– The Festival being held in Tauranga from June 15-17 is offering two overseas tutors in its line up, a first for the event.
Jim Kacian, (left) from the US, is considered to be one of the best writers of haiku in any language and is coming to New Zealand especially for the festival. He will take two master classes, one on haiku and one on haibun (prose plus haiku). Jim is an award-winning haiku poet and owner of Red Moon Press, the world’s largest publisher of haiku in English.
The other overseas tutor is Beverley George, from Australia, who will take a workshop on tanka. Beverley is founding editor of “Eucalypt”, Australia’s only dedicated tanka journal, and is a past president of HaikuOz. Other tutors comprise Owen Bullock (haiku as performance), Dr Lawrence Marceau (the haibun of 18th century writer Yokoi Yayū), and Sandra Simpson (the junicho form of linked verse).
The festival programme also includes a visit to the Katikati Haiku Pathway, an open mike event and a Q&A panel discussion with all the workshop presenters.
For more information, including a registration form, visit the festival website. http://hfa2012.wordpress.com/
Registrations from people wishing to live in at the venue will be welcome until March 15.
