On Saturday 18th February six (and a bit) of us managed to get together for our summer ginko/picnic while our remaining members are away touring various parts of the world.
Continue reading “Portarlington Haiku Society”
Owing to editorial exigencies, the collection dates for Echidna Tracks Issue 11: Elements will now be from the 25th of March to the 15th of April, 2023. It is planned to post the first haiku for the journal on 1 July 2023.
Editors for Issue 11 will be Gavin Austin and Marilyn Humbert.
Continue reading “Changed Submission Dates Echidna Tracks Issue 11: Elements”Stella, Lynette, Steve, Maeve and I met for our usual Zoom meeting. We received apologies from Maureen, Kaarin and Subha. Steve had undertaken to give us a fascinating introduction to Zen Buddhist teachings, in the context of wabi sabi. As a trained Buddhist teacher himself, he is amply qualified to speak on the subject. We all said afterwards that it would be wonderful if he could produce a webinar on the subject that could be broadcast to other members of the Australian Haiku Society and/or to the general public.
Continue reading “Bindii Meeting report for February 11 2023”
Date: Thursday 9 February (summer), 10am
Place: Victoria Park, Alstonville, NSW
With Covid restrictions over, and weather limitations now abating, the summer ginko was organized with enthusiastic expectations. It was our ninth visit to this stimulating venue since our first in December 2006.
Continue reading “Cloudcatchers Ginko #68”The aim of Gadigal Ginko is for haiku poets to meet on an occasional, casual basis, in an outdoor setting that encourages haiku composition. Poets will spend time walking around the location individually, paying attention to their senses, and drafting, or making notes for, haiku. This will be followed by optional group discussion and sharing.
Continue reading “Gadigal Ginko in Sydney”How good it was to have full attendance this time after a few months of depleted numbers—Glenys Ferguson, Hazel Hall, Kathy Kituai, Marietta McGregor, Gregory Piko and Jan Dobb. Due to rain, we were not under the trees this time but tucked away in the marquee.
After ordering lunch and enjoying some personal catch-up, we found ourselves admiring a copy of recently published Contemporary Haibun 18 (Red Moon Press) available from Amazon. This led to a clarifying discussion of qualities to aim for in a haibun and the wide scope of content the form offers. Some lively input crossed the table as views and experiences were exchanged.
As suggested last time, a few of us brought some haiku-in-progress for consideration and comment by the group—haiku that invited a further look, haiku that was unfinished or perhaps still seeking that elusive ‘something’. This sparked long, warm, and frank discussion both specific and general, while appreciative of the trust between us as we shared this ‘raw material’. We seemed to glimpse afresh how the melding of inspiration and technique offers so many possibilities.
Where does time go? There was more talk still waiting in the wings, but that will be for next month. The Oaks staff were packing up and we realised we were the only customers left. Outside, the sun had begun drying up the rain.
Jan Dobb
Australian Haiku Society 