How quickly the months come around, and here we are again @ The Oaks, this time with rain falling and puddles filling. So, an inside day it is. Just four of us to lunch—Gregory Piko, Glenys Ferguson, Marietta McGregor and Jan Dobb—our thoughts turning to missing chums, Kathy Kituai and Hazel Hall.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra”Spring sunshine, carolling currawongs and a table for six beneath shady trees. A full house @ The Oaks this month—Kathy Kituai, Hazel Hall, Marietta McGregor, Glenys Ferguson, Gregory Piko and Jan Dobb—all of us ready for this month’s spell of lunch, chat and friendship. With haiku well in the mix, of course.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra”This time, we were a full house. After a mid-winter break during July, we re-assembled at The Oaks for lunch, doubly pleased to greet teach other once more—all of us, Glenys Ferguson, Hazel Hall, Kathy Kituai, Marietta McGregor, Gregory Piko, and Jan Dobb. As usual, it was not long before our personal catch-up was morphing into animated haiku talk. How good to be together again!
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks”Thursday 15 June 2023
Warm greetings and a table near a heater—just the right tone for a haiku lunch on a crisp winter day. Five of us this time—Kathy Kituai, Hazel Hall, Greg Piko, Glenys Fergusen and Jan Dobb. We missed Marietta McGregor. Another chum, though, was a local magpie who insisted on remaining inside with us despite the staff’s attempts to evict her.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks”A monthly lunch @ The Oaks is one of those bright spots in our calendars. Once a month we bond in friendship and haiku, wondering where our agenda-less meeting might lead us. On Thursday, five of us greeted around the table—Kathy Kituai, Hazel Hall, Gregory Piko, Marietta McGregor, and Jan Dobb. We missed Glenys Ferguson, who is out of town.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks”After the greetings and personal catch-up as lunch orders arrived, we were soon into the thick of haiku talk at The Oaks. Five of us shared the table this month—Glenys Ferguson, Hazel Hall, Kathy Kituai, Gregory Piko and Jan Dobb. We missed Marietta McGregor who is out of town.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra”A beautiful day with a slight hint of autumn in the air. Just the day to greet poet friends for another gathering @ The Oaks. A chorus of currawongs was hailing our arrival—though perhaps with other things than poetry in mind! Five of us settled down to lunch beneath the trees—Kathy Kituai, Hazel Hall, Gregory Piko, Marietta McGregor and Jan Dobb. We missed Glenys Ferguson this time.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra”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 