
Time: 7.15 for 7:30pm
Venue: The Space, Victorian Writers Centre, Nicholas Building, 37 Swanston St, Melbourne 3000.
Cost: Non-members – $9, Concession, $7, members $6
Light refreshments provided.
Haiku and Rooku
Leanne Hills and Matt Hetherington will lead participants towards developing haiku or rooku (an Aussie version of haiku) which demonstrate a genuine connection to the land, with tips for getting your rooku on board Moving Galleries.
http://movinggalleries.org/
Members News – Quendryth Young
In the latest edition of “HAIKU” – Magazine of Romanian-Japanese
Relationships – a haiku is included, written by Quendryth Young:
sick neighbour –
the bare branches
of her magnolia
This was awarded second prize in the Romanian Haiku Society’s
International Haiku Contest, Bucharest, May 2008.
The same edition of the magazine carries a review by Vasile Moldovan
of Quendryth’s book of haiku, The Whole Body Singing, both in English,
and in translation into Romanian.’
sent in by John Bird
VISITING BASHO by Janet Howie
During the month of April I felt quite close to Basho. I visited Japan in cherry blossomtime with haiku on my mind, experiencing first hand the environment that inspired hiswriting. I also discovered some evidence of Basho in central Honshu.
The highlight of my quest was visiting the Basho Museum near the Sumida River
in Koto City, Central Tokyo, close to Fukugawa where Basho once lived. Although the
explanatory texts in the museum were in Japanese, there was a handout in English that was
helpful.
Australian Haiku Society 