Nine people attended the haiku workshop on 6 April in The Box Factory, Adelaide.
The workshop commenced at 12.30. To begin, Julia asked participants to select a card with a visual stimulus for writing a haiku. We were expected to work on composing a haiku through the afternoon for presentation at the end of the workshop.
Julia distributed a handout outlining the basic principles of haiku with traditional rules and technical requirements, followed by many haiku examples, both traditional and modern.
Julia started by telling us why she writes haiku and still finds it an exciting challenge, then spoke about the guidelines for haiku writing.
Participants each found a haiku from the worksheets to comment on and share with the group, then performed various exercises, such as completing the last line of a haiku when the first two were given and rearranging the structure of a given haiku example into one, two or three lines. There was much discussion about the merit of examples and what they meant to each participant.
The workshop continued after a short break for refreshments with a look at various view of haiku by such authors as Penny Harter and Martin Lucas.
To finish the session participants presented the haiku they had composed for the postcards. There was a good deal of discussion about these haiku and how they might be structurally improved.
Julia will organize a follow up email workshop for participants.
The workshop concluded at 2.45 pm.
Lynette Arden
Australian Haiku Society 