Welcome to the third issue of Australian Haiku Society Members’ News for 2026. In this edition Leanne reflects on dogs and other animals as subjects of haiku, there are links to a review of The Routledge Global Haiku Reader and to the latest Fringe Myrtles Report in which Rob Scott discusses Grant Caldwell’s presentation of fueki ryūko.
Continue reading “Members’ News June 2026”Tag: Leanne Mumford
Upcoming Gadigal Ginkō for Sydney poets: Saturday 20th June
The next Gadigal Ginkō will take place on Saturday 20th June, 2026 from 10am. For this winter gathering we will meet at the State Library, which will provide options for both indoor and outdoor ginkō. To join with other Sydney haiku poets for this event, please register via the form on my Gadigal Ginko page. There you’ll find an outline of what’s involved in the ginkō, as well as links to reports of previous ginkō.
Leanne Mumford
Convenor, Gadigal Ginko
Queensland Poets Haiku Reading Event, 22nd April
Join us on Wednesday 22nd April from 7.30pm AEST for a Zoom reading by three experienced haiku poets from Queensland – Duncan Richardson, Jeffrey Harpeng and Vuong Pham. The programme will include a brief presentation from AHS, the planned readings and an ‘open mic’ session. The event is free and open to all interested poets to attend. Please register by 9am AEST on 22nd April to receive the Zoom link. Link for the Registration form.
There is still space in the programme for additional poets. If you are a Queensland haiku poet who would like to read your work at this event, please get in touch right away via the Contact Secretary Form.
Members’ News April 2026
Welcome to the second issue of the Australian Haiku Society’s Members’ News for 2026. This edition focuses on two upcoming events, and includes notices for two journal submission opportunities, plus contest success news. Read on for details.
Continue reading “Members’ News April 2026”Haiku Society of America Rengay Award competition
The submission window for the Haiku Society of America Rengay Award competition will be from April 1, 2026, to May 31, 2026. The contest is open to the public. First Prize is $200; Second Prize, $150; Third Prize, $100. The winning rengay will be published in Frogpond and on the HSA website. All rights revert to authors on publication. Rengay is a shorter, more accessible version of renku and an easy and fun opportunity for two or three poets to collaborate. Find more information at
https://www.hsa-haiku.org/hsa-contests.htm#rengay
Submitted by Sarah Paris, HSA 2nd Vice President
Autumn Equinox 2026 Selections
The autumn equinox – when day and night are of equal length – has been an important marker of seasonal change throughout human cultures. With the observance of seasons a significant aspect of haiku practice, the Australian Haiku Society chooses to mark the solstices and equinoxes each year. This Southern hemisphere autumn, as leaves of exotic trees begin to change colour and many of our native plants come into flower, we invite you to enjoy a selection of favourite poems submitted to Haiku Strings in previous autumns. You can find PDF booklets of all the Haiku Strings we have held to date on our Resources page .
footy siren
picking the last
ripe tomato
Louise Hopewell, 2023
morning moonset
the black swan’s bill
blood red
Cathryn Daley, 2023
disagreement
morning walk together
alone
Carol Reynolds, 2020
dancing breeze
a hoop pine seed
glides in to land
Quendryth Young, 2023
outdoor café
more dogs in trendy coats
than people
Kathryn Woolfe, 2019
park bench
a two o’clock shadow
holds my hand
Barbara Tate, 2019
Opera House
an autumn breeze
fills the sails
Gavin Austin, 2019
flooded street
a man rescues
a teddybear
Kathleen Earsman, 2019
fire glow
the baby’s breath
on my cheek
Margaret Mahony, 2021
schoolchildren’s protest
their hearts displayed
on recycled cardboard
Marietta McGregor, 2019
chilly breeze
a spider’s thread shifts
the moonlight
Lyn Arden, 2023
rain clouds
blackening the sky
Carnaby’s cockatoos
Maureen Sexton, 2023
last song . . .
the busker turns
to his dog
Madhuri Pillai, 2020
slow steps
a curving path
walking to her grave
Maurice Neville, 2021
dogs long gone—
all their feeding bowls
overflow with rain
Ron C. Moss, 2020
Report on Gadigal Ginkō, Autumn 2026
With possible severe storms forecast, in the end only two poets gathered at Barangaroo on Wednesday morning 18th March. Remarkably, despite the heavy cloud, the rain held off for the whole time. The headland reserve was quiet, with few people about, so there was ample scope for contemplative walking.
Penny set off on the middle path through the naturalised scrub and woodland, while I followed the rocky foreshore. The Barangaroo headland may have been artificially created, but it is slowly re-wilding.
We found inspiration among the weathering sandstone blocks undergoing colonisation by shellfish, lichens and moss, in the grasses, trees, and shrubs, some of which were flowering, from a couple of darters and the ubiquitous noisy miners, and the general activity of the harbour.
At the end of the ginkō we sat in a café on one of the old finger wharves nearby exchanging draft poems and discussing the value of workshopping with diverse poets.
Leanne Mumford
Convenor, Gadigal Ginkō
Call for Submissions: 2026 confluence Poetry Prize
What does it mean to die? To accompany another being as their life ends? Or to face your own death? Poets across the ages have responded with grief, rage, wonder, acceptance, and beauty. We want to read what death and dying mean to you.
confluence invites you to submit one haiku, tanka, or other Japanese short-form poem on the theme of death and dying. The best poems will share in $500 in prize money and be published in confluence. Submissions are open now through May 1, 2026. There is no fee to submit.
Learn more and submit your poem at www.confluencehaiku.com/prize
Submitted by Rowan Beckett Minor, Associate Editor, confluence