On a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon 25 haiku poets and poetry lovers met in the Gallery, a heritage room in the Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre to celebrate the Sydney launch of under the same moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology (Forty South, 2023).
Poets travelled from all over Sydney and from as far afield as the Central Coast, Bathurst, Canberra and Coffs Harbour to attend the event.
Vanessa Proctor acted as the MC, introducing the incoming president of the Australian Haiku Society, Leanne Mumford, to speak about haiku and the AHS. Three AHS presidents were present, one current and two past presidents: Vanessa Proctor and Beverley George. Lyn Reeves, who has recently retired from her role as Vice President after 24 years service to the AHS, was recognised for her tireless work for the Society and for Australian haiku.
L to R, top row: Leanne Mumford, David George, Laurel Astle, Rohan Buettel, Beverley George, Vanessa Proctor
L to R, bottom row: Colleen Keating, Carol Reynolds, Barbara Fisher, Margaret Mahony, Kent Robinson, Jane Gibian
Vanessa Proctor then spoke about the editorial process with co-editors Lyn Reeves and Rob Scott, the aims for the anthology and the process of selecting the haiku. She examined how the strength of this anthology lies in the quality of its work and the way in which it offers a distinctly Australian view of the world.
As the anthology is dedicated to John Bird and Beverley George, Beverley began the readings with Max Ryan’s haiku in tribute to AHS founder John Bird. David George then read Gregory Piko’s haiku celebrating Beverley’s contribution to Australian haiku.
Contributors went on to read their featured haiku and those of poets who were not able to attend.
All present celebrated the occasion with food and wine and enjoyed the views from the balcony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Books were bought; old connections between poets were rekindled and new connections made. Plans were set in motion for future gatherings of NSW haiku poets.
Vanessa Proctor All photos courtesy of Gavin Austin
A great write up by Vanessa and I just want to add I was proud to read my three published haiku and I enjoyed the beautiful venue of the neighbourhood centre. From the old laced wrought iron verandra we had views of the Opera House and the Harbour bridge. as we sipped our red wine (well some of us ) and we discussed poetry and friendship..
I am thrilled to learn my original poem In Search of Hildegard goes on from strength to strength. Originally short listed and commended by the Society of Women Writers Giving Women a Voice National Poetry Competition in 2019, then included in the amazing new book Hildegard Speaks by Dr. Annette Esser for the Hildegard Pilgrimage in Germany, translated into German by the talented Dr. Annette Esser, the founder of the Scivias Institute for Art and Spirituality See below . . (love to hear it spoken in Hildegard’s mother tongue) and now short listed as a short film in the Bogota, Columbia Short Film Festival “I Am Peace.”
All exciting as the Pilgrimage is on at the moment through the Pilgrims Way to arrive at the Benedictan Abbey overlooking the Rhine River and Bingen . on Hildegard’s Feast Day 17th September.
in search of Hildegard of Bingen
I take a train out of Bingen
through the Rhine Valley
on this sweaty summers day
trek up a steep hill
relieved to find an old sign klosterruine
which points to a verdant track
into a cool shady grove
here remnants of the twelfth century monastery
moss-mottled stone walls
mostly buried by vines
and embedded tree roots
is Hildegard’s world
standing in this moment
with the outlines of another world
time is shapeless
the divide of centuries a blur
only my mind’s eye can see
a spirited young woman
flourishing herb gardens
she prepares salves and tonics
attends the sick
listens to the breeze
and finds God in the hills above her
kairos time
for her visions writings mandalas and music
later a powerful feminist voice
against corruption patriarchy and senseless war
the earth is our mother she would sing
revere and care for her
if we exploit and savage her
she will be out off balance
and the price will be high
then silence for nine hundred years
in our time
the scales are tipped loudly out of balance
the all ords and the dow are the measure
a daily intake of massacres crowds our entertainment
soul mutilation makes soldiers unable to cry
I lean against the wall marked Hildegard’s cloister
in the lush shade of an almond tree
hanging fruit voluptuous now
is falling to emptiness
the void
the nothingness
how human to fear the waiting
for fullness to return
scattered around me
are rotting almond fruits
flies enjoying their feast
the decay fodder for the soil
my eyes scan for her presence
a maiden hair fern
grooved into a crumbling niche
catches my eye
delicate and tenacious
I feel a quickening
like a first flutter of new life
too often the fragile the intimate whisper
the lightness of touch
the flicker of a sanctuary lamp
like the breath are portals and easily missed
I ponder the rise and fall of my breathing
listen to the rhythmic heart beat
hear veriditas chants in the crumbling walls
veriditas murmurs hildegard
hildegard is here
I do not flinch i expect her
nothing like the grey statue at the abbey
holding the orb and feather
her presence is intimate
light glows luminous
her arms full of herbs from the garden
and her muddy hand-made sandals
make me laugh
Congratulations, Michael Conti!
Your talent and enthusiasm for our initiative are heartwarming and changemaking. We have reviewed your film submission and appreciate announcing to you and our world that your film, In Search of Hildegard of Bingen, is part of the Official Screening Selection of the I AM PEACE GAMIP Global Short Film Forum 2022.
Michael Conti, Colleen Keating
In Search of Hildegard of Bingen
Colleen Keating translated by Annette Esser
in search of Hildegard of Bingen
… auf der Suche nach Hildegard von Bingen
… ich nehme einen Zug aus Bingen
durchs Rheintal
an diesem Sommertag
steige auf einen steilen Hügel
erleichtert ein altes Schild zu finden Klosterruine
das auf einen grünen Pfad führt
in einen kühlen schattigen Hain
Überreste des Klosters aus dem zwölften Jahrhundert
moos-gefleckte Steinwände,
die meist von Rebstöcken bedeckt sind,
und eingebettete Baumwurzeln
das hier ist Hildegards Welt
in diesem Moment
in den Umrissen einer anderen Zeit zu stehen,
Zeit ist formlos,
die Einteilung in Jahrhunderte unscharf.
nur das Auge meiner Seele sieht
eine lebendige junge Frau
und blühende Kräutergärten
sie bereitet Salben und Säfte
steht den Kranken bei
hört auf den Wind
und findet Gott in den Hügeln über ihr
Kairos Zeit
für ihre Visionen, Schriften, Mandalas und Musik
später eine mächtige feministische Stimme
gegen Korruption Patriarchat und sinnlosen Krieg
die Erde ist unsere Mutter sie würde singen
ehre sie und sorge für sie
wenn wir sie ausbeuten und über sie herfallen
gerät sie aus dem Gleichgewicht
und der Preis wird hoch sein
dann gab es neunhundert Jahre Stille
zu unserer Zeit
ist das Maß lautstark aus der Balance geraten
das wer bietet mehr und der Dow sind die Maßstäbe
ein tägliches Reinziehen von Massakern trägt zu unserer Unterhaltung bei
Seelenverstümmelung belässt Soldaten unfähig zum Weinen
Ich lehne mich gegen die Mauer, die als Hildegards Frauenklause bezeichnet wird
im üppigen Schatten eines Mandelbaums
hängende Früchte nun lustvoll
die Leere
das Nichts
wie menschlich das Warten zu fürchten.
dass die Fülle zurück kehrt
meine Augen skandieren nach ihrer Gegenwart
das ferne Haar eines Mädchens
eingefercht in eine zerbröckelnde Nische
zieht meinen Blick an
fein und zäh
Ich fühle eine Erregung
Wie ein erstes Flattern neuen Lebens
Allzu oft sind das zerbrechliche intime Flüstern
die Helligkeit der Berührung
das Flackern einer heiligen Lampe
Tore, die wie das Atmen leicht übersehenwerden
Ich sinniere über den Anstieg und Abfall meines Atems
At the SWW Gala Luncheonon Wednesday I wasthrilled to receive two highly commended awards.
The first for my book Olive Muriel Pink, awarded the Highly Commended in the Society of Women Writers Poetry Award 2022
The second is a Highly Commended Award for my poem in the National Womens Writers Competition for Poetry. Giving Women Writers a Voice
After so much research, reflection, writing, editing and critiquing with my poetry groups and later with the publisher Ginninderra Press to bring my epic poem Olive Muriel Pink to the world it has finally been given the Highly Commended Award in the Society of Women Writers Poetry Award: a prestigious award and no small feat as it was up against many deserving books Short Listed.
Congratulations to all who made the short list , and especially big congratulations to the winner, my poet friend Pip Griffin for her well deserved book, The Secret Diaries . Virginia and Katherine.
It is a long lonely journey to get a literary work to this point and everyone deserves the recognition that comes their way this day at this rewarding and affirming Gala Luncheon
A great turnout of many amazing fellow female writers for the Gala Luncheon with the key note address given by researcher and writer Anne Summers. A sobering address in which Anne gave us much of the detail of a recent research paper she has researched and written on Domestic Violence titled,
≠ Violence or Poverty;
The dire choice faced by nearly half a million women
JUDGES REPORT
TheSociety of Women Writers NSW Biennial Poetry Book Awards 2022
Highly Commended
Colleen Keating’s Olive Muriel Pink: her radical and Idealistic life.
A poetic journey transforms meticulous research into vivid images
and crisp, engaging writing, bring to light an extraordinary pioneering
Australian woman’s life and achievements in this substantial
biographical poem.
Colleen Keating’s biographical poem brings to fresh attention, and in a new form the life and work of an extraordinary Australian, an anthropologist, committed to working with and bringing to the awareness of colonial Australia, the deep knowledge and connection to the land of the Warlpiri & Arrernte peoples. During her life, Olive Oink worked to disturb the ‘Great Australian Silence’ about the Aboriginal people and Keating’s engaging work restates and re-envisage this important work for modern day Australians.
This biographical poem is a sustained accomplishment. It is a complete narrative, rich in detail and authenticity that captures not only the board and more nuanced details of Olive Pink’s life, but also the landscapes and people in which /with whom she moved. In addition, the poem is a skilful evocation of the times (including both world wars), of loss, of prejudice, of misogyny, of dedication to a cause /a belief. Always lucid in detail, at times the blank verse lines are like sketches and paintings that Pink loved – accurate, but sparse like the arid desert in which she moved – and imbued with the vivacity and splashes of colour that characterise Australia’s land/outback.
Thank you, Colleen, for the opportunity thread your poetry .It was a privilege. Best wishes with your work in the future.
Dr. Carmel Bendon
Dr. Carmel Bendon is a writer and presenteron“all things medieval, “ lives in sydney, Australia. She has a
phD in MedievalLiterature and lectures in English literature, Medieval Studies and Spiritual. She is ye author of Mysticism and Space , Grasping at Water and more recentlyThe Mystics Who Came to Dinner.
