Poetry Object at The State Library NSW

This Thursday we have our launch for the Poetry Object event, at the NSW State Library. The second year we have run it and this time, more work, more wonderful contributions and more people who will get the chance to experience the imaginations of students from NSW Public Schools (Sydney Region). The team here in the Red Room have been amazing in the lead up; Astrid Lorange having read  entries from over 700 students and selected the winning poem and other special poems, to be revealed on Thursday. Tony has been orchestrating education workshops with the library and Julia has been overseeing the hanging of our exhibition, with the generous support of the State Library staff and Kernow's team at 'Blood and Thunder'. The exhibition has a lot of fluorescent language, not too many soft toys and an exceptional level of feeling in each poem and those objects on display. This year, we've also commissioned more experienced poets to write poems about objects, and these works are also in the space for you to read.

Reading - tonight, Jill Jones' new collection of poetry, 'Ash is here, so are Stars' was launched by Pam Brown at Sappho's bookshop. Rusty nails, paratactic worlds, an acceptance nostalgia is unavoidable and the need for friendship were evoked in Jill's reading. Pam, as ever, delivered a dense, thoughtful, smart and graceful speech-let (her words).

Prior to sleep, I will be leafing through the new collection of poetry about stain glass windows that Aiden Young produced, with our support, as an extension of last year's Clubs and Societies project. The book was launched on the weekend, in Adelaide in a Church that went from light to dark, to the discovery of Nipper and Nimble, to tea and ginger cream biscuits in Prospect, with Mike Ladd.