Dreaming Haiku # 3– July 2008
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website. http://haikudreamingaustralia.info/
Sorry Day
the breeze touches
every gum leaf
Carolyn Cordon
On July 5 between 11 and 1, the Central Coast branch of the Australian Sister Cities Association will host an event at the Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden. This is to celebrate International Sister Cities Day.
Entertainment will include drumming, haiku reading and "Spirit of the Coast Harmony. Refreshments are provided and entry fee is $5. RSVP Margaret Hardy 02 4369 4534 [email protected]
Focus for this meeting was on the June solstice and other aspects of winter.
The meeting took place – most appropriately – in a Japanese style private garden and concluded with quietly listening to Poetica and enjoying the readers' voices and the expert sound engineering of that program.
Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha & Queensland Poetry Festival 2008 are proud to present the 3rd annual Words & Water Dragons event.
Join us for a leisurely Sunday morning in the serenity of the Japanese Gardens for readings by three of Australia's finest haijin, Ross Clark, Quendryth Young and Jacqui Murray. There will also be music by Ann Bermingham and Helen Rowe and an open mic session for you to read your haiku, tanka, haibun...
Date: Sunday August 3
Venue: Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha - Japanese Gardens
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm
Entry: Free
Friday 27th JUNE — Melbourne Poets' Union Haiku and Rooku Workshop.
Time: 7.15 for 7:30pm
Venue: The Space, Victorian Writers Centre, Nicholas Building, 37 Swanston St, Melbourne 3000.
Cost: Non-members - $9, Concession, $7, members $6
Light refreshments provided.
Haiku and Rooku
Leanne Hills and Matt Hetherington will lead participants towards developing haiku or rooku (an Aussie version of haiku) which demonstrate a genuine connection to the land, with tips for getting your rooku on board Moving Galleries.
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mpuinc/MPU/Home.html
http://movinggalleries.org/
Queensland Poetry Festival are proud to present a series of two (2) free haiku workshops with renowned QLD poet and haijin, Ross Clark. Details for the workshops are:
Haiku Briefing with Ross Clark
Workshop 1
Sunday 6 July, 9:30am - 12:30pm
Mt. Ommaney Library Meeting Room
123 Dandenong Rd. Mt. Ommaney
Workshop 2
Sunday 20 July, 9:30am - 12:30pm
Mt. Ommaney Library Meeting Room
123 Dandenong Rd. Mt. Ommaney
Places are limited for these workshops. To book please email Ynes Sanz at [email protected]
Poetica is a radio program dedicated to the performance of poetry and ranges freely among contemporary Australian and overseas work as well as drawing on ancient sources and from bi-lingual programs, live readings, studio-based poetry features and on-location recordings.
Scheduled for broadcast on June 21 and 28 is the program, Haiku in Australia, a detailed exploration of this burgeoning poetic form with some of Australia's leading practitioners.
It will please some and surprise many that the seemingly mystical art of 'Haiku writing' is not only alive throughout Australia but is truly flourishing, beguiling and tempting writers across the country from Perth to Brisbane...
In Poetica's two part feature, Peter Holland, Jodie Buzza and Murray Dowsett read a couple of hundred Haiku along with discussions with Haiku writers across Australia.
To listen to the program and for more details visit: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/poetica/
Mainichi Daily News Haiku Contest
Deadline: August 31, 2008.
Limit of 2 haiku in the international section. Books, etc as prizes.
section. Please note the copyright restrictions. Winners announced
Cost: Free.
Submissions via the website.
Info: http://books.mainichi.co.jp/HaikuContest/english.html
Katikati Haiku Contest
Deadline: In hand August 30, 2008.
Cash prizes totalling $NZ80 in the senior section; $NZ55 in the junior. Proceeds to the Katikati Haiku Pathway project. Send 2 copies of each poem with 1 copy only including your name & contact details (if entering in the junior section also includeyour age). For results send ssae or include e-mail address. Results will be announced during Katikati's Mural Festival (September 29-October 4) and published in Bravado literary journal.
Cost: 18 & over: $NZ5 for 3 haiku or $NZ2 perhaiku; or $US5 for 3 haiku or $US2 perhaiku. 17 & under: $NZ1 for up to 2 haiku or $US1 for up to 2 haiku.
Send entries to: Katikati Haiku Contest, PO Box 183, Katikati. No e-mail entries.
The committee of the Haiku Society of Australia (HaikuOz) would like to thank Lyn Reeves, who is stepping down from the role of vice-president of the Society after nearly two years of invaluable service and support.
Congratulations and welcome to Dawn Bruce, who has agreed to accept vice-presidency for the term of two years. Dawn's enthusiastic commitment to the practice of haiku, which she has shared with other poets over a sustained period of time, make her an ideal candidate for this role.
Beverley George (president)
Graham Nunn (secretary)
for the committee
During the month of April I felt quite close to Basho. I visited Japan in cherry blossom
time with haiku on my mind, experiencing first hand the environment that inspired his
writing. I also discovered some evidence of Basho in central Honshu.
The highlight of my quest was visiting the Basho Museum near the Sumida River
in Koto City, Central Tokyo, close to Fukugawa where Basho once lived. Although the
explanatory texts in the museum were in Japanese, there was a handout in English that was
helpful.
On display, I saw the old stone frog that Basho was said to be fond of; a
painting, among several, of Basho in straw hat, sandals and satchel, on the road with his
nephew, Toin; a small wooden figurine of Basho; a selection of haiku by Basho and other
poets, set out on small hangings; and a replica of robe, hat, sandals, brush and ink used
in Basho’s time.
Outside in the peaceful garden there was a small Basho shrine, and nearby, at
the junction of the Sumida and Onigigawa Rivers, up a flight of steps, a serene statue of
Basho meditating gazed out across rippling water. Close to the statue was a set of
decorated poles depicting a journey, several etchings, and a small pool in which tiny
goldfish swam. The day was mild and peaceful, and I gave the smooth statue an
affectionate, respectful rub.
Basho’s statue
feeling his calm presence
in spring sunshine
In the Kenrokuen garden in Kanazawa – one of Japan’s top three- I stood next to a poem
monument inscribed in Japanese with Basho’s haiku composed there in 1689. The haiku
stone, and there are many of these around Japan, was set among moss and pine, at the base
of a mound leading to a thatched rest house. Idyllic.
I also spotted a haiku in English in the Friday edition of Herald Tribune
International- Asahi Shimbin, reviewed by David Murray in a small column called Asahi
Haikuist, complete with artwork by Mitsuaki Kojima. A website was provided:
www.asahi.com/english/haiku
Added to this was finding a curiously interesting book in the Isseido
bookshop, Tokyo, with the title: Rediscovering Basho – a 300th anniversary celebration, a
collection of articles edited by Stephen Henry Gill & C. Andrew Gerstle of the British
Haiku Society, and published in 1999. As I read these articles, I felt Basho and his
devotees accompanying me, while I travelled from place to place, confirming that the
haiku way is alive, and encouraging me to be part of it.
'Sketching Light' published by Ginninderra Press 2008
ISBN 978l 74027 4760, 92pp, $20.00
Dawn Bruce's sustained engagement with Japanese poetic genres informs her free verse too, imbuing it with spare elegance and a keen sense of the immediate. This is disciplined writing that prunes the extraneous and allows us to see the clear images upon which this poet bases her commentary on human experience. Dawn's love of and commitment to poetry is evident in every line.'- Beverley George
Available from: Dawn Bruce contact through [email protected] $20 including postage
or Gleebooks Sydney $20 plus postage www.gleebooks.com.au for details
or from Ginnindera Press...see website www.ginninderrapress.com.au
Tangible Shadows published by Ginninderra Press 2005
A collection of free verse and haiku
Winner, Society of Women Writers NSW Biennial Book Awards 2007
ISBN 1 74027 331 1, 86pp, $20.00
In this, her second collection the poet emerges from the confines of grief and the more introspective
climate of her first collection to "light and space/across an unsullied beach,/ to a blur of aquamarine/and the
faraway horizon.' - Lesley Walter
Dawn's haiku poems are of gentle observation which often reach deep into the human experience
Worth visiting and revisiting - Vanessa Proctor
Available from the author for $15 incl. Postage: [email protected]
A Japanese Poetry Competition was conducted recently by the Friendly
Street Poets in Adelaide. Sixteen awards were made. Of the eight awards
for the categories that were open Australia-wide, four went to members
of Cloudcatchers. This group comprises a small gathering of haiku
enthusiasts who live and ginko together on the Far North Coast of NSW.
We would like to thank the Friendly Street Poets for offering this
opportunity to compete, and HaikuOz for the notification of the
competition in the first place.
Quendryth Young
Convenor Cloudcatchers
More activities in Adelaide for Japanese poetry genres written in English
For results of haiku and haibun competiton, convened by Martina Taeker and others with a prize donated by Maeve Archbold visit
http://friendlystreetpoets.org.au/
full details are there
From Lynette Arden of the Kensington and Norwood Writers group comes news of small haiku workshops, a proposed ginko, and a proposed workshop on haiga by Alison Millcock.
This is a lively group of writers and it all sounds like great fun, in the spirit of sharing haiku
Cash prizes and winners published in Bravado literary journal. Send 2 copies of each poem, with 1 copy only containing your name, address, phone number & e-mail. Unpublished poems only (broadcast or appearance on the web is deemed to constitute publication). Winners will be announced during Katikati's Mural Festival (Sept 29-Oct 4).
Deadline: August 30.
Cost: $US5 for 3 haiku/ $US2 for 1 haiku (or $NZ5/3 and $NZ2/1).
Send entries to: Katikati Haiku Contest, PO Box 183, Katikati, New Zealand. Proceeds from the contest go to the Katikati Haiku Pathway Project.
HAIKU CALENDAR LUDBREG 2009
Deadline
September 17, 2008
Regulations
- The contest is open to the public
- Entries (up to 3 haikus in english) must be original, unpublished and not currently submitted elsewhere
- Send only one copy and print your name, age, occupation and address
- No entries will be returned, so keep a copy
Entry fee
No entry fee this year!
Submit entries to
Snail mail:
Zdenko Oreč, Petra Zrinskoga 49, 42230 Ludbreg, Croatia
E-mail:
[email protected] or [email protected]
Notification
- Winners will be announced till the end of December 2008. All others wanting the results please send self addressed envelope (SAE) + two international reply coupons (IRC)
Rights
Participation implies permission to print in Haiku Calendar Ludbreg 2009 after which rights revert to author.
Awards
First Prize: $ 100
Second Prize: $ 50
Third Prize: $ 20
Honorable Mention Awards (10): Haiku Calendar 2009 (free copy)
Judges
Zdravko Kurnik, Duško Matas, Boris Nazansky, Zdenko Oreč and Mirko Varga
English sub-editing
Elizabeth Harrison-Paj
Host organization
International Haiku Contest Executive Committee
Haiku Calendar Ludbreg 2009
Monday 16 June 11 am – 2pm
Melbourne General Cemetery
Cemetery Road, Carlton, Melbourne Australia
Contact information
Phone: 03 9387 4323
Email: [email protected]
Come for a walk in the beautiful surrounds of the Carlton cemetery and experience the graveyard through the calm, non judgmental eye of a haiku with poet and teacher, Myron Lysenko.
cost: $15.00
Meet at the Main entrance, Cemetery Rd, 11 am sharp
bring some lunch and lots of paper to write on.
walking through
our dead friend’s garden
we turn the torch off
– Myron Lysenko
our old dog
buried in the garden
with all her bones
– Michael de Valle
Time and Place Date: Monday, June 16, 2008
Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Melbourne General Cemetery,
Street: Cemetery Rd, Carlton
City/Town: Melbourne, Australia
Contact Info Phone: 03.9387.4323
Email: [email protected]
Come for a walk in the beautiful surrounds of the Carlton cemetery and experience the graveyard through the calm, non judgmental eye of a haiku with poet and teacher, Myron Lysenko.
cost: $15.00
Meet at the Main entrance, Cemetery Rd, 11 am sharp
bring some lunch and lots of paper to write on.
walking through
our dead friend’s garden
we turn the torch off
-Myron Lysenko
June 2, 2008
The Australian Haiku Society (HaikuOz) warmly congratulates Catherine Mair of Katikati, New Zealand.
The NZ Queen's Birthday Honours list (which precedes the Australian list by a week) includes a Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for Catherine "for services to poetry and the community".
To find out more, visit Haiku News edited by Sandra Simpson on the New Zealand Poetry Society web-site
www.poetrysociety.org.nz/haikunews June 2008.
This is a landmark for haiku in English in the southern hemisphere.
Beverley George
President
Australian Haiku Society
HaikuOz supports Haiku Dreaming Australia in encouraging haiku on Australian themes. Each month we showcase a haiku from the Dreaming website. http://haikudreamingaustralia.info
sacred site –
lantana overruns
the melaleuca
Quendryth Young
Editor's comment. This haiku might be thought slight unless one knows 'lantana' is an imported and highly invasive noxious weed and that 'melaleuca' (paperbark or myrtle) is indigenous to Australia. Haiku Dreaming notes provide the data that reveals this as a powerful political poem. John Bird
FreeXpresSion 2008
2008 is the first year that the writing magazine, FreeXpresSion, now fifteen years old, has included a Haiku Section in its annual competition. Nathalie Buckland judged the entries anonymously.
The winner was Dawn Bruce,
the last page
of a loved book …
autumn rain
Dawn Bruce NSW
Highly Commended awards were made to:
watercolour
the crane blends
with the river
Gavin Austin NSW
wondering
about the new year …
dappled sunshine
Dawn Bruce NSW
fire-dead forest
among bleached branches
a flame robin
Janet Howie VIC
shooting star
on the fencepost
a sooty owl
Leonie Bingham NSW
Commended awards were made to:
evening light -
flowers in cellophane
on the kerbside
Dawn Bruce NSW
scuffed boots
old snow gathers dust
in the gutter
Jodie Hawthorne TAS
trees
dip their shadows –
hot afternoon
Dawn Bruce NSW
chilling waves –
in tidal pools
blue ringed octopus
Barbara Apa NSW
FreeXpresSion is published monthly, and haiku submissions may be made (five at a time) to the Haiku Editor, Quendryth Young: [email protected].