sand flats
still wet after
love making
Another Lost Shark Tour Diary: Poetry and Fire in Blackall
Blackall was as beautiful as ever and the people as warm and generous. For a small town, it has such a big spirit and truly welcomes all comers.
On Friday night, the Heartland Festival opened with the announcement of the art show winners and then all of the eager patrons that had gathered were invited in to see the exhibition. Artist in Residence, Adriaan Vanderlught was the judge and the winning entires showed his impeccable taste and the depth of artistic talent in the west.
From there it was a short trip across to the mighty Prince of Wales Hotel, for some poetry & song, courtesy of Sheish, Giselle, Cindy and this Lost Shark. It’s a great stage at the P.O.W and the crowd was rowdily appreciative. I could play there every Friday night!
We also brought own own brand of fire to the Blackall sky as part of the Friday Night Lights Project. This week Cindy had the idea to place some steel wool inside an egg whisk, attach it to a dog chain, then light it and spin it in perfect circles. To say the least, the sparks sure did fly (and yes, that’s me inside that fiery orb)!
On Saturday we took part in the Shockwave Festival, performing for and engaging in discussions with the large youth audience that had gathered from Blackall, Tambo, Longreach and Winton. These performances offered up one of the weekend’s highlights as we were joined on stage by an incredibly talented young man who read his poem while Sheish and Giselle created the perfect backdrop of guitar swirl.
The other major highlight came when we performed on Sunday at the Heartland Food and Music Fiesta. As we were tearing into our set, we noticed a sheep being carried up to the smaller stage in front of us and then before you knew it, the clippers were on and the wool, well it was coming off! Not many poets can say that they have done a reading while a sheep was being shorn right in front of them. That is what I call authentic installation art!
My other highlight of the Food and Music Fiesta was the Billy Cart Racing. So much fun! Reminded me of the elation I felt flying down my own street on our Billy Cart made by dad when I was a kid. And there were some cracking designs flying down the track. Check out Hinzy’s Hippo below!
So I just want to say a huge thanks to QLD Poetry Festival and Sally Cripps for being the driving force behind getting us back out to Blackall. I also want to thank Danielle and all the Heartland Festival team for their amazing work. That’s leg one of the 2012 Another Lost Shark Tour over… next stop, Mission Beach, but more on that soon.
(all photographs by Cindy Keong)
Filed under discussions, events & opportunities
Friday Night Lights Project: Week #20
This week’s collaboration has been a fiery one. Cindy and I are both currently enjoying the vast beauty of Blackall so we decided we would bring a new kind of light to the night sky… And Ashley, as always has delivered a poem that connects magnificently with the works we have created. This project really is a joy!
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The guide values material
economy. He tells us
baiting the hook is all you have to do
and they will show up
for the taking, passive creatures
really. His talk reminds me
of a shaman who said he could
yoke the sun same as the ox.
He did not know of eclipses, coming.
AM
**********
CK
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A riverbank will show you how:
you sit in melaleuca shade
on a square
of red earth
the sun midafternoon through leaves
and you watch
kitehawks and tourists cross
the bridge at river’s narrow
where dragonflies nip
circles of memory in the air
and as you dip your cracked-
enamel cup held
in bird-warm hands
steam rises from where
bridge and mirrorbridge merge
it is enough to make you think
the spirit is a silver vision
broken loose
in the shivery sound of nothing
so you go off weightless
humbling your feet
with dust
GN
Filed under poetry, poetry & publishing
Negativity don’t pull you through…
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues – Bob Dylan
So true Bob, negativity is a heavy load. A dead weight.
This morning as I wake to experience the beginning of my 41st orbit of the sun, wife and son smiling, I feel totally free of any negativity… this Lost Shark is indeed blessed.
And as I share my birthday with Bob, I couldn’t help but share this gem… A clip from Eat the Document, featuring Bob and band laying Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.
Now if that didn’t put a smile on your face and shed the weight, I hope this will.
birthday morning rust on the watering can
*****
See you all next week when I return from Blackall,
Filed under poetry, who listens to the radio?
Another Lost Shark 2012 Tour: Blackall Heartland Festival
It’s well known that I like to take a dip in the waters of some of this state’s regional towns as well as traveling interstate as part of the annual Another Lost Shark Tour.
This Friday, May 25 the 2012 tour kicks off with my annual pilgrimage to the ‘big-sky’ country of Blackall, located approx. one thousand kilometres north west of Brisbane. On Friday night, Sheish, Giselle, Cindy and I will be taking our words and chords to the stage of the Prince of Wales Hotel as part of the Blackall Heartland Festival. Then on Saturday we will be running a series of workshops with young people as part of the Shockwave Festival.
Blackall’s landscape has inspired many poems, so I thought I would repost one to give you a snapshot of its stunning vastness.
*****
Beyond
seduced
by kite hawk
that spirals
on hot thermal winds
loneliness
like that
of the spirit of sky
inspires a hopeless
heart-broken
longing
wind at dusk
resents the song
of insects
and falling leaves
remind me
of the great distance
between
us
I want to fill my hands
with moonlight
and bring it back
to you
(you can read the full poem here)
*****
Look forward to bringing you all back some words…
Filed under events & opportunities, poetry
SpeedPoets Calls Back Marisa Allen
Each month at SpeedPoets, thirty poets are given the opportunity to sign up for Open Mic and at the end of the day, one of these poets is called-back by the monthly features to perform a short set to close the event. In May, that poet was Brisbane based singer-songwriter-poet, Marisa Allen. I just posted her poem and bio on the SpeedPoets website, so be sure to click on over.
And to give you all a taste of her musical prowess, here she is performing Nerve Child live for Balcony TV. Such a voice!
SpeedPoets takes over Brew again on Saturday June 2 and features Julie Beveridge premiering work from her new collection, home{sic} and the launch of Alan Jefferies‘ new book, Seem.
When: Saturday June 2, 2pm – 5:30pm
Where: Brew (Lower Burnett Lane, Brisbane City)
Entry: Gold Coin Donation
More details at www.speedpoets.com
Filed under events & opportunities, poetry & publishing
New poem & quote from R.H. Blyth on haiku
rusty hook
an ibis fishes
the shallows
*****
And I just couldn’t resist posting this quote by R.H. Blyth. You can read the full essay over at Issa’s Untidy Hut.
Bashō made haiku literature, and yet something beyond and above literature, a process of discovery rather than creation, using words as means, not ends, as a chisel that removes the rock hiding the statue beneath.
Filed under poetry
Mid Week Psych-Out
This week feels like some strange eternity… but this wig out out from J. Mascis and co. under the moniker Heavy Blanket was just the ticket to get the mind and body moving again! The back story to this release is hilarious. You can read the full story here but to give you a taste it involves people being kicked out of a marching band for smoking weed in a tuba, counterfeiting money and other misdemeanours. So dust off your old Docs and let yourself feel a little crazy… here’s Heavy Blanket’s Dr Marten’s Blues!
Filed under who listens to the radio?
Reduce / Reuse / Recycle with a.rawlings
a.rawlings has been exploring the possibilities of sound and language for as long as she has been creating and from the month of June right through to early September, her exploration will take in the Australian sonic and ecological landscape, as she settles in to her role as the 2012 Arts QLD Poet-in-Residence.
As part of her residency, rawlings will run a series of workshops, all of which have strictly limited places, so if you want in, best get booking! Here are the details:
WORKSHOP 1: ECOPOETICS
Join a.rawlings for ECOPOETICS, the first of two one-off workshops designed for poets of all levels.
“The owls are not what they seem.” — Twin Peaks
In this workshop, participants will apply the three rules of the environment (reduce, reuse, recycle) in ecopoetic exercises that experiment with structural approaches to poetry. New poetic work will be devised through an exploration of contemporary poetic forms such as erasure and collaborative cut-up. This workshop will provide you with an opportunity to generate new text in joyous company. Welcome to anyone who is curious about language!
Time: 6pm – 8pm
When: Sunday July 1, 2012
Where: Queensland Writers Centre, Level 2, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane
Cost: $15
Workshop 2: EAR KNOWS THROAT
Join a.rawlings for the second of two one-off workshops designed for poets of all levels.
“Is it not first through the voice that one becomes animal?” — Deleuze & Guattari, A Thousand Plateaux
Participants are invited to experiment with sound, collaboration, and improvisation. EAR KNOWS THROAT will be comprised of exercises focusing on acoustic ecology, sound poetry, and polyvocal performance. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing as you will spend time moving. This workshop gives you a chance to listen and raise your voice. Open to all resonant bodies!
Time: 6pm – 8pm
When: Thursday August 30, 2012
Where: Queensland Writers Centre, Level 2, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane
Cost: $15
For further information or to register: contact Talina McKenzie on qldpoetry@gmail.com
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WORKSHOP SERIES: GLOSSA
This workshop series is an in-depth opportunity for participants to develop new works intended for publication or performance. Participants will experiment with non-conventional poetic forms and collaborative performance strategies. As well, you will consider how to shape a project, appropriate one’s own material, rework texts, and develop performance. Emphasis will be placed on environmental, corporeal, aural, and spatial awareness within poetry generation.
If you sign up, your full commitment to all five sessions is requested. Please note that August 18 will be a longer “field trip” session. Workshop participants are also encouraged to attend the stand-alone workshops, as this will provide them with an opportunity to experiment with additional composition forms and performance strategies touched upon within the series.
The series is designed for poets of all levels, and is a fantastic opportunity to learn from an internationally acclaimed poet.
When: Tues Jul 24, 6-8pm, Tues Aug 7, 6-8pm, Sat Aug 18, 11am-5pm, Tues Sep 4, 6-8pm, Thurs Sep 13, 6-8pm
Where: Queensland Writers Centre, Level 2, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane (plus a field trip location to be confirmed)
Cost: $40 for the entire series
For further information or to register: contact Talina McKenzie on qldpoetry@gmail.com
Filed under events & opportunities
Friday Night Lights Project: Week #19
Saturday night is reaching full swing, but right now it’s time to check in with the lights of Friday… the brightest of the week. Well at least in the eyes of Ashley, Cindy & I!
**********
The dog is running between frisbee
and hand, the dark so round
and quiet one can hear
the whisper of rust.
And in the bay waves whinny
white as baby’s spit, as old men’s
hair, leaving you in the wake of a woman
who’s swept past on her way home:
a watermark of absence, a clinging hush.
GN
**********
CK
**********
This winter the crows avoided me.
They are now back on the power line
and look like they would enjoy cutting
off the horizon. I love them
up there scraping angled beaks against
electricity I imagine
being constantly converted
unaware of any endings.
AM
Filed under poetry, poetry & publishing
