Our summer ginko was held on Wednesday 25th January at Swanbourne beach in Western Australia. It was a typical summer’s day with warm sunny weather and a gentle breeze coming in over the ocean.
Continue reading “Paperbark Haiku Summer Ginko”Paperbark haiku held its Autumn ginko on the morning of April 1st 2022 near the War Memorial in Kings Park (Kaarta Koomba), a beautiful, serene area which Perth is so lucky to have in the centre of the city. The location overlooks the central business district and Perth Water which is formed by the Swan River flowing from the hills through the city to its entry to the sea in Fremantle. We are at the beginning of the season of Djeran (April-May) which sees a break in the really hot weather. A key indicator of the change is the cool nights that bring a dewy presence in the mornings. The winds also change with light breezes swinging from a southerly direction.
The Paperbark Spring ginko was held on the morning of November 8th 2021 at the Dome Café in Maylands Western Australia. The event was attended by Rose van Son, Pauline Swift, Candy Gordon, Coral Carter and Barry Sanbrook.
The subject of spring haiku was discussed at some length and several classical Japanese poems were read, haiku by recognised masters such as Hanzan, Etsujin and Kikaku.
28th April 2021
Paperbark haiku group held their Autumn Ginko at Adachi Park in Belmont, Perth on a warm but smoky morning. Unfortunately there were prescribed burns in the Perth hinterland which led to poor visibility and an obvious health risk to people with breathing problems. As a result there was a disappointing turnout with only three of the group attending.
Despite this it proved to be a very interesting and productive session with the participants reading some of their favourite haiku and then walking around the park making observations for their haiku. Rose van Son, Coral Carter and Barry Sanbrook attempted to use other than the traditional three line haiku to experiment with single, two or four line poems and some of these are included below.
The Paperbark Haiku group met on the 26th June 2019 at the Dome Café (meeting room) in Maylands, Perth Western Australia for its Winter Ginko on a blustery day, the harbinger of approaching storms.
The early part of the meeting revolved around a discussion that debated the “Essence of Haiku”. Using a number of publications, including Blithe Spirit, Frogpond, the British Haiku Society Anthology Wild, Third Australian Haiku Anthology, Spinifex by Beverley George and Walking The Tideline by Lyn Reeves, each participant chose a published haiku that resonated with them, and it was used to illustrate the differing ways haiku affect us, with emphasis on the spirit each invoked, and to get us all into ‘haiku mode’.
Continue reading “Paperbark Haiku Winter Ginko and Haiku Gathering”
Saturday 9th June 2018
The winter ginko was held this morning in Subiaco, Perth. The meeting was based at the Subiaco Library and we ventured into the streets and nearby market for inspiration. It was a little disappointing only four poets attended but those that did managed to produce an interesting and varied body of work. Apart from writing haiku, the group explored varied ways of writing haibun and a number of exercises were carried out based upon the seasons and the moon. As is often the case, the diversity of approaches to a set topic demonstrates the knowledge and experiences of the writers. The group decided to embark on a collaborative effort to write rengay by exchanging verses through email over the next few weeks. Although different from haiku many similar techniques are required when writing rengay. It was thought that perhaps this would lead to more interaction between poets. The first verse of the rengay will be forwarded to participants in a day or so.
The ginko took in the streets near the library and the boisterous vegetable and food market in the adjacent school with great piles of produce, colour and music. Conditions were blustery but the rain held off and we even had glimpses of the sun.
Those attending were Meryl Manoy, Rose Van Son, Liz Nicholls and Barry Sanbrook. Sadly Maureen Sexton who had organised the event was unable to attend through ill health, and we hope she recovers soon.
Barry Sanbrook
Australian Haiku Society 