Robyn Cairns is a Melbourne-based poet. Her collection, Horizon, was published by Ginninderra Press earlier in 2023. Robyn’s poems capture the delight of familiar horizons close to home, and new horizons further afield. Horizon presents around 70 haiku with several, tanka, haibun and longer poems interspersed along the way. The residents of Melbourne were subject… Read More Robyn Cairns: Horizon
Over the past ten years, African poets have shown a growing interest in haiku with their poems often appearing in journals around the world. One of the leading African haiku poets is Adjei Agyei-Baah from Ghana whose collection, Tales of the Kite was published earlier in 2023 by Buttonhook Press. You can read the entire… Read More Adjei Agyei-Baah: Tales of the Kite
In 2000, John Bird and Janice Bostok (1942-2011) co-founded the Australian Haiku Society. Sadly, John passed away in May 2022 after many years spent promoting haiku, supporting haiku writers and encouraging the use of Australian subjects and seasonal references in haiku. Every two years, the Australian Haiku Society conducts the John Bird Dreaming Award to… Read More 2022 John Bird Dreaming Award
Japanese haiku writers often reference locations by name, thereby inviting the reader to bring their knowledge of place into the poem. Take, for example, this haiku by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902): biting into a persimmona bell resoundsHōryū-ji While Shiki did not write this haiku at the Hōryū-ji Temple, it’s thought he referenced the temple because it… Read More Aboriginal Place Names in Haiku
The first Haiku Down Under conference was held via Zoom in October 2022. You can find details of the conference including background on the New Zealand and Australian conference organisers here. Haiku Down Under was a great success. Registrations, which exceeded 200, included poets from Australia, New Zealand and around the world. To commemorate the… Read More Haiku Down Under Anthology: 2022
Each year, Red Moon Press produces an anthology showcasing some of the best haiku published in the previous twelve months. The 2022 Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku: skipping stones was released in February 2023. Editor-in-chief, Jim Kacian, and a team of 10 staff review haiku from books, print journals, online journals and haiku competitions… Read More Red Moon Anthology: skipping stones
WA Poets Inc publishes the quarterly online poetry journal, Creatrix. WA Poets is the peak body for the development of poets and poetry in Western Australia. Each issue features haiku and longer forms of poetry, with haiku and poetry prize winners selected from the four issues published over the calendar year. In 2022, the Creatrix… Read More Creatrix Haiku Prize: 2022
The Haiku Foundation (THF) was first conceived in 2004 by American poet and publisher, Jim Kacian. The Foundation’s web presence was established in 2008 and has been a valuable resource for the sharing and discussion of haiku ever since. You can access THF here. THF’s goals are to archive English-language haiku, expand possibilities for future… Read More THF Volunteer Anthology 2022
Gregory Piko 