31 Ways to Celebrate Poetry Month

Your poetic advent calendar for August

As we begin our roll towards Poetry Month, we've done you a solid by putting together a comprehensive list of 31 ways to celebrate. Consider this your poetic advent calendar, with an opportunity to engage with poetry throughout each day in August. Dig in, and have fun!

1. Welcome Poetry Month at our National Poetry Month Gala, hosted by Chika Ikogwe and featuring Australian music, performance and - of course - poetry! (Can't come in-person? Stream it online!)
2. Secure your spot in a weekly 'pay what you can' online workshop to learn from brilliant Australian and UK poets.
3. Check out the Contains Strong Language program as we bring the BBC's poetry, performance and broadcast festival to Sydney!
4. Be part of our #30in30 poetry competition! Every day from 1-31 August, we’ll release a new writing prompt by a Red Room commissioned artist. To join in and win fabulous book prizes (or just to stay inspired!) follow us on our Instagram or Facebook.
5. Head along to the Red Room Fellows Showcase in the Blue Mountains
6. Want to publish your own poetry? Hear from leading poetry editors at our online Poetry Editors Panel.
7. Make reading or listening a poem before going to sleep your new bedtime ritual.
8. When you wake up, make your dreams into poems - however lucid or fragmented!
9. Check out one of our many poem recordings and keep an ear out for new episodes of our podcast, Line Break.
10. Explore Red Room Poetry’s online archive. Did you know we have the biggest public collection of Australian poetry on the internet?
11. Support poetry festivals happening in your state such as QPoetry! and Perth Poetry Festival.
12. Learn about our Baraya Barray - Whale Song program, celebrating saltwater songlines.
13. Check out our Author Unknown program, and create an experimental poetic duet of your own!
14. Write a poem about the last picture on your camera roll - whatever it may be.
15. Keep an eye out for new releases from independent Australian presses, like Upswell Publishing and Cordite Books.
16. Come along to The Suburban Review's Online Regional Showcase
17. Read past entries from our #30in30 commissions, like Nat's What I Reckon’s Good Vibes Only!
18. Learn about our POEM FOREST project, where nature poems by Australian students become actual trees! Encourage a young person - or a teacher - to get involved.
19. Subscribe to one of Australia’s many wonderful literary periodicals (try Overland, The Suburban Review or HEAT magazine).
20. Write a line of poetry on your morning commute, another at lunch and a third on your way home.
21. Head along to an ekphrastic arts talk at the NGA featuring Nam Le and Dylan Van Den Berg.
22. Celebrate the release of our newest anthology A Line in the Sand: 20 Years of Red Room Poetry by picking up a copy for yourself.
23. Want to share your poetry in a casual setting - or just revel in poetic energy? Check our calendar for an open mic in your area or join one on Zoom.
24. Attend a local poetry slam.
25. Submit your own community poetry event to the Poetry Month Calendar.
26. Hold an intimate poetry gathering. Workshop lines over coffee or share something by your favourite poet.
27. Enjoy a Poetry Month showcase in one of nine cities - or watch one in your own home!
28. Gift someone a poetry book or add one to a street library.
29. Search your local library for poetry collections and use their request form to ask for more Australian poetry books.
30. Let a friend know about a Poetry Month event they would love.
31. Make a donation to Red Room Poetry to support Australia’s foremost commissioner of new poetry.