Kokako is New Zealand’s only journal dedicated to haiku and other related forms – it is published twice a year.

Submissions will open for its April edition 2016 on November 1, 2015: deadline – February 1, 2016.

Contributors are welcome to offer haiku, senryu, tanka, renga, haibun and reviews – preferably by email – with only one submission per contributor per issue, comprising no more than 8 poems/ pieces.

Submissions should be inserted into the body of an email (not added as an attachment) and sent to editors Patricia Prime and Margaret Beverland at:

[email protected]

With SASE/ IRC included, contributions could also be mailed either to:

Patricia Prime, 42 Flanshaw Rd, Te Atatu South, Auckland 0610, New Zealand; or to

Margaret Beverland, PO Box 183, KatiKati 3166, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Haibun should be no more than 400 words in length.

Reviews should be no longer than 600 words, including the title of the work reviewed, plus publication details and the text of quoted poems.

All work offered must be original and not previously published – no simultaneous submissions will be accepted.

Notification of acceptance or rejection will be made after the closing date.

Posted by Rodney Williams at 11:04 PM | Permalink

The Akita International Haiku Network has announced the results of its 4th Japan – Russia Haiku Contest, where poets were invited to write haiku on the theme of lakes.

From a range of international contributors, Australian haiku poets Marietta McGregor and Simon Hanson were first- and second-listed among a set of 10 entrants to receive Honourable Mentions:

a family of teals
breaches the lake ice
receding winter

- Marietta McGregor

heading home
crossing the lake
the shadows of pines

- Simon Hanson

Other selected poems can be seen by scrolling down to the English Section (1) at this link:

http://akitahaiku.com/

Posted by Rodney Williams at 10:51 PM | Permalink

Ginko No. 39 (spring)
Botanic Gardens Lismore NSW
Date: Thursday 22 October 2015
Cloudcatchers gathered at the Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens, which were established on wasteland on the fringe of the city in the late 1990s. Since then a lush rainforest has re-emerged, nurtured by volunteers, growing only native plants endemic to the region. Right next to this is an area featuring eucalypts, where the sharp-eyed may spy a koala or two; and nearby is a 30-year-old stand of hoop pine. The pine forest enclosed poets in an ambience of calm, with its soft quiet footfall, its towering giants, and an invitation to ‘Sit & Ponder’. In the rainforest species were well identified, with a variety of form and foliage, and there were scattered seats for relaxing, absorbing the atmosphere and recording images. In a more open area, those who witnessed a small honeyeater flitting in and out of its nest, well-camouflaged among rushes, felt this was the highlight. The venue abuts the city’s Recycling Depot, and this juxtaposition was not lost on those who were observing the natural turnover of life within the gardens. Ten poets partook of this delightful experience, and later shared lunch together.

Quendryth Young

Posted by Cynthia Rowe at 02:27 PM | Permalink

Australian haiku poets Beverley George and Simon Hanson have been announced as successful entrants in the haiku competition that will be incorporated into the 11th Pumpkin Festival, to be held in Ivanić-Grad, Croatia, over October 18-19, 2015.

The competition – in English – had the theme of haiku about pumpkins.

Beverley George was one of four international entrants to share joint third prize, with the following haiku:

“butternut, please”
each week she orders one −
just to say their name

Translated, Beverley’s haiku reads:

„muškatnu, molim“
svaki tjedan jedna −
da izgovori ime tikve

Simon Hanson was one of twelve international poets to have an entry credited as Commended:

summer wind
a beetle holed gourd
becomes a flute

Translated, Simon’s haiku reads:

ljetni vjetar
tikva izgrižena kukcima
postaje frula

Judges for the Pumpkin Festival haiku competition held in Croatia were Tomislav Maretić and D.V.Rožić.

Posted by Rodney Williams at 07:35 PM | Permalink

The Japan Tanka Poets’ Society is pleased to announce its 8th meeting, to be held on 5-6 June, 2016, at Karuizawa in Japan.

The ITF 2016 Karuizawa Competition for tanka writing will be directly linked to this meeting. (Please see below for entry details).

Times and Dates: Sunday, 5 June, 2016 (12:30p.m.-17:00 p.m.)

Reception: Sunday, 5 June (17:30 p.m. – 19:00 p.m.)

One day trip in Karuizawa: Monday, 6 June, 2016

Other features of the meeting: Speeches; poetry readings; award ceremony for prize-winning poems from the ITF 2016 Karuizawa tanka writing competition.

Meeting place: Grand XIV Karuizawa

Address: Karuizawa-machi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Telephone: 0267-46-3331

Call for entries for the ITF 2016 Karuizawa Competition (tanka):

Poets eligible: Open to everyone

Entry Fee: None
　
Number of poems allowable: Any number of tanka may be submitted.

Submission Period: 1 October – 25 November, 2015

Address for submissions:

ITF 2016 Karuizawa Competition
c/o Nihon Kajin Club
Shuei Bldg. 2F, 1-12-5 Higashigotanda,
Shinagawa ku, Tokyo, 141-0022
Japan

Rules:

1) Tanka must be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere.

2) Entries are to be posted by mail only.

3) Each tanka should be supplied on a separate sheet of paper, which should measure approximately 18 cm x 25.5 cm in width and length.

4) Entrants should place their name and address on the left-hand side of each sheet of paper (one per poem).

5) The tanka itself should then be placed on the right-hand side of the same sheet.

6) Only poems entered in this way will be accepted.

7) Any theme is acceptable.

8) Only tanka written in a five-line form will be acceptable.

9) Winning tanka and commended tanka will be published in the Festival brochure.

10) Judging is anonymous.

Prizes: The Tanka Journal Prize
　　　　 Several publishing company prizes.

Posted by Rodney Williams at 08:42 PM | Permalink

On Saturday 3 October, a beautiful sunshiny day, although a little warmer than expected, seven members of Bindii group left the Box Factory at noon to take the brief walk through back streets to Himeji Gardens.

Lee Bentley, the group leader for the ginko, advised members to scatter through the garden and meet at the entrance half an hour later. The temperature was noticeably cooler in the gardens, with the water and greenery no doubt helping to keep the temperature down. Members strolled, taking notes and photos, or perched on rocks or seats to take in the peace and quiet. Even though other visitors were there, people seemed to appreciate that this was a place for quiet contemplation.
We then returned to the Box Factory for lunch and a workshop of the many haiku that had been written on the ginko.

Lynette Arden

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

Posted by Lynette Arden at 07:19 PM | Permalink

The following items were posted on the HaikuOz website during September, 2015, and can be accessed at www.haikuoz.org/

A Hundred Gourds 4:4 released
Results from the 2015 Creatrix Haiku Prize
Red Dragonflies Spring Meeting 2015
Red Kelpies Haiku Group Meeting & Ginko #5
Simon Hanson wins European Quarterly Kukai Autumn 2015 edition
Langhorne Creek Writers’ Festival: Young people’s Haiku Competition 2015
Canning River WA Ginko 2015 – Mari Warabiny Haiku Group
Bribie Island Ginko: Queensland – Matt Hetherington
Call for submissions: Haiku and Tanka anthology – Poems to Wear
Wild Plum On-line Haiku Anthology – Behind the Tree Line
Blood Donation Haiku Contest – Croatia
Jennifer Sutherland to present at HNA 2015

While we remain committed to sending a group email containing the above information to all AHS members – on the first day of each month – technical difficulties continue to be experienced on a website-based level with this circulation process. Apologies are extended to any members who have not been receiving such emailed notifications. Efforts continue to be made to rectify this problem.

Meanwhile, members of the Australian Haiku Society – and other readers of HaikuOz – are reminded that you are most welcome to submit items relevant to the haiku community, both here and overseas, especially in relation to:

• haiku competitions and opportunities for publication in Australia and beyond;
• news of success in haiku writing enjoyed by Australian haiku poets;
• reports about meetings of haiku groups in various states/ territories across this country; and
• noteworthy developments/ projects/ points of interest across the international haiku community.

Best wishes,

Rodney Williams

Secretary
Australian Haiku Society

www.haikuoz.org
[email protected]

Posted by Rodney Williams at 07:23 AM | Permalink