Poetry Events in NSW, August-September, Part II
A new feature for The Red Room Company from Norm Neill, to encourage the sense of community among poets and the poetry-appreciation community. We would love to have a comprehensive bulletin for Australia-wide, so if you have any feedback, readings, performances, launches, etc. please send an email to kristy@redroomcompany.org.
Wednesday 26 August, 7.00–9.00 pm – RhiZomiC Poetry will present Adam Aitken, writer of four collections of poetry and three chapbooks and co-editor of Contemporary Asian Australian Poets, and Elizabeth Allen, writer of one collection of poetry and one chapbook and winner of the Anne Elder Award. Upstairs at Mr Falcon’s, 92 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. Free entry.
Wednesday, 26 August, 7.30 pm (doors open) – Live Poets will present performance poet Yarie Bangura, fresh from performing with the Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe at the Sydney Opera House and South Bank, London. Plus the 2015 Short Fiction Cup (one A4 page limit). Plus open section. Live Poets @ Don Bank, 6 Napier St North Sydney. $7 entry includes hot supper and drinks. Further info/bookings: Danny Gardner (Convenor) (02) 9896 6956 Mobile 0422 263 373 or dannylivepoets@yahoo.com.au.
Thursday 27 August, 7.00 pm (6.30 pm registration) – Word Travels will present the Hurstville heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. Civic Theatre, Hurstville Entertainment Centre, 16 MacMahon Street, Hurstville.
Thursday 27 August, 8.00 pm (doors open 7.00pm) – Caravan Slam, with Zohab Zee Khan and Taras Jones. Book a spot in the slam through the link, then show up when doors open at 7pm to confirm. Django Bar, 19 Marrickville Road, Marrickville opp Sydenham Station. Performers entry is free, guest entry is $5. https://www.facebook.com/events/406272736224066/
Friday 28 August, 8.00 pm – Word Travels will present Def Poetry Jam star Mayda Del Valle, who will combine spoken word, hip hop, poetry and song in a visceral experience at the Sydney Dance Lounge, Walsh Bay. Tickets $20 (+2.19 booking fee) at www.eventbrite.com.au or $50 (+ 3.19 booking fee) if you’d also like to participate in a Wordshop on Thursday 27 August at 12.30 pm.
Saturday 29 August, 5.30–7.00 pm – Brook Emery will launch Frank Russo's poetry collection In the Museum of Creation at the Stanley Street Gallery, 1/52-54 Stanley Street, Darlinghurst. Free entry.
Tuesday 1 September, 7.30 pm – WordinHand will present multidisciplinary artist Jessie Ray, and winner of the NSW Poetry Sprint and twice NSW Australian Poetry Slam Finalist Bhupen Thakker Plus the usual open mic session and the high-energy slam. The Friend in Hand Hotel, 58 Cowper Street, Glebe. $10/$5 donation.
Thursday 3 September, 7.00 pm – New Words New Sound is a series of Concerts presenting New Music and Poetry in a simple intimate setting. Featuring poets Judith Beveridge and Michele Seminara with The Noise Quartet and The Elsen Project. The Record Crate, 34 Glebe Point Road Glebe. $15 entry. Full details: https://www.facebook.com/events/882707371809198/
Friday 4 September–Sunday 25 October, 10.00 am–5.00 pm,Tuesday–Sunday – Manly Art Gallery and Museum will present a new multimedia installation by Jenny Pollak in which she takes a metaphorical look at a world in which humans no longer exist. With a mixture of poetry, sculpture, music and projected video, The Immortals takes the viewer on a sensory journey into the future. Manly Art Gallery and Museum, West Esplanade, Manly. Free entry.
Monday 7 September, 1.00–2.00 pm – Susannah Fullerton will present an illustrated lecture on the poet W.B. Yeats at Ashfield Library, Level 6, Ashfield Civic Centre, 260 Liverpool Road, Ashfiled. Free entry.
Tuesday 8 September, 6.30–9.30 pm (and the following 5 Tuesday evenings) – Mark Tredinnick will lead A Leaf that Tells a Tree, a six-week masterclass that will explore and exemplify the disciplines of beauty entailed in fashioning a poem. Suitable for beginners and experienced poets. NSW Writers’ Centre, Callan Park, Balmain Road, Rozelle. Details and bookings at www.nswwc.org.au or on (02) 9555 9757. $600/$420 (members)/$360. (concession members).
Tuesday 8 September, 7.00–9.30 pm – On the second Tuesday of September, the Sappho poetry night will play ghost to AVANT GAGA #20, with special guest poets joanne burns, Philip Salom, Amelia Dale, plus an open mic section. Sappho Books & Cafe, 51 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. Free entry, as ever.
Wednesday 9 September, 8.00 pm (7.30 pm registration) – Word Travels will present the Granville heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. Exodus Youth Wrox, Granville Drop-in Centre, 32/10 Straits Avenue, South Granville.
Saturday 12 September 2.30-4.30 pm – The annual Francis Webb Reading will features readings of Webb's acclaimed work by poets Toby Davidson (mc), Paul Magee, Eileen Chong and Michelle Cahill, plus Michael Griffith (Webb's biographer), Ian Marr (artist), Paul Storm (local historian) and readings by students from Webb's two high schools, St Pius X College Chatswood and CBHS Lewisham. Webb's personal book collection will also be on display . Willoughby Library Chatswood, 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood (in The Concourse, 3 mins walk from Chatswood train station). Free entry.
Sunday 13 September - Deadline for submissions for The Red Room Company's The Disappearing 2.0. We are looking to commission 10 emerging poets from Western Sydney, and also republishing poems about regional NSW. Poems should be inspired by 'disappearing' places, sites, experiences and memories of your community. See http://redroomcompany.org/disappearing/westernsydneycallout/ for more details.
Tuesday 15 September, 6.00 pm (5.30 pm registration) –Word Travels will present the Charlestown heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. Charlestown Library, Cnr Smith and Ridley Streets, Charlestown.
Wednesday 16 September, 6.00 pm (5.30 pm registration) –Word Travels will present the Maitland heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. Maitland Library, 480 High Street, Maitland.
Thursday 17 September, 5.00 pm (4.30 pm registration) –Word Travels will present the Erina heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. Erina Library, Erina Fair Shopping Centre, Terrigal Drive, Erina.
Friday 18 September, 6.00–8.00 pm – Manly Art Gallery and Museum will present the official opening of The Immortals, a new multimedia installation by Jenny Pollak, comprising a mixture of poetry, sculpture, music and projected video, that takes the viewer on a sensory journey into the future. Manly Art Gallery and Museum, West Esplanade, Manly. Free entry.
Friday 18 September, 7.00 pm (6.30 pm registration) – Word Travels will present the Wagga Wagga heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. William Farrer Hotel, cnr Peter and Edward Streets, Wagga Wagga.
Saturday 19 September, 10.00 am–4.00 pm – Christine Gietz will present Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry, Prose and Drama, a one-day course that will explore the technical and artistic skills of creative writing across the three major genres. Suitable for novice writers and for those wishing to learn more. WEA House, 72 Bathurst Street, Sydney. Suitable for both the novice and the enthusiast. Course no: 53WK164. $100/$90 (concession). Further information and bookings at www.weasydney.com.au or on (02) 9246 2781.
Saturday 19 September, 2.00–4.00 pm – Writers’ Playgroup, a multi-cultural gathering open to all poets and other writers for fun, laughter, writing exercises and a little help and advice on all kinds of writing. Community Room, Marrickville Library, Corner Marrickville and Petersham Roads, Marrickville. Information: John Egan at jeganjr@hotmail.com or on 9799 3077 or 44641719, or Alex Erenbourg at kingswood200@hotmail.com or on 0425 234 715. Free entry.
Wednesday 23 September, 7.00 pm (6.30 pm registration) –Word Travels will present the Newcastle heat of the Australian Poetry Slam. The Royal Exchange, 34 Bolton Street, Newcastle. N.B. $5 entry.
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Image source: https://modnmindful.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/edited65748576.jpg
Quote: “She decided to free herself, dance into the wind, create a new language. And birds fluttered around her, writing “yes” in the sky.” ― Monique Duval