Kokako Publication
This September you'll be able to read my poetry in a new country... New Zealand! Kokako, a Japanese short-form poetry journal based in Aotearoa, has accepted a haiku of mine for their #41 issue, coming September 1st.
If, like me, you're wondering what a Kokako is and its connection to the bird (pictured above) that the journal has as their mascot, here's their super interesting and informative write-up;
"The name Kokako is that of a species of wattle bird, that in the early 1900’s was found in considerable numbers across both islands. The North Island and South Island birds were differentiated by the colour of their wattles, blue in the North, orange in the South. Due to predation by introduced mammals, the numbers rapidly declined. The South Island kokako is now assumed to be extinct. The North Island bird survives in areas of bush where predators such as stoat, ship rats, feral cats and possums are trapped by our Department of Conversation staff with the assistance of many dedicated volunteers.
There are now approximately 1900 pairs of birds, and over the last 22 years their conservation status has risen from ‘threatened to at risk’ to ‘in recovery’. They have a life span of 25 years, pair for 10-15 years, rarely fly further than 100 meters, and live on a diet of leaves, fern fronds, flowers, fruit, with insects being fed to the young for extra protein. They are the largest of the surviving New Zealand songbirds, with a weight of around 230 grams.
We may never know why Bernard Gadd (Kokako journal founder) chose the kokako as the emblem of the journal. Perhaps it is the Japanese sound of the bird’s name, kō-ka-ko. Perhaps it is because kōkako have an extraordinary haunting song and are more likely to be heard than to be seen, a quality that can be likened to that of a haiku with resonance – what is not there is as important as what is there."
Keep an eye out for my September blog post once Kokako has released their issue for my latest haiku!