Bindii Japanese Genre Poetry Group are delighted to invite you to the launch of Haiku Bindii Vol. 1 Journeys 2011, to be launched by:

Mr Adam Wynn, Hon. Consul-General for Japan in South Australia

This is a free event. Please join us at the Box Factory 159 Regent St South, Adelaide from 4 pm on 3 December 2011. Refreshments will be served and there will be readings by the Bindii poets.

Haiku Bindii contains haiku, tanka, renku, haiga and haibun.
Enquiries: Lynette Arden Email: [email protected]

BINDII POETS: Judith Ahmed, Bett Angel-Stawarz, Maeve Archibald, Lynette Arden, Alexander Ask, Lee Bentley, Belinda Broughton, Pam Brow, Lesley Charlesworth, Dawn Colsey, Margaret Fensom, Nigel Ford, Jill Gower, Marilyn Linn, Rachael Mead, Margaret Rawlinson, Veronica Shanks, Robin Sinclair, Julia Wakefield, Athena Zaknic.

Bindii
(SA Japanese Poetry Genres Group)
http://haiku-bindii.blogspot.com/

Posted by Greg Piko at 06:40 PM | Permalink

Haiku – One Moment Please

8 Week Course with Maureen Sexton

Every Tuesday evening 25th October to 13th December, 7 pm to 9.30 pm
OR
Every Wednesday afternoon 19th October to 7th December, 12.30 pm to 3 pm

Where: The Art House, 63 Railway Avenue, Kelmscott (walking distance from Kelmscott train station)

Cost of the full course: Full $200, Concession $160. Open to negotiation under certain circumstances. Email or phone Maureen to book your place: [email protected] or 0435 024 616. Places are limited, so book early!

This course will examine the following:

What is haiku?

What is the essence of haiku?

Where did haiku come from?

Why write haiku?

How to write haiku?

What is haiga? How haiku fits with images and drawings/paintings.

Is haiku good for your health? A haiku a day keeps the doctor away?

The following quote from Marcel Duchamp, is especially relevant to haiku:
'It is not what you see that is art, art is the gap.'

Bring your lunch if you would like to.
Maureen is the WA Representative of HaikuOz (The Australian Haiku Society)
and runs the Mari Warabiny Haiku Group in WA.

[email protected]
http://www.wapoets.net.au/pages/mariwarabinyhaikugroup.html
--
Maureen Sexton
Phone: 0435 024 616
Website: www.maureensexton.com.au

Posted by Cynthia Rowe at 01:42 PM | Permalink

MARI WARABINY HAIKU GROUP
Invites you to join us on a ginko (haiku walk)

Where: Araluen Botanic Park
When: Saturday 29th October, 10.30 am

We will meet under the M. Simons Memorial Pergola. If you need to be picked up from Kelmscott train station
please let me know and I will arrange it. If you would like to meet at my house in Kelmscott, so we can car-pool, please let me know and we can arrange that, [email protected] or 0435 024 616.

I think a picnic lunch is the easiest and we can share our haiku and discuss our observations over lunch. So please bring you own picnic lunch, drinks, hat, walking shoes and sunscreen.
You don’t need to walk far, you can stay in one area if you
prefer, or for those unable to walk far.

What is a ginko?

“A ginko is a haiku walk through a chosen location where poets write, discuss, revise, workshop, read, laugh, breathe and listen to haiku.” Myron Lysenko

What happens in a ginko?
We gather and have a little talk about haiku and what we're doing.
We head out separately or in small groups to go for a walk and make notes on things we observe along the way, sometimes whole haiku come out at that stage.We gather back together and share our notes, spend some time writing up our ideas into haiku.We share our haiku and offer ideas or feedback. This could be done over a picnic lunch.

Araluen Botanic Park
http://www.araluenbotanicpark.com.au

Location
Araluen is located in the Darling Range, 35 kms south east of Perth. Follow the signs from the junction of Albany and Brookton highways.
Entry fees are applicable. For information call (08) 9496 1171 or email us ([email protected]).
362 Croyden Road Roleystone WA 6111.

Opening Hours:
Daily 9am to 6pm

“The park features water-falls and flowing streams, scenic bush walks, gardens, picnic and barbecue areas, heritage landmarks including the Chalet Healy Tearooms and Roundhouse Gift Shop, as well as the Araluen Train.”

Posted by Cynthia Rowe at 01:24 PM | Permalink

The Red Dragonflies met at Vanessa Proctor’s home in Pymble on Saturday 15th October. Dawn Bruce gave a short talk on haiga, and set the group a challenging and instructive exercise. Members had also been invited to bring along photos of their own which might be turned into haiga, so some little time was spent working with these. We were then encouraged to bring some of our own haiga to the Christmas get-together in November. The haiku workshopped at the meeting was, for the most part, met with resounding approval, so the few hours spent together literally flitted by, just like a dragonfly.

Lesley Walter

Posted by Cynthia Rowe at 05:09 PM | Permalink

A strip of land between sea and fresh water is a magical place. Cloudcatchers assembled for their Spring Ginko at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head, on Thursday 13 October 2011, savouring the salt spray from the ocean, which mingled with soft breezes from the banksias and tea-trees lining this tea-coloured lake.

Quiet contemplation allowed an immersion in the ambience of the abundant bird life, with its various rhythms of song, the soft peeling bark of the melaleucas, the gentle lapping of ripples on sandy banks, and a regular resident who was feeding the water dragons from his mechanised chair. Images were scribbled into notebooks during the meditative hour, which seemed to pass too quickly. Hastily constructed first-draft haiku were read around the picnic table, and now some of these, which have been reviewed and refined are being circulated among participants during a Round Robin workshop.

A summer ginko is planned for the first week after school returns in January 2012. If you would like more information, please get in touch with Quendryth Young at: [email protected].

Posted by Greg Piko at 09:39 AM | Permalink

A Hundred Gourds now has a temporary webpage where you will find the basic submission guidelines and information.

There is also an opt-in facility for those who would like to receive news and updates.

http://ahundredgourds.haikuhut.com/

We welcome your submissions of haiku, tanka, haibun, haiga and articles/ essays relevant to the haikai genre for the March 2012 issue until the submissions closing date of December 15th, 2011.

Though the url for the inaugural issue in December will change slightly, the site will remain available via this link as well.

A big thank-you to Mike Rehling, who is generously hosting A Hundred Gourds.

Lorin Ford, haiku editor,
for the editorial team
A Hundred Gourds

Posted by Cynthia Rowe at 02:14 PM | Permalink

Many lovers of haiku from Australia and overseas will remember warmly the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim (HPR) conference that was organised by Beverley George and her team at Terrigal, New South Wales, in September 2009.

Founder of the HPR conferences, Jerry Ball, who attended 4HPR in Terrigal is now leading the organising committee for the 5th Haiku Pacific Rim conference to be held at Asilomar, near San Francisco USA, from 6 to 10 September 2012.

5HPR is sure to be a wonderful gathering of haijin from around the Pacific rim nations and beyond. Now is the time to think about marking the event in your diary. All the details will be made available at the following site:

http://haikupacificrim2012.wordpress.com/

Posted by Greg Piko at 04:42 PM | Permalink

Poets who had a haiku published on poam's haiku page during the three years Peter Macrow was poam's haiku editor are invited to enter a maximum of three haiku which are original, unpublished and not on offer elsewhere. Up to three prizes of $100 each, sponsored by Blue Giraffe Press.

Competition judge: Peter Macrow
Closing date: 31st December 2011

Email entries and enquiries to: [email protected]

Peter Macrow
Managing Editor, Blue Giraffe Press.

Posted by Greg Piko at 04:16 PM | Permalink

The Kikakuza International Haibun Contest will have to be terminated with the publication of the booklet containing the decorated works from the past three years. Judges, Nobuyuki Yuasa and Stephen Henry Gill, however, have decided to continue under the title of the Genjuan International Haibun Contest.

Genjuan is the name of the cottage near Lake Biwa where Basho lived for a time in 1690. It was probably the happiest period of his life, and it was there that he wrote his most famous short haibun. The purpose of the Contest will remain the same as before, and there will be little change to the guidelines. We wish to encourage the writing of fine haibun and maintain the connection between the traditional Japanese perception of haibun and what is evolving around the world. The judges are hoping that the Contest will continue to receive a warm response from all the haibun writers of the world. The award for the Grand Prix will remain the same – a good replica of a Hokusai ukiyo-e print – and smaller gifts will be sent to the An (Cottage) Prize-winners. The An Prizes replace the Za Prizes of last year. The writers of all the decorated works will receive a certificate of merit. We sincerely look forward to your participation.

Guidelines for 2012
1 Subject: Free.
2 Style: No restrictions, but special attention must be paid to honour the spirit of haikai.
3 Length: In total, not more than 30 lines with 80 spaces in each line on a single sheet of A4-size paper.
4 Haiku: At least one haiku should be included.
5 Format: Print on one sheet of A4-size paper and write at the bottom your name and your pen name, if you have one, together with your address, telephone number, and email address. Your privacy will be strictly protected, and the judges will not see your names until the result has been decided.
6 Deadline: All entries should reach the following address by 31 January 2012. Entries received after this date will not be accepted. Please send your entries to:
Ms. Motoko Yoshioka, Regalia 907, 7-32-44 Fujimi-cho, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-0013, Japan. Please avoid sending by express, and using extra- large envelopes. Please write your home address on your envelope, too.
7 Entry Fee: None
8 Restrictions: Entrants can send up to three entries. They should be unpublished. As we cannot return your entries after screening, please retain your own copies.
9 Questions: All queries should be sent to the address above.
10 Special Request: The authors of the decorated works will later be requested to send us their works by email. In this, we expect your cooperation.
11 Results: The results and the judges’ comments will be sent by post to all the entrants in spring. The certificates of merit and prizes will be sent to the winners by early summer.

Posted by Greg Piko at 04:11 PM | Permalink

http://haiku-bindii.blogspot.com/

We met at Veale Gardens on South Terrace at the Wisteria Arbour at 11 am. The weather had been showery for a few days, but we were fortunate on the day of the ginko to have fine weather, with only a slight sprinkle of rain just as we were finishing lunch.

Present: Lyn Arden, Margaret Fensom, Lee Bentley, Athena Zaknic, Margaret Rawlinson Maeve Archibald, Pam DiLorenzo.
Apologies: Pam Brow, Belinda Broughton, Lesley Charlesworth, Alex Ask, Marilyn Linn.

The group split up around 11:15 so individuals could walk or sit on a convenient seat to observe the activity in the flourishing spring garden, full of water features, green grass and shrubs. Leaves were beginning to appear on the deciduous trees, together with the first roses in the sunken rose garden. Birds fascinated us everywhere, from the friendly ducks and ducklings, some little ones so small they were mere balls of fluff, to the noisy crowd of lorikeets and noisy miners that looked like flowers on the bare branches of trees.

At noon we gathered together again to eat lunch and share some of our haiku at a garden table in the sunshine. Members also selected what poems they would like displayed in our September Haiku Bindii showcase.

On 22nd September Beverley George met with seven Bindii members at the SA Museum café for a most enjoyable afternoon tea and conversation. She very generously brought a book for each member who attended.

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS and events:

5 November: Alex Ask will run a workshop on senryu/haiku. It is envisaged that members will bring in material (both haiku/senryu and any critical discussion material) so we can investigate and discuss ‘what is haiku’, ‘what is senryu’. This should be a good discussion session.

3 December: A booking has been made for our book launch at the Box Factory from 3 pm to 8 pm to give us plenty of time to set up and clear up. Guests will be invited for 4 pm and I am hoping to get a launch speaker to speak at 4.30 pm.

10 December Box Factory Market and readings: Maeve Archibald and Lyn Arden can staff our stall in the morning and read. We have only one other reader organized, (Margaret Fensom), so can do with a few more, if anyone cares to volunteer. I have requested a 20 minutes slot for reading, as we have been offered the first performance time. The reading time will be around 10.30 or 10.45 am. To be confirmed by the Box Factory. We are also hoping to organize some musical accompaniment between our readings. (gongs, guitar?)

There was also some discussion of the launch and the items we will need to bring. The meeting finished sometime after 1 pm, when there was a slight shower of rain.

Report by Lynette Arden
3 October 2011

Posted by Greg Piko at 06:11 PM | Permalink

In 2009, members of the Australian Haiku Society were greatly moved by the suffering of those affected by the terrible bushfires in Victoria, Australia. Beverley George, then President of the Society, wrote at the time:

“I feel certain I speak on behalf of everyone who comes to this web-site, when I send our deepest regrets to those who have suffered most in these tragic fires in Victoria: the people who have lost the people they love, their homes, their neighbourhood, their way of life, their landscape and livestock, and their pets.

May each of you, victim or helper, who has witnessed the loss of human and animal life, and of habitat, under merciless and unexpected circumstance, be granted healing in due course.

Special thoughts to those people, rendered powerless, who still wait to hear the fate of loved ones. Our hearts are with you.”

While all Australians struggled for words to convey their dismay at the suffering caused by the devastating bushfires, many poets tried to share their feelings in haiku which were posted on the HaikuOz web site as a tribute to the victims of the bushfires. Those haiku are recorded below:

relief centre
the new bed toy
smells different

Beverley George

out of black silence
the wobble
of a burnt lamb

Dawn Bruce

'bushfire country all the brick chimneys standing'

Janice Bostok

fire-fighter
she wears soot
for makeup

Cynthia Rowe

black void
a stranger's hug
releases the tears

Quendryth Young

town in ashes
a firefighter
wipes his eyes

Lorin Ford

drizzle...
blackened rubble around
the chimney

Nathalie Buckland

fire storm
melted metal where the street
used to be

Kathy Earsman

gnawed white . . .
last season’s dog bones
in the ash pile

Ron Moss

smoke haze …
a koala drinks
from the fireman’s water bottle

Lynette Arden

crackly footsteps
in a blackened field
we all cry together

Greg Piko

after the wildfire...
a row of new green tents
becomes home

Beatrice Yell
blacker than its shadow
a gum tree
sheds ash

Alexander Ask

blackened trunks
in the morning light...
we count the dead

Jo McInerney

water
the word means
everything now

Max Ryan

standing in silence
around the charred remains:
their three chimneys

Scott Mason (USA)

silence
without birdsong
in this wasteland

M L Grace

hugs all round
finding neighbours
alive

Barbara A. Taylor

on burned farmlands
a weeping child clinging to
his koala's fur

Claire Gardien (France)

morning after the fire
the cactus growing
from ashes

Stefan Sencerz

too far and too old
to really help, I just send money,
weep and pray

Marian Morgan

silhouette –
helicopter blades
chop the blood-red sun

Jo Tregellis

tent-city ...
a girl's smile from inside
the fireman's jacket

Leonie Bingham

bushfire report
crackling on the radio –
flames

Judith E P Johnson

newspaper photo
a fireman shares water
with a koala

Angelika Wienert (Germany)

black veil
hides a face
in mourning

Mike Burdett

limp afternoon...
acrid smoke seeps through
the wire screen

Dorothy Keyworth

red sky
the photo of a young girl
smiling from the ashes

Graham Nunn

sprig of red gum tips
in a black coral forest
a raven's low cry

Jacqui Murray

green shoots
on blackened trunks
ashen summer

John Bird

distant fires
famlies search under a blue moon

Martin Cohen

extended family . . .
touched by smoke
half a world away

Catherine J.S. Lee, USA

Bushfire-
people and birds sharing
the same fate

Vasile Moldovan

wake to maggies ...
worlds north of us drown
whilst south they burn

Kevin Sharpe

a splash of yellow
standing
against the storm

Ashley Capes

smoke haze
the city smells
of bush fires

Janet Howie

days later –
still the smell
of burnt things

Matt Hetherington

smoke-blind
only the road's white middle line
as guide

Katherine Gallagher

deep ash
memories laid down for
generations to come

Steve South

Aussie koala
bush rescue by David Tree
fire ravaged earth

Yvonne Pick

dawn drags yellow-grey
blustery winds still hot –
fire-fighters yawn

Thomas Thorpe

if fire is a
crucible, may the change lift
you towards Heaven

Ryk McIntyre, USA

driving home
through country towns
newspaper stands cry

Sarah Muller

day has become night,
flames and smoke unite as one –
wildlife sacrificed.

Ann Jamieson

Posted by Greg Piko at 12:16 PM | Permalink

-- a special Limestone Tanka Poets event, 13th August 2011.

It was easy to understand why fifty paying guests followed the trail of balloons leading to The Gods @ Hedley Bull café at the Australian National University last Saturday at noon, 13th August, once Mariko Kitakubo rang temple bells and commenced her reading of her selected tanka in Japanese from ‘Footsteps of Basho Tour’ in collaboration with Beverley George, who read English translations by Amelia Fielden.

Candlelight reflected in the café windows as well as in the eyes of guests seated around each table and a vase of japonica hinted at spring. The initial “Footsteps” reading included poems by Beverley, translated by Mariko Kitakubo.

Audience attention deepened further as the conversation on tanka between Mariko and Beverley was underway. On behalf of Limestone Tanka Poets, Kathy Kituai, as interviewer, asked questions like, ‘Why is haiku better known in the western world than tanka?’ and ‘Given the syllabic difference between Japanese and English language, is it possible to write tanka in English?’ This was an opportunity to explore how the Japanese feel about English speaking countries’ adaptation of a genre that originated in their country, as well as to unravel the mystery and nature of tanka in all its complex simplicity.

When invited to read a favourite tanka, first Mariko, then Beverley, illustrated the depth possible in tanka if written by skilled poets with these tanka.

a boy
with skin peeling off
his entire back
still wore new shoes
not having lost them

Hiroshi Takeyama

The above poem by a Nagasaki survivor and poet was translated by Aya Yuhki

where are you woman
waving a white cloth
in my heart
I rescued you
again and again

M L Grace (Eucalypt 10, 2011)

The formal side of this special meeting closed with Mariko reading Australian tanka she had written and translated just for this event and Beverley reading some she had created in Japan, translated by Mariko.

Special thanks go to David Terelinck, Geoff Page, Lois McRae, Michael Thorley, Kate King and Liz Hess who helped with preparations on the day and we extend our appreciation to managers of The Gods, Tony and Judy, who not only opened their restaurant on a Saturday especially for this occasion, they provided us with a sumptuous lunch of soup and sandwiches.

Kathy Kituai
Founder and Facilitator of Limestone Tanka Poets

Posted by Greg Piko at 11:31 AM | Permalink