Listen. We can talk here,
this republic in your empire of intention.
Know when you step out of this door again
corridors will take you
as if they knew the way and could explain.
~ from ‘Occupation’, by Lisa Gorton.
The Project
Toilet Doors Poetry placed poetry behind the closed doors of those uniquely public and private spaces: the public toilet. From over 300 entries we selected poems by 6 poets, which were accompanied by an illustration from six emerging artists. You can read and listen to the poems, and view the posters by clicking on the links below:
‘Before tomorrow’ by Elizabeth Allen, illustrated by Sally Mazak.
‘subtle plague’ by Keri Glastonbury, illustrated by Matthew On.
‘The Glacier’ by Andrew Slattery, illustrated by Owen Swan.
‘Occupation' by Lisa Gorton, illustrated by Samantha Denmark.
‘Small days’ by Liam Ferney, illustrated by Jamie Fawdray.
‘Hanami’ by Ed Wright, illustrated by Inari Kiuru.
On April 1st 2006, a live event was held at Customs House, Circular Quay, featuring the six poets reading their poems and a cubicled reading space built for the occasion. The event also featured the inaugural Mineslec, Red Room's annual mini-essay-lecture to be commissioned annually from a poet and delivered to a live audience. Queensland poet and critic Bronwyn Lea presented her thoughts on the topic of poetry and space.
The live recording of the poets was broadcast by the Community Radio Satellite in May 2006, and the poem posters were displayed at the following venues: Qantas domestic terminals – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth; Greater Union and Village cinemas – Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast, Perth and Adelaide.
The Collaborators
The six poets were selected by Peter Boyle, Johanna Featherstone and Bonny Cassidy in consultation with our project partners - The City of Sydney, DesignWorks, Jacqui Geia, from JB Seeds Foundation, Qantas, The Letter Corporation and Greater Union and Village cinemas. Illustrations were selected by project partners DesignWorks.
Learning Resource
The Toilet Doors Poetry project has also been used for our Red Room Education programme as a learning resource, in collaboration with the Fitzroy High School in 2009. You can explore their work by clicking here!