Workshop – Vanessa Proctor: Haiku as Meditation
Time: 10:15 am to 12:00 pm
Place: Dixson Room, State Library of NSW
Cost: Members $40, non-members $55
Haiku can help us to slow down in our fast-paced lives and see the world differently. In this workshop we will discuss the construction of haiku in English and work at juxtaposing images to create vibrant short poems. The practice of writing haiku is also beneficial for other types of writing as it hones our work, cutting out all unnecessary words. Together we will immerse ourselves in images of the natural world and our daily lives. Beginners and more experienced haiku poets are welcome.
Vanessa Proctor holds an MA in Creative Writing. She began writing haiku while living and working in Japan in the early 1990s. A foundational member of the Australian Haiku Society, she has been the Regional Representative for NSW for over 20 years and is a past president of the AHS (2016-2020). She edited the New Zealand haiku anthology A to Zazen in 2004, co-edited The Second Australian Haiku Anthology in 2006 and under the same moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology (Forty South, 2023). She has judged several international haiku competitions and mentored many haiku poets. As well as appearing in print, her haiku appear on public art installations in Australia and New Zealand.
Literary Event
Time: 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Place: Dixson Room, State Library of NSW
Cost: Members $25, non-members $40
Annual General Meeting
The Society’s AGM will be held on Wednesday 14 August, commencing at 1:00 pm. The order of business will include acceptance of the President’s Report and Treasurer’s Report, and election of a new committee for 2024-25.
Guest Speaker – Meg Brayshaw: M. Barnard Eldershaw – literary value and the woman writer at sea
Dr Meg Brayshaw, John Rowe Lecturer in Australian Literature at the University of Sydney, will discuss the transformative partnership between Marjorie Barnard (1897-1987) and Flora Eldershaw (1897-1956), who produced numerous works of literature and non-fiction in a working relationship that lasted twenty years. She will explore what their work and career tell us about being an Australian women writer in a rapidly changing, globalising literary culture.
Dr Meg Brayshaw teaches and researches women’s writing, the Australian novel, and literary engagements with space, environment and climate.
Book and pay:
Members, you can book for yourself and a friend at member pricing, if purchased at the same time.
Workshop: Members $40, non-members $55
Literary event: Members $25, non-members $40
Discount for full program (Workshop and Literary Event) when booked together:
Members $60, non-members $85
By Credit card: https://www.trybooking.com/COAPG
or by Direct debit:
The Society of Women Writers NSW Inc
BSB: 062 018
Account: 00950433
Code: VM
Email Amanda and include
your name, receipt number and date of event
Zoom ($10) will be available for this function – please click here to book: TBA