A number of poets will be reading haiku during the Melbourne Writers Festival at the Immigration Museum, Melbourne on the evening of September the 5th. If you would like to leave your mark in the haiku form alongside resident poets as a participating reader in this event please contact Myron Lysenko for further details.
HAIKU @ THE OAKS, CANBERRA
Tuesday 13 August 2019
Instead of huddling around a heater inside The Oaks marquee, we found ourselves sitting outside beneath a sunny blue sky. How unexpected! The recent bleak weather with its wind, sleet and local snow, had at last decided it was almost spring. Sunshine lit up the pink blossoms on two weeping apricots near the entrance, magpies gave full voice to the day, and one by one we even shed our coats. Ideal conditions for a stimulating afternoon! Continue reading “HAIKU @ THE OAKS, CANBERRA”
Creatrix Submissions
A reminder that submissions to Creatrix, open to anyone interested in haiku, close on August 10 for the September issue.
Dates to keep in mind for submissions to Creatrix:
10th February for the March issue
10th May for the June issue
10th August for the September issue
10th November for the December issue
Previous issues of Creatrix along with awards for the Creatrix Prize going back to 2008 can be accessed on the website
Members’ News, July 2019
Haiga Kukai
The results for the Australian Haiku Society Haiga Kukai for both seasonal and non-seasonal categories have been announced and can be accessed in these links along with the judge’s comments. Once again a special thank you to Ron Moss for supplying these wonderful images and for adjudicating the kukai; much appreciated.
Continue reading “Members’ News, July 2019”
Broken Starfish – Book Launch
Broken Starfish – a collection of haiku and ink paintings by Ron C. Moss will be launched in Hobart Tasmania by Lyn Reeves on Friday 23rd of August at 5 pm. We would love to see you there. Details of the launch and of ordering details for this highly recommended work can be found on the flyers below.
AHS Winter Solstice 2019 Haiga Kukai: Non-Seasonal Results with Comments by Judge Ron Moss
1st Place
aunt’s passing
the way tomorrow
never comes
Rose van Son
This is a powerful haiku that resonates deeply. It’s said that time waits for no one and the passing of all things is the one thing we can be sure of in life. The mystery the poet has given us about a tomorrow that never comes resonates strongly with the painting of the pocket watch. Time is always passing, and so do we eventually. Nothing brings this home more than when a loved one passes. So much to reflect on here, and I’m grateful to the poet for an opportunity to do just that.
2nd Place
PTSD
the soldier occupies
two different places
Michael Morell
The jarring nature of four capital letters in the opening line and their meaning of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome make this a poem not to be trivialised, but thought about deeply. Who can know what a soldier goes through unless they have had a similar experience? The last line gives us a riddle or mystery that invites the reader to explore. The link to the watch is cleverly set up with the occupying of different places.
Australian Haiku Society Winter Solstice 2019 Haiga Kukai: Seasonal Results with Comments by Judge Ron Moss
1st Place
snowball fight
grandpa’s belly
white with snow
Lucy Whitehead
This is a delightful moment and connects beautifully to the painting. The association between grandpa’s belly and the snowman is wonderful, and we are filled with a feeling of family and good times. Like any good haiga there’s a strong interplay between the image and the haiku and we can see many connections here. The love and warmth of a grandpa, and the much-loved figure of a snowman, leaves us with a smile and a feeling of playfulness. In a few short lines the writer has given us so much to feel, and the memories of childhood, and sometimes-adult games, come flooding back.
2nd Place
winter doldrums
looking both ways first
i eat the snowmans nose
Michael Rehling
What fun! What a devious but totally delightful moment. We have this very funny situation with a clever juxtaposition to the winter doldrums. What could be more life-fulfilling, than to bust out with humour to bring us out of the winter blues? The poet is mischievous and don’t we love him for it – the spirit of the snowman might have something to say about losing his juicy carrot nose, but we are all the richer for the fun of it all.
Australian Haiku Society 