Category: Illawong Haiku Group

Illawong Haiku Group held their Winter meeting on Tuesday 15^th June at the home of member Ros Pitt. While the weather was quite dreary outside it did not match the warm and congenial mood inside. It was lovely to welcome Rita back who we now consider a valuable member of our small but very enthusiastic group. We discussed the use of Imagery in Haiku based on a recent presentation by Joshua Gage featured on The Haiku Foundation website. Our Spring meeting will be a ginko when we will observe and gather inspiration to write haiku to each of the five types of imagery: Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Olfactory and Gustatory.

L to R: Rita Potente, Ros Pitt and Alison Miller

Continue reading “Illawong Winter Meeting 2021”

It is with pleasure that I am able to report on our Autumn gathering since the December meeting went unreported due to various issues that prevented our normal modus operandi.

Fortunately, despite the current very unpredictable weather, we were able to gather on the balcony of Margaret’s home amid the very calming space she has created with her ever growing collection of potted greenery.

We had a full complement of members and were very happy to welcome a visitor, Rita Potente, who is new to haiku and we hope will join us for future meetings. Reversing our usual format we enjoyed haiku readings from the haiku bowl while we enjoyed morning tea and some of Margaret’s freshly made carrot cake, then it was down to business.

Continue reading “Illawong Haiku Group Autumn Meeting Report”

Illawong Haiku Group held their Winter meeting on Tuesday, 16^th June. With the ever changing rules relating to Covid 19 we gladly accepted the invitation from Margaret Mahony to hold our meeting at her home. Six ladies attended.

Internet exercises were held during the ‘lockdown’ period which included a commentary on a selected haiku, a haiku string with the very apt theme of Covid followed by haibun. Instructive information about each form accompanied the exercises. We attempted haiga but decided this would be easier face to face.

Our meeting began with a Q&A session relating to our on line exercises and everyone agreed it worked so well we will continue to extend our learning in this way between meetings.
Continue reading “Illawong Haiku Group – Winter 2020”

Illawong Haiku Group usually meets seasonally but during isolation and with the use of modern technology we are staying connected. This is good for our mental health, improving our haiku writing and mentoring our newbies.

Our first exercise was writing a commentary on a selected haiku. The second exercise was writing three haiku on the subject of Covid. The haiku were then compiled into a list and circulated for everyone to rank in order of preference for each writer. The best haiku for each writer resulted in this string:

Continue reading “Illawong Isolation Exercising”

Our scheduled meeting day, Tuesday 17^th March, dawned under a cloud filled sky with rain forecast. The decision was made to stay with Plan A as the Oatley Park venue provided shelter if the weather went south. Continue reading “ILLAWONG HAIKU GROUP – AUTUMN 2020”

Summer 2020

It was encouraging to me as Convenor and a good start to the haiku year that all current members were present at our Summer meeting held on Tuesday 28th January. Previously our meeting dates were tailored to accommodate as many members as possible. This year however we will hold subsequent meetings on the third Tuesday of the month that begins each season so dates can be noted on calendars well in advance.
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We chose the Joseph Banks Native Plant Reserve at Kareela to hold our 2019 Spring Ginko after our pleasant experience there last Spring and it didn’t disappoint. It was a sparkling blue sky day with the native flora looking its best and exhibiting its adaptability to adjust to climatic changes. Beds of pink and white paper daisies and clumps of kangaroo paws in various colours greeted us at the car park.

In true old fashioned picnic style, our crowd of three began with a ‘cuppa’ from the thermos and some Baker’s Delight treats at a nearby picnic table suitably sited under the shade of the large eucalypts. To the sound of bird song and the sight of a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets dining on Gymea Lily we caught up on the various activities that have kept us busy since we last met. As the sunlight started to break through the shade we decided to relocate. As always a stroll through the natural environment created a calmness and presence in preparation to work through our recently created haiku. The melodious notes in the background provided by a Butcher Bird added to the ambience.
Continue reading “Illawong Haiku Group Spring 2019 Ginko”