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…

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

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.

**********

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

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

autumn chill
out of breath
watching the jogger

Also on the bill is Miss Burlesque Brisbane 2011, Coppelia Jane and The Scoundrelles. The whole shebang is bawdily MC’d by Frankie V, so pack a poem in your pocket and come along. It promises to set your Friday night off to a sparkling start!

What: Fresh presents: Liberté, égalité, fraternité
Where: Brisbane Square Library (266 George St, Brisbane City)
When: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Cost: Free

gulls at low tide
the wet scribble
of mother and son

**********

Tonight is the last school dance.
Boys and girls spill from parents’ cars
not thinking of this as an exit

from a second womb
the arrival is sleek
flat-ironed hair and they weigh
almost nothing in their lightness.

AM

**********

CK

**********

Three Doors Down

i.

Her voice was like a car tyre burning
loud enough to change the shape of her body
dark enough to fill the cupboard with secrets.

ii.

We all said the bastard should have done time:
broke and entered her every night.

iii.

At dawn, the silence was long; the rope was short.

GN