Eight poets joined the spring ginko on 8th October 2025 in Kings Park, on a lovely sunny although chilly day. At the height of spring the park was laden with flowers. Armed with a description of the two indigenous spring seasons, and the relevance of the colour yellow, we learned we are experiencing the Noongar season of kambarang.
Continue reading “Paperbark Group Spring/Kambarang Ginko report”Report by Ruari Jack Hughes
A very enthusiastic group of eleven met in the alfresco area of the Art Gallery of WA cafe on a cold Perth morning but fortunately there was little rain. The discussion was led by Rose van Son on Wednesday 20th August.
Continue reading “Paperbark Haiku Winter Ginko”Realising World Haiku Day was suddenly upon us, an event was organised to celebrate. A group of thirteen interested haiku writers gathered at the Maylands Library, Western Australia, and presented three of their favourite haiku and an explanation why the haiku were loved. Discussions followed.
Continue reading “WA Paperbark celebrates World Haiku Day 17th April 2025”On Wednesday, 19 February, eight poetically minded people met at the WA Museum, Boola Bardip, in Perth. Sitting between the original heritage building and the new glass addition of the museum, we enjoyed a morning of haiku.
Led by Coral Carter and Rose van Son, we began by considering the idea of the ‘pause’ as a moment to stop and observe and then make that observation concrete in words. It was a beautiful, not too hot, morning and after a bit of discussion and some readings, we separately went in search of haiku.
The eight were Rose van Son, Coral Carter, Pat Johnson, Rita Tognini, Madeleine Tingey, Neil Pattinson, Ruari Jack Hughes, and Gary De Piazzi.
The Spring ginko, organised by Paperbark Haiku, was held on 15th October 2024, with a return visit to the Botanic Gardens at Kings Park in Perth. It was a glorious day, the weather sunny and warm, the views over Perth waters and the high rise of the city making a spectacular backdrop. It was a perfect setting for discussing and writing haiku. The Spring flowers, the towering trees and the memorials of Remembrance all gave the poets plenty of opportunity for inspiration.
Continue reading “Paperbark Haiku Spring Ginko”Join Paperbark Group’s Spring Ginko on 25th October from 10am in Kings Park, Perth. Meet at the Botanical Cafe, 60 Fraser Avenue.
Contact Coral Carter at junkmailpoet @ gmail.com.
It was a stunning winter’s day for the Paperbark Winter Ginko, held in the little township of Guildford Western Australia, just a half hour drive from the city. Guildford is one of Perth’s oldest towns, layered with history, antique shops, and little cafes. A record group of 13 haiku enthusiasts met at one of these cafes in James Street. We sat outside discussing haiku and enjoying winter sun.
Continue reading “Paperbark Haiku Winter Ginko”The Perth-based Paperbark Haiku group met on Friday 3rd May for our autumn ginko in the historic Harold Boas Gardens; an inner-city treasure of a park with winding pools of water, carefully placed boulders reminiscent of a Japanese garden, lush exotic bushes and trees, ducks and ibis and a Monet-style bridge.
An enthusiastic group of seven (Barry Sanbrook, Michael Spark, Jake Dennis, Rita Tognini, Ruari Jack Hughes, Rose van Son and Candy Gordon) met for coffee and an exchange of ideas on the elements of haiku, followed by a
contemplative walk in the gardens. We then shared our writing; some read completed haiku, some had words and thoughts to take home and work on, and all of us enjoyed the exercise, the company and the meditative garden setting on yet another warm, autumn day.
The following are some of our words inspired by nature –
boulders
light and ripples
stroke them
Barry Sanbrook
butterfly without wings
expecting to fly
caterpillars dream
Michael Spark
bird’s nest fern
the hollow fills
with leaves
Rose van Son
butterfly yellow
winging across limpid pools
reflecting wonder
Ruari Jack Hughes
one-legged ducks
yoga pose
better than mine
Candy Gordon
emerald
set in West Perth high-rise
Boas Park
Rita Tognetti
Australian Haiku Society 