Results: AHS Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020 Non-Seasonal

Judge’s Comments

I have judged the kukai for a number of years now and I’m always honoured to read and savour the many fine poems that are inspired by the images. The winner’s list is always well-considered and I’m pleased to say there are always haiku and senryu that present as special and worthy of particular attention. Thank you one and all for submitting your fine work once again. I would like to award and comment on many more if it were possible. I hope you enjoy these selections and the inspiration and commentary I have found in them.

Ron C. Moss

1st Place

the toddler‘s
first attempt to stand —
guiding light

Michael Smeer

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The top three places in this section each have their own finely crafted connections told in different ways and it was difficult to separate them. My final choice for 1st Place is an image that is created with a light but emotional touch of a child’s first moment starting out on their own two feet. There is a most effective and fitting use of link and shift here – in the image of the lighthouse and the poet’s words. We are all on a journey of discovery and hope and the guiding lights help to make us who we are. There comes a time in own journey through life, with all its ups and downs, where hopefully we are able to guide others. I commend Michael for giving us a moment of reflection and deep appreciation. I am reminded of the saying, fall down six times, get up seven – how very true and encouraging for us all.

Continue reading “Results: AHS Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020 Non-Seasonal”

Results: AHS Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020 Seasonal

Judge’s Comments

I have judged the kukai for a number of years now and I’m always honoured to read and savour the many fine poems that are inspired by the images. The winner’s list is always well-considered and I’m pleased to say there are always haiku and senryu that present as special and worthy of particular attention. Thank you one and all for submitting your fine work once again. I would like to award and comment on many more if it were possible. I hope you enjoy these selections and the inspiration and commentary I have found in them.

Ron C. Moss

1st Place

foreign land…
a refugee child owns
the sandcastle

Hifsa Ashraf

This haiku stood out for me from the very first reading and it resonates deeply with current and historical events. A sense of hope and a new beginning permeates the scene; a childhood game of creating in the sand has a deep feeling of nurturing and strength. A refugee child feels connected and safe in owning the sandcastle, giving him or her a sense of belonging. Poetry can be a powerful tool in generating awareness of the injustices of the world. The simple image of a sandcastle has brought about this wonderful moment of ownership for something treasured and safe. I’m very pleased to award Hifsa 1st Place. May all be safe and free from harm.

Continue reading “Results: AHS Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020 Seasonal”

Members’ News, December 2020

Dear AHS members,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year, filled with the joy of writing haiku. 2020 has been a difficult year which has brought many challenges and much sadness. As I’m sure all of you would agree, reading and writing haiku has provided much needed sustenance in a year full of anxiety and grief. Moreover, the opportunity to reach out to the broader haiku community across Australia and beyond via Zoom was a particular and unexpected pleasure. I sincerely hope this vibrant and communal spirit continues into this year.

It has been a productive year for the AHS as we celebrated our 20th year, and we have more exciting plans for the year ahead, including the announcement of the winner of the inaugural John Bird Dreaming Award for Haiku.

Thank you all for you valuable support for my first year as President and I look forward to continued support and more of your wonderful haiku in 2021.

Happy New Year!
Rob Scott

Haiga Kukai

The AHS Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai has concluded with an excellent response from participants. Contributions are now being considered by the adjudicator Ron Moss. You can revisit the entries here for both the Seasonal and Non-seasonal categories.

Continue reading “Members’ News, December 2020”

White Pebbles Summer Meeting 2020

Four members of the group were able to meet up at Gosford/ Edogawa Gardens on December 12th: Maire Glacken, Verna Rieschild, Colleen Keating and Beverley George. Armed with excellent completed work sheets sent ahead to us by Marilyn Humbert and Kent Robinson, we settled on the paved deck outside the café for a preliminary coffee, and passed these two sheets around reading the responses to the prompts aloud. We were inspired by them – a valuable and enjoyable start to our meeting.

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Australian Haiku Society Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020: Seasonal

Welcome, haiku poets worldwide to the Australian Haiku Society Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai. Entries close on midnight Sunday 28th of December AEST.

You are invited to write a haiku in response to the image.

Enter no more than one haiku per image. Haiku entered should not have been published previously in print or online, including in discussion forums. If you enter more than one haiku per image, only your first haiku will be considered.

Continue reading “Australian Haiku Society Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020: Seasonal”

Australian Haiku Society Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020: Non-Seasonal

Welcome, haiku poets worldwide to the Australian Haiku Society Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai. Entries close on midnight Sunday 28th of December AEST.

You are invited to write a haiku in response to the image.

Enter no more than one haiku per image. Haiku entered should not have been published previously in print or online, including in discussion forums. If you enter more than one haiku per image, only your first haiku will be considered.

Continue reading “Australian Haiku Society Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020: Non-Seasonal”

Prior Notification: AHS Summer Solstice Haiga Kukai 2020

The Australian Haiku Society will be holding a Haiga Kukai for the Summer Solstice occurring this year in Australia on the 21st December. Once again Ron Moss has generously provided two images (Seasonal and Non-seasonal) which will be displayed on the AHS website from the 21st to the 28th of December and poets will be invited to submit one previously unpublished haiku inspired by each image. Ron will then select the winning haiku which will be displayed on the AHS website.

Please note that if more than one haiku per image is submitted by any individual, only the first haiku sent will be considered.

Submissions will only be accepted if entered in the comments section, which can be found at the bottom of the post.

By entering the competition, entrants agree to make their haiku available for use on the AHS website, although copyright will remain with the author.

No correspondence will be entered into regarding winning entries.

Please make sure that your name appears on your entry as you would like to see it on the website.

Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra

Tuesday 8 December 2020

What a celebratory time of friendship as we gathered for the final meet-up of the year! And what’s more, we were a full house: Glenys Ferguson, Kathy Kituai, Hazel Hall, Gregory Piko, Marietta McGregor and Jan Dobb.

As we settled beneath the trees to await our lunch orders, there was an explosion of thanks and good wishes. Out of bags appeared spontaneous little gifts and heartfelt cards which were delivered to-and-fro across a laughing table. Naturally, we found many a haiku tucked thoughtfully inside! When activity simmered down a little, we each read aloud the haiku we’d discovered, before clearing spaces for our lunch.

As conversation buzzed, Greg quietly smiled and produced a show-and-tell–a proof copy of breaking my journey his forthcoming haiku collection to be published by Red Moon Press in the new year. Surprise, surprise! Congratulations and questions flowed for some time. How encouraging, too, that despite the severe disruptions of Covid, haiku publication continues to flourish.

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