Poetry Events in NSW, October-November
A regular 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.
Friday 16 October, 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, Ashfield. Free entry.
Saturday 17 October, 10.00 am–4.00 pm – Guest poets will read at the Poets’ Corner of the Book Expo Australia: Andy Franks (10.00), Helen Lynn (11.00), Hawraa Kash (11.30), Harbour City Poets (12.00), Naveen K Samir (12.45), Jessica Santosa (1.20), Richard James Allen (2.00), Ashley Haywood (2.45), Kevin Wordsworth (3.30). Exhibition Hall 5, Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. Tickets $10 (adults)/ $5 (13-17)/ $25 (family), children under 12 free. Bookings at www.bookexpoaustralia.com/. Use coupon code 'Desire' at checkout for a complimentary ticket.
Saturday 17 October, 1.30 pm for 2.00 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.
Sunday 18 October, 9.00 am–5.00 pm – Mark Tredinnick will lead The Poetry Workshop. talking through matters of form, prosody and poetic practice. Topics covered will include poetic forms, the nature of the line and the uses of enjambment, the place of punctuation and the use of syntax, tone, voice and point of view. Participants will have the chance to workshop a poem they bring along or write in class. Open to everyone. Centre for Continuing Education, University of Sydney. Venue to be announced. Bookings and enquiries at www.cce.sydney.edu.au. Enquiries on (02) 8999 9608. Fee $340.
Sunday 18 October, 10.00 am–3.00 pm – Guest poets will read at the Poets’ Corner of the Book Expo Australia: Ross Brain (10.00), Hanile Abdile (10.30), Naveen K Samir (11.00), Geoffrey Chaucer Burgess (11.30), Nova Longhurst & Mahdia Rahman (12.15), Toby Fitch (12.45), Lou Steer (1.20), Susan Sleepwriter(2.00), Richard James Allen (2.30). Exhibition Hall 5, Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. Tickets $10 (adults)/ $5 (13-17)/ $25 (family), children under 12 free. Bookings at www.bookexpoaustralia.com/. Use coupon code 'Desire' at checkout for a complimentary ticket.
Tuesday 20 October, 6.00 pm (doors open) – Boho Nights will present an Artists’ Bazaar, with an open mic for poets and performers, a visual artists’ painting/sketching zone, plus crafts and games. Various prizes. the evening has a French theme, so feel free to wear your beret or to dress in red, white and blue. Dinner available at the venue: the Petersham Inn, cnre Phillip Street and Parramatta Road, Petersham. Entry $20/$15 (performers and artists) top cover costs.
Wednesday 21 October, 8.00 pm-10.00 pm – Melinda Smith, winner of the 2014 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry, will read with Chatswood poet Alastair Spate upstairs in the Henry Lawson Room at the Willoughby Hotel, 315 Penshurst St Willoughby. Free entry. Inquiries 0432 153 362 or local-lyric@optusnet.com.au.
Saturday 24 October, 2.30 for 3.00 pm – Eileen Chong will launch Anna Kerdijk Nicholson’s new collection, Everyday Epic, with Judith Beveridge’s original speech at the mini-launch at the Rose Scott festival, and Martin Langford will launch Simon West’s latest work, The Ladder. First Floor, Surry Hills Library and Community Centre, 405 Crown Street, Surry Hills. enquiries on (02) 8374 6230.
Sunday 25 October, 2.00–3.30 pm – Sydney Poetry @2 will present three poets as part of the Contemporary Art and Feminism Project: Judith Beveridge, joanne burns and Keri Glastonbury, who will read their poems and discuss the power of poetry in a session moderated by poetry editor and critic Felicity Plunkett. Brett Whiteley Studio, 2 Raper Street, Surry Hills. Free entry, thanks to sponsorship of J.P. Morgan.
Wednesday 28 October, 7.00–9.00 pm – RhiZomiC Poetry will present poet and Cordite poetry feature editor Pam Brown, whose new collection, Missing up, will be released in early December and poet and doctoral student Sam Moginie. Upstairs at Mr Falcon’s, 92 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. Free entry.
Wednesday, 28 October, 7.30 pm (doors open) – Live Poets will host Weimar Cabaret and Beyond with writings from Berlin in the 20th century that resonate today, courtesy of the Live Poets Players. The program will feature the works of Brecht, Kastner, Mehring etc, the music of Kurt Weill, and the art of Dix and Beckmann. Patrons are encouraged to dress in the fashions of 1920s Berlin. Plus the usual open section for anyone to recite, sing, tell a story or play an instrument. 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. N.B. Please enter via the side entrance (from Oak St) – the front garden is under renovation.
Friday 30 October, 1.00 pm – Garry McDougall will present a reading from his poetica and travel books, Pilgrimage Spain, and Pilgrimage France at Burwood Library, 2 Conder Street, Burwood. Free entry.
Saturday 31 October, 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: 53WK165. $100/$90 (concession). Further information and bookings at www.weasydney.com.au or on (02) 9246 2781.
Thursday 5 November, 7.00 pm – Jacqueline Buswell will read her poem City Suite in an evening of contemporary music and short films exploring urban life and spaces. Duo Deconet – Venezuelan violinist and Mexican pianist – will play music by composers from Latin America, Spain and Australia in the Great Hall, Camperdown Campus, University of Sydney. (Parramatta Road buses stop at the footbridge.) Tickets $35/$20 (concession)/$10 (students)/ Children under twelve free at www.classikon.com/concerts/duo-deconet-sydney-nov-2015/
Saturday 7 November, 5.00 pm – PoetryAlive@Stanley Street Gallery will present poets Benjamin Dodds, whose debut collection, Regulator, was published in 2014 to critical acclaim, and Eileen Chongm whose work, Burning Rice, was shortlisted for the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Harry Laing will MC and do a spot of satire. Entry $15, including refreshments, 52-54 Stanley Street, Darlinghurst.
Tuesday 10 November 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm – The Women Writers' Network will celebrate the launch of Bare, their new Anthology of Prose and Poetry, edited by Colleen Keating and Decima Wraxall, in the Judith Wright Room, NSW Writers’ Centre, Callan Park, Balmain Road, Rozelle. (Enter at Cecil Street traffic lights and follow the dark green signs.) Copies of the book will be on sale for $20, and refreshments will be available. Free entry. Enquiries: Colleen at touchstone@live.com.au.
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