'Everything is Everything’ with Tony Birch
About this event
Celebrate Poetry Month 2021 with a workshop led by award-winning author and poet Tony Birch.
Here is Tony’s description of the workshop in his own words:
‘My love of reading and writing poetry is guided by a lifelong attraction to the seemingly simple and unadorned. To be direct, I enjoy poems that hit me emotionally on the first reading; poems with heart and generosity. Even more so, when I return to favourite poems, I love the experience of learning more, of the poem whispering a new meaning to me that I had previously missed, running through seemingly simple lines and stanzas. I will be running a two-hour poetry workshop that will encourage students to strip back an idea, a concept for a poem to a few words and lines that allow thoughts, ideas and concepts the space to breath and quietly make their way in the world. We will introduce the occasional creative prop; a photograph, an object, possibly a bar to two of music. While the subject matter may be ‘heavy’ or ‘light’ in a poem, I want us to consider the potential of decluttering the poem and hearing each individual note that is being struck. As the wonderful Alice Walker wrote, we can work equally with fists as well as hands.’
With fists as well
As hands
How they battered down
Doors
And ironed starched white
Shirts
~ Alice Walker from 'Women'
How to access the workshop
The workshop will be held live online via Zoom . You'll receive the workshop access link to your email inbox a few days prior to the event.
Details
Date: Wed 11 August
Time: 7-9pm AEST (duration 120 minutes)
Poet: Tony Birch
Cost: suggested $10.00 donation (with funds supporting Poetry Month and Red Room Poetry)
Bookings: Essential (limited to 50 places)
All are welcome to attend
About our host
Tony Birch is a founding member of the Melbourne School of Discontent. In 2021he will publish the poetry collection, Whisper Songs and the short story collection, Dark As Last Night. His previous books are the novels The White Girl, Ghost River and Blood, the short story collections Shadowboxing, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People, and the book of poetry, Broken Teeth.
Workshop FAQs
Do I need to turn my video on?
We'd love to see your faces to make this a more interactive session. However, you are more than welcome to turn off your video if you prefer!
Will my microphone be on?
Your microphone will be muted on joining the workshop, but you can use the live chat feature to communicate with Eunice and the other participants during the session.
Can I ask questions throughout?
There will be opportunities to ask questions throughout the session via the live chat. Your mic may also be unmuted from time-to-time if you wish to speak.
Troubleshooting
If you have any issues accessing the workshop, please make sure you have joined via the link provided to your inbox on the day. If you have any further problems, please contact Amelia at amelia@redroompoetry.org and she will do her best to assist.
Discover more
This workshop is presented by Red Room Poetry as part of Poetry Month (1-31 August 2021). with support from the Australian Council for the Arts, Create NSW, Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and the City of Sydney. Poetry Month is a new initiative designed to increase the profile of Australian poetry, poets and publishers.