Report on the Bindii Meeting Sunday September 28, 2025

Julia Wakefield, Subha Goonaratne, Stella Damarjati, Maeve Archibald, Ewan Rourke and Lynette Arden met on Sunday September 28 at 4.30pm, using Zoom. Apologies were received from Maureen Sexton. The attendees all brought some haiku for review, some of which were on the theme of spring, as suggested previously.

Maeve mentioned an upcoming poetry event she had been invited to present at, at the Poetry Lab, where she planned to discuss haiku forms, focusing on Basho and Issa, with plans to include an Australian haiku artist for comparison. Lynette reported on the Haiku Musings discussion on the Australian Haiku Society website, expressing concern about low participation and suggesting an open discussion format might encourage more contributions. Ewan shared his success in being selected for a haiku mentoring program with Rob Scott, which will consist of weekly Zoom sessions until the end of the year, providing opportunities for in-depth haiku discussions.

We discussed the use of personal pronouns in Haiku poetry, with Ewan seeking clarification on whether to include "I" or "me" in his poems. We agreed that while classical Japanese Haiku avoid personal references, English Haiku can include personal elements, meaning that Ewan's version was effective.

We now have a system whereby if a member has to leave before the end or is unable to attend, we all send them individual feedback.

No date was fixed for the next meeting, and no topic was specified.

 

Julia Wakefield 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April Challenge

In Australia in April we are deepening into autumn. In Adelaide it is still warm weather. The quinces are ripening on the trees, the shops full of the harvest of summer fruits. Autumn foliage is beginning to appear on the exotic European trees we have planted along our streets. Shops are filling with warm clothes for winter. The car race and the Fringe and Adelaide Festivals have finished bringing to an end the rush of Mad March. The blocked traffic is now flowing freely once more, interstate and international visitors have flown away. In Japan the cherry blossom season should have reached Kyoto. Challenge: customs of autumn or flowers of spring. Senryu, haiku, tanka. Please use your imagination.
Read more

August Challenge

Any Japanese poetry genre: haiku, senryu, tanka etc. 1. I nspiration through nature, looking forward to spring, and witnessing the early signs of spring 2. Sport (plenty of inspiration with the Olympic games on at the moment)
Read more

July Challenge

As I post there have been no entries for the June Challenge. This is a sad state of affairs. Maybe it has been too cold and wet for haiku and tanka poets to get about, use their hearts and intellect. As I look out the window the weather seems in a state of uncertainty, waiting for something to occur: rain, wind, sun? Tanka challenge: change, uncertainty, the unexplicable. Interpret as widely as you wish. Haiku Challenge: warmth. Again interpret as widely as you wish. Seasonal or non seasonal are acceptable.
Read more