A monthly lunch @ The Oaks is one of those bright spots in our calendars. Once a month we bond in friendship and haiku, wondering where our agenda-less meeting might lead us. On Thursday, five of us greeted around the table—Kathy Kituai, Hazel Hall, Gregory Piko, Marietta McGregor, and Jan Dobb. We missed Glenys Ferguson, who is out of town.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks”Dear Members,
I am delighted to be able to announce the winners of the 2022 John Bird Dreaming Award for Haiku. The response to the competition was fantastic once again, and I would like to extend a huge thanks to all poets for contributing their poems.
Continue reading “Results of the 2022 John Bird Dreaming Award for Haiku”
After the greetings and personal catch-up as lunch orders arrived, we were soon into the thick of haiku talk at The Oaks. Five of us shared the table this month—Glenys Ferguson, Hazel Hall, Kathy Kituai, Gregory Piko and Jan Dobb. We missed Marietta McGregor who is out of town.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra”A beautiful day with a slight hint of autumn in the air. Just the day to greet poet friends for another gathering @ The Oaks. A chorus of currawongs was hailing our arrival—though perhaps with other things than poetry in mind! Five of us settled down to lunch beneath the trees—Kathy Kituai, Hazel Hall, Gregory Piko, Marietta McGregor and Jan Dobb. We missed Glenys Ferguson this time.
Continue reading “Haiku @ The Oaks, Canberra”How good it was to have full attendance this time after a few months of depleted numbers—Glenys Ferguson, Hazel Hall, Kathy Kituai, Marietta McGregor, Gregory Piko and Jan Dobb. Due to rain, we were not under the trees this time but tucked away in the marquee.
After ordering lunch and enjoying some personal catch-up, we found ourselves admiring a copy of recently published Contemporary Haibun 18 (Red Moon Press) available from Amazon. This led to a clarifying discussion of qualities to aim for in a haibun and the wide scope of content the form offers. Some lively input crossed the table as views and experiences were exchanged.
As suggested last time, a few of us brought some haiku-in-progress for consideration and comment by the group—haiku that invited a further look, haiku that was unfinished or perhaps still seeking that elusive ‘something’. This sparked long, warm, and frank discussion both specific and general, while appreciative of the trust between us as we shared this ‘raw material’. We seemed to glimpse afresh how the melding of inspiration and technique offers so many possibilities.
Where does time go? There was more talk still waiting in the wings, but that will be for next month. The Oaks staff were packing up and we realised we were the only customers left. Outside, the sun had begun drying up the rain.
Jan Dobb
Wednesday 12 October 2022
After all the recent rain, it was a relief to meet on a dry day when we could enjoy lunch together at a table under the trees, albeit in the company of thronging currawongs with similar intentions! Four of us made it this month, Kathy Kituai, Glenys Ferguson, Marietta McGregor, and Jan Dobb. Thoughts were with our two missing companions, Gregory Piko and Hazel Hall.
Australian Haiku Society 