The Australian Haiku Society was formed in the year 2000 to promote the enjoyment of haiku and link Australian writers with the world haiku community.

The first anthology of haiku by Australian writers was produced in 2001. Subsequent anthologies appeared in 2006 and 2011.

This year, the Australian Haiku Society has released under the same moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology, edited by Lyn Reeves, Vanessa Proctor and Rob Scott. The book was produced by Forty South Publishing and is available from their website.

The Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology (4AHA) presents the writing of 104 poets who are Australian by nationality and/or residence. The editors have selected and sequenced an entertaining collection of haiku addressing many aspects of Australian towns, country, flora and fauna. 4AHA is a beautiful publication which feels comfortable in the hand and invites the eye to enter. The soft tones of the cover design and the restrained internal artwork, both by Olivia Ark, add immensely to the reader’s enjoyment of the book.

4AHA is dedicated to John Bird and Beverley George ‘for their vast contribution to Australian haiku’. The anthology includes two haiku dedicated to John and Beverley respectively.

Along with Janice Bostok, John Bird (1932-2022) co-founded the Australian Haiku Society. He was a strong advocate for the use of Australian seasonal references in haiku and was a great mentor of other poets.

empty street
in my palm the warmth
of our last handshake

for John Bird

Max Ryan

Beverley George is currently convenor of the White Pebbles Haiku Group and continues to encourage and support haiku poets. She is a past President of the Australian Haiku Society and edited several Australian poetry journals across more than 20 years.

windfall
the scent of eucalypt
under a yellow moon

for Beverley George

Gregory Piko

Windfall, Eucalypt and Yellow Moon are all journals that Beverley edited. Here is one of Beverley’s own haiku that appears in 4AHA:

from a lifted oar
a shimmer connects the sky
and sunlit river

Beverley George

Below are some more haiku from the anthology. Whether joyous, humorous or melancholy, each of these poems demonstrates the emotional depth that Australian poets can achieve when writing in the haiku form.

sheltered paddock
the udder punch
of a newborn

Glenys Ferguson

beyond the black stump a shiver of ghost gums

Lorin Ford

child’s birthday party
superman dissolves
into tears

Catherine Smith

the whole village
inside my kitchen
nonna’s recipes

Marisa Fazio

chill morning . . .
what to send with her
into the earth

Jo McInerney

Kevin Brophy, Emeritus Professor from the University of Melbourne, muses on 4AHA’s back cover about the way such an ephemeral form of poetry has become a worldwide phenomenon. As Kevin says:

If Superman can dissolve into tears at a children’s party, it is perfectly okay for you to be udder-punched by a newborn haiku of less than a dozen words

The Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology showcases the healthy state of haiku poetry in Australia today. It is a book you will want to have on your bookshelf. Copies can be purchased from Forty South Publishing at this link.