Poetry Month
Each thread is its own story
every woman woven
is first a lonely particle
~ Candy Royalle from 'Threading Battle Lines'
'Poetry changes lives. In Australia, we have been slow to acknowledge or champion this fact: we have no poet laureate, and rarely is poetry publicly celebrated, even by those who otherwise champion the arts. A national poetry month is long overdue.'
~ Sarah Holland-Batt
Poetry Month (1–31 August) is a new initiative presented by Red Room Poetry to increase the profile of Australian poetry, poets and publishers. Our goal is to increase access, awareness, value and visibility of poetry in all its forms and for all audiences. The inaugural Poetry Month will be held during August 2021 as an ongoing annual celebration.
Poetry Month 2021 activities will include:
- Signature Programs such as Fair Trade (an international First Nations poetic exchange), Middle of the Air (poetry meets songwriting competition and adaptations), and 30in30 (daily high profile poetic commissions)
- partnered poetry and spoken word Online Showcases
- a range of Workshops across forms
- physical and digital Poets in Residence (alongside our existing Poetry Fellowship)
- Line Break a live-streamed poetry features and review show
- engaging a range of Poetry Ambassadors
- a community and sector-driven national Poetry Month Events Calendar
- participatory initiatives Poem in Your Pocket and Write a Poem-a-Day (daily prompts with prizes)
- a national youth poetry prize POEM FOREST
*These initiatives will be rolled out in the lead-up to and across August
Launching Poetry Month 2021
The inaugural #PoetryMonth launched on World Poetry Day 2021 (Sunday 21 March) on Facebook and YouTube with an event packed with poetic goodness.
Watch the event replay for:
- Feature readings by poets Evelyn Araluen, Eileen Chong, Jaya Savige, Phil Wilcox and Caitlin Maling
- Performances by musician Ben Salter, comedian Vidya Rajan, and spoken word artist Luka Lesson
- The world-premier of a Fair Trade collaboration with Ali Cobby Eckermann and US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.
- Announcement of the Red Room Poetry Fellowship 2021 recipient, Ellen van Neervan
- A special publisher Q&A with Aviva Tuffield
- Plus, a tonne of UQP book giveaways!
'What Is Poem' (Part 1) with poet and comedian Vidya Rajan
Debut episode of 'What Is Poem', an original commissioned series by poet and comedian Vidya Rajan that takes a fresh look at poetry through a satirical lens as part of Poetry Month 2021.
Five Minutes With Aviva Tuffield from University of Queensland Press
As part of Poetry Month, Red Room Poetry will spend five minutes speaking with various Australian publishers to talk about their new releases and answer some questions about poetry today in print and beyond. First up is UQP's Aviva Tuffield!
'A poem builds itself a platform to climb up on and after its climbed up over the scaffolding straightens itself up and clears its throat gets down to work, to subvert and disrupt the habituation, institutionalization, and militarisation of language and thought itself - o how necessary'
~ PiO
Poetry Month is constantly evolving. If you’d like to contact us in regards to possible partnerships or sponsorship – or how your organisation can be involved, please email us at: poetrymonth@redroompoetry.org
Partners and Supporters
Poetry Month is made possible by generous individuals, key supporters sponsors and partners:
