New Zealand Poetry Society Haiku Competitions 2013 Results

In June I was the competition judge for the junior section of the New Zealand Poetry Society Haiku Competition. I had a great time doing this job. You can read about it and find out the results here.

Then last month I found out I'd won fifth place in the adult section of the competition. Yay! Great to have finally cracked the top five of my home country's major haiku contest. I was lucky enough to also receive a commended placing. You can read the full judge's report by Nola Borrell here.

My congratulations to all the winners! Next on the New Zealand haiku calendar is the 7th Kokako Haiku & Senryu Competition. Find out all you need to know here.

Building a time machine

I'm really pleased to once again have haiku in the annual New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology, which was edited by Owen Bullock this year. It contains all the winning entries of the NZPS International Haiku and Open Poetry Competitions, as well as work chosen 'blind' by the editor from the remaining poems entered.




My first haiku won a Highly Commended placing:

bus stop
the moonlight
on her cane



This second haiku was chosen by the editor:

his gentle snores
when did I last
see the stars . . .



You can order your copy of the NZPS 2012 anthology Building a time machine here (PayPal is available).

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth #4

'Straight From the Haijin's Mouth' is one of the features that makes up my haikai column in a fine line, The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry. This edition is from the March 2012 issue, and is reprinted with the kind permission of Laurice Gilbert, Sandra Simpson and Ernest J. Berry. 

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth

I asked award-winning haiku poets, Sandra Simpson and Ernie Berry, 'What's it like to send your haiku out into the world?'

Sandra Simpson's answer: Selecting haiku to send to an editor or judge can be difficult – they’re all my babies, I love them equally.

As it turns out though, I love some more equally than others. With experience comes the knowledge that while some are “publishable” (but not outstanding) some are altogether better (and some we don’t discuss!).

Most editors like a set of 5-15 haiku which means I can try some poems that are a bit “different” in the mix. Re-reading submissions a month later is a good practice – the haiku often turn out to be not so great as I thought and go back through the editing process.

Getting to know a journal’s ethos helps, although editors can often surprise with their choices.

This haiku, for which I never had high hopes (thinking it was a bit obvious), was published in The Heron’s Nest and won a Touchstone Award for one of the best haiku published in English in 2010:

slicing papaya –

the swing

of her black pearls

The poems to which editors and judges respond are almost invariably (the above example notwithstanding) the ones where I have strived to be honest about the moment.

This haiku came complete while visiting Otago Museum and was a runner-up in last year’s HaikuNow! Contest (limit one haiku; a tough ask):

in the cabinet marked Mesopotamia a broken face

But I also have plenty of haiku that will never be published … and that’s okay. To write the good ones I accept that I have to write the bad ones.

Ernie Berry's answer: My first foray into the world of poetry was about age 5 when Aunt Haysl of Hay's Ltd in Christchurch saw fit to publish one of my poems in her weekly children's page of the Christchurch Star-Sun. 60 years later I started dabbling in poetry again as a retirement project in Mexico where the kindly editor of an American journal targeting snowbirds* was so impressed with my work that he appointed me 'poetry editor' and insisted I supply a new poem for every issue forthwith and recruit other poets from Mexico and California.

After returning to Godzone in 1993, a friend gave me a book of poetry titled Haiku Menagerie which proved a life-changer for me because it consisted entirely of 'haiku' a genre I'd never heard of till then but which catered nicely to my predilection for poetic brevity. I took to haiku like a duck to a frogpond and my first haiku was accepted for publication by an Aussie mag, Paper Wasp in 1995 and within 2 years I was being published in haiku journals in NZ, USA, Britain, Ireland, Belgium, Croatia and Argentina, etc., etc. Being published 'world-wide' and winning the odd contest was quite a thrill and has kept my nose to the grindstone of octogenarianism...

petrified forest
a child inspects
my legs

~second place in the ukiaHaiku Festival Contest 2008

* people from northern USA who migrate south annually to escape winter.

 

The Haiku Help-Desk

The Haiku Help-Desk is part of my haikai column in a fine line, The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry Society. It's a place where readers can learn by example: in each issue the editor gives feedback on a haiku in such a way that it shows the reader how they might improve their own haiku or otherwise learn about the art of writing haiku. The editor sometimes uses their own haiku as the example and other times another poet's work is used. These articles are now being archived on the Haiku NewZ website thanks to Sandra Simpson and Laurice Gilbert. So far you can read:

• The Last Line by Kirsten Cliff
• The Shaping of a Haiku by Margaret Beverland
• Awareness in Haiku by Patricia Prime

More will be added over the coming months. Check out other archived articles, as well as book reviews, competition and journal listings, the Showcase of NZ haiku poets and the My Favourite Haiku features while you're visiting. And don't forget about Haiku Festival Aotearoa 2012 - registrations in by June 1st! I'll see you there :)

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth #3

'Straight From the Haijin's Mouth' is one of the features that makes up my haikai column in a fine line, The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry. This edition is from the January 2012 issue, and is reprinted with the kind permission of Laurice Gilbert, Catherine Mair and Patricia Prime. 

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth

I asked long time friends and poetry writing buddies Catherine Mair and Patricia Prime, 'Where has your reading and writing of haiku taken you over the years?'

Catherine Mair's answer:

It was the late 1980s and I had just started writing poetry. Because of the economical, rural/nature content it was suggested that I might find an affinity with haiku.

I'd never heard of haiku. Upon expressing my ignorance I was sent a few notes on the basics of this genre. In 1993 the first New Zealand Haiku Anthology included five of my haiku and the second Anthology (1998) included a number more. My interest in haiku lead me on a number of journeys the most far flung being a jaunt to Romania for a haiku conference hosted by Ion Codrescu. Picton was another very enjoyable destination.

The succinct way of haiku suits my natural brevity and because of a busy lifestyle the idea of so much in so little really appealed to me. Haiku satisfied several leanings. I'd been very interested in painting but farming in partnership with my husband and bringing up four children left little time. Over the years I've met some superb people. Haijin seem to share a relatively humble outlook and an acute sensitivity to nature, including human nature.

There is something about haiku which is spiritually satisfying. Something which seems akin to creation.

 

Patricia Prime's answer: 

As co-editor of the New Zealand haiku journal Kokako for the past 15 issues, I am privileged to have come to know and correspond with editors and writers throughout the world. I wrote my first haiku in the 80s and have submitted work to journals in the USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, India and Ireland. What better way is there to make friends than through poetry?

Martin Lucas says in the Introduction to his book Stepping Stones: a way into haiku that “Haiku is not a descriptive poetry, it is a reflective poetry, and we need to understand that distinction.” Haiku in its own way is self-counselling; it is a pleasure to read other people’s work and to study their methods and it is beneficial to write about one’s own feelings. Haiku is a form that blends sensitivity with realism, using simple language and clear images and I hope my poems are accessible to most readers and that they can identify with them in some way.

I’ve spent half a lifetime in Auckland, where I’ve lived, worked, brought up my family and found poetic inspiration and motivation. I’ve also made trips to China, Tibet, Macau, Australia and the South Island. These were enchanting journeys and have since lent themselves to my poetry. Writing haiku has been a long journey: some haiku had their beginnings long ago, others are very recent. Old memories supply material for my haiku, as do places I’ve visited, nature, friendships I’ve made and my family.

In a spiritual sense haiku can be a release for emotion, can range from the lyrical to the haunting, or be touched with humour or sadness. A lightness of tone, memory and imagination, are all part of the spiritual reality of haiku.

Two NZ Haiku Contests Closing In May

Katikati Haiku Contest

Cash prizes totalling $NZ175 in the senior section. All proceeds to the Haiku Pathway project. Judges are Owen Bullock (senior) and Catherine Mair (junior).
Closes: In hand May 16.
Cost: Within NZ: 18 & over - $5 for 3 haiku or $2 for 1 haiku. 17 & under - $1 for up to 2 haiku. For overseas entrants: $US5/3 haiku or $US2/haiku.
For full details see the website.

NZPS International Haiku Contest

Top five haiku/senryu will be awarded $NZ100 each; first place will also receive the Jeanette Stace Memorial Prize of $NZ150. Winners will be published in the NZPS annual anthology. Judge is Barbara Strang.
Closes: May 31.
Cost: $1.50/haiku, for NZPS members every 5th haiku is free.
Full details from the website.

NZPS Haiku Junior Contest

Cash prizes, plus one winner will also receive the Jeanette Stace Memorial Prize of $NZ100 open only to entrants who are 17 years of age or younger on May 31, 2012. Schools may send bulk entries, but poems must be clearly attributed to authors. Winners will be published in the NZPS annual anthology.
Closes: May 31.
Cost: $1/haiku.
Full details from the website. For information on group school entries, go here.

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth #2

'Straight From the Haijin's Mouth' is one of the features that makes up my haikai column in a fine line, The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry. This edition is from the November 2011 issue, and is reprinted with the kind permission of Laurice Gilbert, Nola Borrell and Karen Peterson Butterworth.

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth

I asked the co-editors of the latest national haiku anthology the taste of nashi, Nola Borrell and Karen Peterson Butterworth, 'What is the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received about writing haiku?'

Nola Borrell's answer: At the risk of being contentious (or not published!), I think 'challenge' is a more useful word than 'advice'. Good haiku depend so much more on a way of seeing, or as Martin Lucas (Editor, Presence) says:

'To begin writing haiku, and to make progress to any significant extent, requires two gifts:

• The ability to be alert to the subtleties of sensory or psychological experience (i.e. to notice things)
• A sensitivity to the subtleties of language (i.e. to be able to express things).'
  

http://www.poetrysociety.org.nz/node/460

A challenge from Martin Lucas stimulated me to look more critically at my haiku. He talks about making a 'magical utterance' or a 'poetic spell', something archetypal/ rare/ essential, and in poetic language (4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference, 2009, Terrigal, Australia). This seems more likely to reduce the human focus frequently dominant or at least intrusive in many current haiku, as well as prosy statements masquerading as haiku. http://www.poetrysociety.org.nz/node/456

A specific suggestion (just to keep in with Co-ordinator Kirsten!): Early in my writing I received this comment on a mainstream poem: How about avoiding weak endings to lines, such as 'of', 'the',' in'. Of course. Why hadn't I seen it! Thanks Harry Ricketts (V.U.W., Co-Editor, New Zealand Books). This makes even more sense in haiku - where each word and line ending is that much more significant.

Karen Peterson Butterworth's answer: First the foundation. My artist mother who trained my eyes. When a boring (to me) visitor arrived, ‘Watch her hands and do me a drawing afterwards.’ With her water colour tubes laid out on a white enamel tray, ‘Which colours would you mix for that sunset?’ Five minutes later, ‘Now which?’ My music teacher. ‘When it says “staccato”, leave a tiny gap between each note, and for “legato,” make the notes flow into each other.’ My Dad who sang while he turned the separator handle for the cream on our porridge. My bout with polio which gave me five months with nothing to do but read and observe. 

Then meeting haiku in my 50s. Reading, listening, attending workshops. No single piece of advice springs to mind, but gradually three pivotal messages crystallized. 1. Learn to recognise a haiku moment. 2. Note it down straight away. 3. Choose, change, chop, and chisel your words till you make them sing. 

Copies of the taste of nashi: New Zealand Haiku (Windrift Haiku Group, 2008) are still available for sale. Find all the deatils here.

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth #1

'Straight From the Haijin's Mouth' is one of the features that makes up my haikai column in a fine line, The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry. This edition is from the September 2011 issue, and is reprinted with the kind permission of Laurice Gilbert, Joanna Preston and Owen Bullock. 

Straight From the Haijin's Mouth

I asked this year's NZPS International Haiku Competition Judges, Joanna Preston (Open) and Owen Bullock (Junior), 'What is it about haiku that keeps you coming back for more?'

Joanna Preston's answer: It's less a case of ‘what keeps me coming back’ than haiku refusing to let me go in the first place! Every few years I decide I want to leave the genre alone for a while, but something will happen that just can’t be expressed in any other form, or that announces itself to me that way. And then I'm astounded all over again at the depth and complexity of the genre. For me it's that shock of recognition, of purpose, of rightness, that’s crucial in all poetry, but most powerfully concentrated in haiku. And there’s no better training for a poet – to be precise, to be good at recognising exactly what elements of a scene or experience are the really important ones, and to be as supple in meaning and frugal in expression as possible. You feel the really good ones in your body, as a physical impact, as well as in your mind. So maybe my need for haiku is a form of addiction, the way runners can come to crave the endorphin high. Or maybe it's the nuclear physics of poetry – the power to blow the world apart packed into a tiny, seemingly innocuous package.

Read more from Joanna on her blog – A Dark Feathered Art

Owen Bullock's answer: I love the variety that is possible in haiku, and the depth that is sometimes held by such few words. That depth is like a lake, you can swim on the surface or dive deep, chase sticks or skim stones. But it is always about what is real, what is experienced, grounded in sensation. The technique is hidden; the approach of the best haiku so subtle that it is as if no effort goes into it, that it tumbles out of the sky fully formed. Haiku takes me by surprise more often than other forms of poetry.

My own search as a poet is for truth and simplicity. Truth, in this context, means a faithfulness to what actually occurred. The simplicity required to frame the experience is a great lesson and training ground for any and all writing.

waiting . . .

a leaf falls

into my lap

~from wild camomile

Read more from Owen on his website

NZPS Special Call For Submissions

Call for submissions for a special edition of haikai café to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch (22 February) and Japan (11 March).

This will appear in the March 2012 issue of a fine line - The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry Society.

Please send up to five haiku and/or tanka for consideration to Kirsten Cliff with 'HAIKAI CAFE' in the subject line. (NZPS members only)

Unpublished poetry is preferred, but previously published works will be considered (if credit supplied).

Deadline: 31 January 2012


(Note: a fine line is always looking for Feature Articles "to encourage informed debate, and to assist readers to improve their understanding of poetry." See the submission guidelines here.)

An Update on the 2011 NZPS Anthology

I just found this information on The New Zealand Poetry Society website, regarding poems submitted to The 2011 Annual International Poetry Competition:

"We regret that due to circumstances beyond our control notification of poems selected for our anthology were not made before the end of August. We apologise for the delay, and request that entrants wait a little longer before submitting their poems elsewhere. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

So, you could still have a haiku chosen for the 2011 NZPS anthology edited by Linzy Forbes. Watch this space :)

A Haiku Journey

I walked unannounced into the world of haiku. I’d never encountered it before, never been taught it at school. Even when living in Japan for six months I never crossed paths with haiku.

Haiku for me now is like an old friend: comfortable to be with, always there for me through the good times and the bad, with an honest heart which will still challenge me when I need it.

My haiku journey began when I moved to Bay of Plenty in 2005, joined Tauranga Writers' a year later and heard about the Katikati Haiku Pathway.

On New Year’s Day 2007, I was alone with a longing to begin my year with something new. I felt a need to discover the external world, yet at the same time explore the world deep within myself. So when everyone else was heading to the beach hungover, I drove forty-five minutes to the calmness of the Katikati Haiku Pathway.

I strolled, I sat, I listened, I looked, I touched, I smelled: I wrote my first haiku. I absorbed all that was on offer that day and found what I'd been searching for: a new way to express myself.

Haiku just seemed to ‘fit’ me. It was concise, to the point, I felt I knew where I stood with it. There were no long descriptions, no flowery language to get lost in. Just good honest observations, where every word and line break was important, and carried a depth that would reward the present reader.

Most of my poetry at that time stemmed from observations: moments in time that stayed with me and begged to be created into something. Sights, sounds, and sensations that enticed my body to grasp pen and paper, and then record the occasion in its rawest and truest form. Haiku allowed me the opportunity, gave me the tools to do justice to my experiences.

I read all I could about haiku in print and on-line. It wasn’t long before my first haiku were published. Then six months after my visit to the Katikati Haiku Pathway, I set myself a challenge: from my 30^th birthday on 31 July I would write one haiku, every day, for a year. It was this huge task that really taught me the craft of haiku, and elevated all my writing to the next level.

It did this in two main ways: honing my observation skills, and refining my ability to clearly convey what I wanted to say.

Writing haiku means living life using all your senses. Not just listening to what a person says, for example, but looking at the way their eyes light up over certain topics, the way the sunlight picks up different colours in their hair, the smell of their perfume, the temperature of the room, the background noises. Taking in all these aspects when interviewing someone for an article (which is what makes up half of my prose writing work) brings to life your experience of your time with that person. The reader gets a more rounded view of the interviewee, and your article is more enjoyable to read as it is richer, deeper. Working and playing with haiku has made me become more observant to the world around me, and this can’t help but enrich all of my writing.

Writing haiku involves capturing the beauty and fullness of a moment, in about 10 words or less. Working with haiku has improved my ability to convey what I want via the written word. I enjoy wordplay more since reading and writing haiku: it's taught me the value of each word and it has expanded my vocabulary as I’ve searched for the right words, in sound and in meaning, to form those few short lines. The challenge of writing haiku has lead me to an uncluttered writing style, in both my poetry and prose.

I've only been writing creatively for six years but much of that time has been spent on the art of haiku. I see so many possibilities with this form and I’m experimenting with it and extending my knowledge all the time. My latest project is developing a collection of collage-style haiga (haiku with images) about my experiences of going through treatment for leukaemia. Yes, my old friend haiku was there for me then, too.

This piece appeared as the feature article in a fine line, The Magazine of the New Zealand Poetry Society (July, 2011).

It's My Birthday This Month & I'm Giving YOU Gifts!

Yes, July 31st is my birthday and I'm celebrating with you by having a book give-away!

Become a 'follower' of Swimming in Lines of Haiku this month and I'll put you in the draw to win a copy of the taste of nashi - New Zealand Haiku (Windrift, 2008).

standing naked
in moonlight -
the taste of nashi
           ~Sandra Simpson

It's easy!

• Sign up to be a 'follower' via Blogger or Networked Blogs.
• Once you're a follower, please leave a comment on one of my posts and I will put your name in the hat for the draw.
• One entry per person during the month of July, 2011.
• Winner drawn at random on 2nd August, 2011.

As July 31st 2011 is also the 2nd anniversary of my engagment - if I have more than twenty new followers during the month, I'll also draw a winner for a 2nd book, Before the Sirocco - The New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology (NZPS, 2008).

autumn wind
following her footsteps
through the leaves
                   ~Sophia Frentz



Do come and join me at Swimming in Lines of Haiku where I explore my poetry journey and help you with yours by offering discussion and information on competitions/workshops/calls for submissions and websites/books/people of interest.

A Rainbow of Queer Ku

Last week, one of the NaHaiWriMo prompts was in honour of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month: Write about sexuality, gender identity or pride in general. I posted a few of my previously published haiku and senryu on the subject (all inspired by true events) and thought it would be good to gather them here in one post. I'd love to be part of a queer haiku (and related forms) anthology some day. For now: Enjoy!


through the smoke
dark red lips
of a drag queen

Published in Kokako 8 (April, 2008)



karaoke night
watching her adam's apple
bob

Published in Kokako 12 (April, 2010)

Photo taken, and peace cranes folded, by Kirsten Cliff

marriage ceremony

both wear white

her dress   her dress

Commended, NZPS International Haiku Competition 2009
Published in moments in the whirlwind (NZPS Anthology, 2009)



sharing fries
they hold hands
under the table

Published on Haiku News online (Feb, 2011) in response to this article - McDonald's WiFi censors out glbt sites on GayNZ.com

Inside the Mind of a Haiku Competition Judge

Joanna Preston is the 2011 judge of the adult section of the New Zealand Poetry Society International Haiku Competition. Over at her blog, A Dark Feathered Art, she is posting about her experience and it all makes for very interesting reading.

So far she has posted -

• ‘An island entire’ – judging the NZPS 2011 Haiku comp (check out the comments section on this one where she gives a great explanation to a reader's question - what is haiku?)
• Whittling soberly – the preliminary deliberations
• Dawn, reprieve, and mercy – the preliminary deliberations continue

I look forward to reading more as the weeks progress; all judging must be done by June 30th. And no, it hasn't put me off wanting to take on the task myself someday! :)

Joanna is co-editor of Kokako - New Zealand's only specialist haiku and related forms journal. She has edited the NZPS annual anthology three times; this is her first time judging for the NZPS. You can check out her books here.

NZ Poetry Society 2011 International Haiku Competition

Haiku (including senryu) entries must be received by 31 May

Prizes: The top five haiku/senryu will be awarded NZ$100 each. In addition, the 1st prize winner will be awarded the Jeanette Stace Memorial Prize of $150. There will be up to 20 commendations.

Judge: Joanna Preston - a Tasmanaut poet, editor, and freelance poetry teacher. Her first collection, The Summer King, won both the 2008 Kathleen Grattan Award and the 2010 Mary Gilmore Poetry Prize. She co-edits Kokako magazine, and was the 2001 Haiku Competition winner.

Entry fee: NZ$1.50 per haiku; for NZPS members every 5th haiku is free. PayPal on site.

Go here for all the entry information.

This was my submission for week 13 of 2011 (part of my goal this year to submit to a poetry competition or publication every week).

March Round-Up - The Three "P"s: Poetry, Prose & Photography

Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:

• week nine - submitted two tanka and eight haiku to paper wasp (first time submitting here) awaiting outcome
• week ten - submitted an experimental haiku to the HaikuNow! Innovative Haiku Contest (first time submitting here) results out in April
• week eleven - submitted one senryu and three previously publsihed free-verse poems to the 2011 Jacar Press LOVE Anthology (first time submitting here) closes April 30th
• week twelve - submitted a haiku to the HaikuNow! Contemporary Haiku Contest (first time submitting here) results out in April
• week thirteen - submitted eight haiku to the New Zealand Poetry Society International Haiku Competition, closes May 31st

March saw me attend to some prose, and write up an account of my paranormal experience, which was published as a guest post "To Help Or To Haunt?" on Marvellous Mable. Then I was asked by Lorraine Holloway-White (A Skeptical Medium) if I'd give my permission for the story to be used in a book she's currently writing. A very unexpected opportunity which I said yes to right away!

I also submitted an article to a fine line, the magazine of the New Zealand Poetry Society, which will be published as a feature article in the July issue. Super pleased about this as I've wanted to see an article of mine there for some time (about time I submitted one!). It's about haiku, of course :)

I completed one haiga for my collection exploring my journey through leukaemia, making a new total of 26 pieces, and wrote four new tanka. I'm starting to think about getting the poetry collection together to enter into chapbook competitions, but I'm not sure yet if that is where I want to head with it. As I'm still writing and have over a year of my leukaemia journey left, it will be a while yet before I would seriously consider a complete publication.

For now, I'm sending most of the haiku and tanka I wrote late last year out to journals so I can be sure that it's of a high standard and can stand alone without needing the context of the collection. So far one tanka has appeared in Kokako and three tanka are forthcoming in Presence. I'm awaiting news of submissions to other journals.

I've done a lot more with my photography this month than my writing, and that's just the way it goes sometimes. After two straight months of writing one-a-day, I got to worrying in the second week of March that my poetry writing had stopped short! All I needed was to remind myself that as long as I'm having fun and doing something to quench my creative thirst then all is well with me.

I submitted some images to Four and Twenty for consideration as cover art and editor, Vinnie Kinsella, accepted one for the June issue. :) Yay! I also submitted my cover image for Kokako, which was accepted by the editors, so that's all go for September.

St Patrick's Day saw me spend the afternoon taking my sister's pregnancy photos. We had fun and got some great shots. I'm sure she won't mind me sharing this one seeing as I'm not showing faces or mentioning names (yes, I have more than one sister! more than two, in fact! and two out of the three are pregnant, due a mere six weeks apart!).


Photo by Kirsten Cliff (c) 2011



Sharing a Haiku for NaHaiWriMo - day twenty

I'm writing a haiku a day for NaHaiWriMo offline. Here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku I'm sharing one of my published haiku each day:

marriage ceremony

both wear white

her dress     her dress

Commended, New Zealand Poetry Society International Haiku Competition 2009
Published in moments in the whirlwind (New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology, 2009)

Sharing a Haiku for NaHaiWriMo - day fourteen

I'm writing a haiku a day for NaHaiWriMo offline. Here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku I'm sharing one of my published haiku each day:

between outstretched

t  o  e  s

summer breeze

Published in Before the Sirocco (New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology, 2008)

Sharing a Haiku for NaHaiWriMo - day seven

I'm writing a haiku a day for NaHaiWriMo offline. Here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku I'm sharing one of my published haiku each day:


power outage
he show me
Orion's belt


Published in across the fingerboards (New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology, 2010)

Sharing a Haiku for NaHaiWriMo - day one

I'm writing a haiku a day for NaHaiWriMo offline. Here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku I'm sharing one of my published haiku each day:


navigating
these country roads
the curl of her hair


Highly Commended, New Zealand Poetry Society International Haiku Competition 2008
Published in Before the Sirocco (New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology, 2008)