AHS 2025 Autumn Equinox Kukai – update

The deadline for participants to vote in the AHS 2025 Autumn Equinox Kukai is 11.59pm Australian Central Standard Time on Wednesday 9th April. So far votes have been received from more than 2/3 of the 78 eligible participants.

Voting information was sent to eligible participants on 2nd April ACDT. If you submitted an eligible poem and haven’t received an email about voting, please check your Spam/Junk folder. To be fair to all participants, if you submitted an eligible poem, you are expected to vote. If you fail to vote, your poem will be excluded from the final results.

The winning five poems, together with their authors’ names, will be published on the AHS website on 17th April 2025, International Haiku Poetry Day.

All participants who submit votes will be sent the set of ranked results, but point tallies will only be provided for the winning five poems.

Leanne Mumford
Kukai Convenor

AHS 2025 Autumn Equinox Kukai

Welcome to the Australian Haiku Society 2025 Autumn Equinox Kukai. This is a new participation-based event open to haiku poets. It will open on the Autumn Equinox, 20th March 2025, and results will be announced to coincide with International Haiku Poetry Day on 17th April 2025. The window for entries has now closed. Thanks to all participants. Check below for what happens next!

Report on Gadigal Ginko, Summer 2025

The 8th Gadigal Ginko took place on Wednesday 26th February 2025, with five participants. First-timers Julie Thorndyke and Anita Xian joined two regulars, Carol Reynolds and Margaret Mahony, and convenor, Leanne Mumford. We travelled by ferry from Circular Quay westward under the Harbour Bridge to Wareamah – Cockatoo Island. Thanks to its varied history, this island, located where the Parramatta River meets Sydney Harbour, has much to offer poets.

February 2025 Members’ News

From the President…

Welcome to our first news for 2025.
Have you entered the third John Bird Dreaming Award yet?
The executive committee met on 10th February. We reviewed activities over the last months of 2024 and discussed some initiatives for this year.

Anti Haiku Competition hosted by DucK&dASh p0etry, WA

Recently DucK&dASh p0etry announced the results of their first Anti Haiku Competition, open to residents of Western Australia. The competition, which closed on 5th January 2025, received 76 entries from 19 poets. In keeping with the competition title, submissions that experimented beyond traditional or contemporary haiku form were encouraged. The competition was aimed at lovers of haiku who would embrace the challenge, as well as poets who had never written anything haiku before.

Next Gadigal Ginko: ~9.30am 26th February 2025

The next Gadigal Ginko in Sydney will take place on Wednesday 26th February 2025, meeting at ~9.30am to visit Wareamah / Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. Contemporary haiku poets of all levels of experience are invited to join the gathering. To register and receive details of the exact meeting point and arrangements, please visit the Gadigal Ginko web page.

Leanne Mumford
Convenor, Gadigal Ginko

December 2024 Members’ News

President’s Message

Since the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1873, the New year is counted as a brief season on its own In Japanese Saijiki. The New Year period in Japan is a time for family gatherings with festive meals over several days. There are many traditions and observances that appear as kigo, including decorations, cards, gifts, games and special food, as well as numerous kigo with the first of something, such as first sunrise. While we may not follow kigo in our Australian haiku, we do write poems that reflect the festive season of family and social gatherings, celebratory meals and other traditions, as well as marking new beginnings and reflecting on the past year.

Featured Haiku – Under the Same Moon (Australian Haiku Anthology)

This week’s featured poet from ‘Under the Same Moon’, the Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, is Sydney-based poet and current president of the Australian Haiku Society, Leanne Mumford.