Category: Tanka in Australia

Tanka Huddle Chapbook

The Tanka Huddle critique group has published a chapbook of selected poems, simply entitled Tanka Huddle. This is a fantastic opportunity to read a sampling of modern tanka by Australian poets Anne Benjamin, Shona Bridge, Carolyn Eldridge-Alfonzetti , Jan Foster, Beverley George, Yvonne Hales, Anne Howard , Carmel Summers, David Terelinck, and Julie Thorndyke.

A limited number of chapbooks are available for purchase. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please send $7 (from within Australia) or $10 (from overseas) to: J. Thorndyke, 3 Forest Knoll, Castle Hill, 2154 NSW Australia [price includes postage and handling].

Please email enquiries to j.thorndyke@bigpond.com

Julie Thorndyke

Limestone Tanka Poets, 17th April 2011 meeting

The smell of gums in car park and wet-earth aroma rising from ferns under the bridge you cross as your make your way towards Hudson Cafe, where an intimate group of four Limestone Tanka Poets are to meet over coffee. It’s autumn, the trees dazzle in their Jacob clothing and what could be better than to write on location this time of the year, in the Canberra Botanical Gardens.

Facilitator, Kathy Kituai reports

Continue reading “Limestone Tanka Poets, 17th April 2011 meeting”

Moonrise and Ozku: a Group Within a Group

Ozku, the haiku-dedicated poetry group formed by Dawn Bruce in January 2010, has now incorporated moonrise, a tanka specific discussion and workshop group, into its format.

Ozku and moonrise will meet bi-monthly at haijin Dawn Bruce’s home in St.Leonards, with members Margaret Grace, Beatrice Yell, Margaret Conley, Joyce Christie and Joanne Watcyn-Jones, all enthusiastic students of haiku and tanka.

Joanne Watcyn-Jones

INAUGURAL MEETING OF CANBERRA TANKA GROUP, 26TH FEBRUARY

Leader: Kathy Kituai

What could be added to the report (see below) written by our scribe,
Gerry Jacobson, for the first meeting of Canberra Tanka Group? All
that needs to be said is that were are deciding between ‘Limestone
Poets’ or ‘Limestone’ for the name of our group, and will definitely
know by the next meeting.

Continue reading “INAUGURAL MEETING OF CANBERRA TANKA GROUP, 26TH FEBRUARY”

Tanka Appraisals

At the Bowerbird Tanka Group meeting on September 19, 2010 at Pearl Beach, presenters Kathy Kituai and Amelia Fielden, were joined by three delegates who each gave a brief talk on a favourite tanka written by someone whom they have never met.

To read these appraisals, which are attracting much interest and favourable comment, please visit www.eucalypt.info ; select Articles and then Bowerbird Tanka Group

Convenor: Beverley George
Editor: Eucalypt

Report of 5th Bowerbird Tanka Workshop

On Sunday 19th September 2010, 16 enthusiastic participants and 2 presenters, from locations such as Canberra, Sydney, the Northern Beaches, and the Newcastle region, arrived at Wirramina for the fifth workshop of the Bowerbird Tanka Group. Beverley George’s home, with expansive views of the freshwater lagoon, was a stimulating and delightful venue for this convivial meeting. Everyone was very appreciative of Beverley for again convening and hosting the Bowerbird workshop within her Pearl Beach home.

Continue reading “Report of 5th Bowerbird Tanka Workshop”

Harbourside Poets, U3A Harbourside North McMahons Point Community Centre

All twelve members of the Harbourside Poets, U3A Harbourside North area, were present for Bev George’s tanka presentation on 24th August.

Bev gave us a relaxed but highly professional talk about the history of tanka and the different styles used today. There was much interaction and the learning process proceeded at a high level. We enjoyed a coffee break after an hour and here Bev was able to chat personally to members and this time also allowed members to browse through her wide display of haiku and tanka books.
We then settled to reading and work shopping prepared tanka written by each member.
Here we were so fortunate to have Bev’s invaluable skill of honing our work to move from the ordinary to highly polished gems … such an easy way to learn the intricacies of the beautiful form of tanka. Every member was delighted with the learned input and the sensitive manner in which it was executed by Bev.
Many thanks for an exquisite two hours Bev!
Dawn Bruce