Tag: Beverley George

Twenty-first Bowerbird Tanka Group Meeting

The twenty-first Bowerbird Tanka group meeting was celebrated on 30th November 2019, in the Crommelin Arboretum at Pearl Beach. Again it was heart-warming to note how far poets will travel to explore and share the poetic genre of tanka.

In addition to a presentation by Michael Thorley on shasei, and a ginko relevant to this, appraisals by three poets of a tanka they particularly enjoy, written by someone they have not met were shared and helped us to explore the more distant national scene as well as the international one.
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White Pebbles Summer Ginko 2019

On Saturday the 14th of December the White Pebbles Haiku Group met at the Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Gardens for a summer ginko and lunch.

Seven White Pebbles’ members attended. Beverley George convened the meeting and welcomed Maire Glacken, Colleen Keating, Verna Rieschild, Gwen Bitti, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde and Kent Robinson. Continue reading “White Pebbles Summer Ginko 2019”

Hyakunin Isshu

And a new opportunity for English-speaking tanka poets

As most tanka writers would be aware “Hyakunin Isshu is an anthology of one hundred Japanese waka poems composed between the 7th and 13th centuries. The anthology was later adapted into a card game deck and played a significant role in familiarising Japanese people, both young and old, with classic literature.” It still does.

Although the anthology has been translated into English in book form by various people, until very recently the card game deck had not. In September 2019, the Japan Foundation (JPF), in Sydney promoted the game’s first English translation and offered the opportunity to play it in their premises at Level 4, Central Park, 28 Broadway, Sydney.

Please read about this game and invitation here.

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White Pebbles Haiku Group – Spring 2019

For our Spring Meeting at the Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Gardens and Regional Gallery at East Gosford we were greeted by sunny skies and an occasional cool wind. The gardens were adorned with colourful azaleas and delicate fronds of mauve wisteria contrasting with the manicured green bushes that form an integral part of this tranquil area.

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Windfall: Australian Haiku Submissions

A reminder to Australian haiku poets that submissions to Windfall: Australian Haiku Issue 8 will be open throughout July 2019.  Please send up to six haiku relevant to the experience of urban and rural life in Australia. Observations that celebrate landform, seasons, and our unique flora and fauna, are welcome.
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White Pebbles Haiku Group Winter Meeting

June 15th, 2019

Unexpectedly, it was under bright blue skies that six of us gathered for our winter meeting.

Present were Colleen Keating, Marilyn Humbert, Maire Glacken, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde, Verna Rieschild and Beverley George. Apologies and kind thoughts were received from Kent Robinson, Gail Hennessy and Wendy Stringer, each of whom was unavoidably unable to attend on this occasion.

As usual we gathered informally at the café for coffee and brief chat, before we set off in silence at 10:30 for our ginko. Once again the Gosford /Edogawa Commemorative Gardens and Regional Gallery proved an apt and inspiring venue for exploring the Japanese genre of haiku written in English. Each member carries with them a worksheet with some pre-prepared material and prompts for writing new haiku in this lovely garden with its waterfall and ponds, tea hut and bridges and the pebble garden with large boulders to remind us of Ryōan-ji. Close observation and original ideas are sparked, with sound and scent playing their roles too.
Continue reading “White Pebbles Haiku Group Winter Meeting”

Windfall: Australian Haiku Submissions

A reminder to Australian haiku poets that submissions to Windfall: Australian Haiku Issue 8 will be open throughout July 2019.  Please send up to six haiku relevant to the experience of urban and rural life in Australia. Observations that celebrate landform, seasons, and our unique flora and fauna, are welcome.
Continue reading “Windfall: Australian Haiku Submissions”

Twentieth Bowerbird Tanka Group Meeting

The twentieth Bowerbird Tanka group meeting was celebrated on 30th March 2019, in the Crommelin Arboretum at Pearl Beach. Again it was heart-warming to note how far poets will travel to explore and share the poetic genre of tanka. Delegates came from Canberra (3), Bathurst, Tamworth, Newcastle and various parts of Sydney and each contributed so much to the day.

Continue reading “Twentieth Bowerbird Tanka Group Meeting”