POETRY AUSTRALIA FOUNDATION INC
Newsletter
June, 2003
We are running somewhat late with this Newsletter. Apologies. Our excuse is that we have been flat out with the Taronga Poetry Prize. All poets who are eighteen years of age or younger on 11th October are eligible to enter this competition which is jointly sponsored by the Poetry Australia Foundation and the Taronga Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of Bradley Trevor Greive, prizes to the value of ,000 are available, with cash prizes of ,000 for the senior division, and $1,000 each for junior and intermediate divisions. There will also be a special wildlife prize of $1,000. Between 50 and 80 poems will be chosen for an anthology to be published by Random House. All poets whose work is published in the anthology will receive a free copy of it, plus a copy of Bradley Trevor Greive’s book Priceless. The entry fee is .00 per poem, and entries close on 16th June. For further details and an entry form, send your name and address to PAF at PO Box U34, Wollongong University 2500
Online Workshop
Our second online poetry workshop is now drawing to a close. The next one will begin in Mid-July. The workshop runs for 10 weeks, with participants sending in one poem per week. Feedback is provided by me and by the other participants, if they feel that have something constructive to say. The workshop costs for the ten weeks. The maximum number of participants is ten, and it will be filled again on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact me if you would like further details about the way the workshop operates.
Blue Dog
Blue Dog Vol 2, No 3 has gone to the printers and will be available at the end of the month. Thanks to a Rebecca Edwards paper-cut, it has a stunning cover. It also again has much excellent poetry, plus articles by Sarah Attfield, on working class poetry, Dennis McDermott on Aboriginal poetry, and reviews by Paul Dawson, Anne Kellas and Andrew Peek.
Submissions for No 4 close at the end of August. Remember to include a SSAE if you would like your entries returned and/or you would like notification of results. The selections for the next edition will again be made anonymously, and the editors will be making selections this time of poets not from their own state. We will be applying to the Australia Council in October this year to make Blue Dog a quarterly. It is vital to the success of that application that our subscription list is as extensive as possible. So if you haven’t yet subscribed, or if you haven’t yet renewed your subscription, please do so as soon as possible.
Next catalogue.
We are flat out at present dealing with the Taronga Poetry Prize. As soon as entries close of September 16, we will hand the poetry to the judges, and turn our attention to the next PAF catalogue. Remember that we are happy to include recent (ie in the last 12 months) self-published books as well as all recent publications of Australian poetry. We require a jpeg of the cover or a hard copy of the book, plus a brief statement about the book, its RRP and cost to PAF members. Publishers please note.
New Poets tour
We have recently completed one round of launches of this years New Poets. In September, we begin another round, going first to Hobart and Launceston, and then, a week or so later, we head west: to Gawler, Port Augusta, Kalgoorlie, Perth, Fremantle, Adelaide, Broken Hill, Wagga Wagga and Canberra. A brochure with details will be available shortly. If there’s a lunch near you, please come along - you ? you won't be disappointed. They have received ? and deserved ? enthusiastic receptions wherever they have read to date.
New Poets 10 and Workshop
The brochures for the next New Poets Program are now available, either online or in hard copy. Send to us if you would like a copy. We will be accepting manuscripts for that program from July 7 to September 12, with the successful poets to be notified by October 24. The Wollongong Workshop will run from 5th-13th January, 2004. You can apply for a place at that workshop if you pay a non-refundable deposit of and (1) you submit a manuscript to the New Poets Program; or (2) you have previously published a book of poetry; or (3) you submit 12 pages of your recent poetry. The total cost of the workshop is (including GST). No fees are payable (you deposit will be ) if you are one of the six poets chosen for publication or you are chosen for a scholarship. Deposits will also be refunded if you are not accepted to the workshop, but for no other reason.
Bookshops.
We have begun the process of assembling a list of bookstores who are interested in stocking, and supportive of, poetry. The main criterion, of course, is that they stock a substantial number of titles of recent Australian poetry; but if they are also interested in hosting poetry readings or book launches, then that is also to the good. This is the way the list looks at present. If you live anywhere near one (or more) of these shops, please support them wherever possible. And if you know of other similarly supportive stores that are not on this list, please let us know.
NSW
Abbeys Bookshop, 131 York Street, Sydney
Ariel Bookshop, Paddington
The Brown Bookshop, Bong Bong St, Bowral (Nancy Shearer)
Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe. The best collection of Australian poetry in Sydney.
Oscar’s Wilde, Thirroul
Persephone's Window Books and Coffee, Fletcher Street, Byron Bay.
QUEENSLAND
Book Nook, Prince Edward Street, Brisbane — Manager is very keen to support Aust. Poetry.
VICTORIA
Collected Works,— Kris Hemensley.is very knowledgeable and a great supporter of Australian poetry. Level 1 Nicholas Building, 37 Swanston St Melbourne.
Eltham Bookshop, 970 Main Road, Eltham 3095 — (03) 9439 8700 email: elthambookshop@bigpond.com.au Manager, Meera Govil. Run by a very erudite and cultured Anglo-Indian family, passionate supporters of the arts. Meera is keen to continue supporting poets and poetry with special displays, author talks, readings, etc. Publishes regular book
newsletter with wide circulation. Phone or write to be put on their mailing list.
New International Bookshop, Trades Hall, Melbourne — Manager, Jeff Sparrow, poet and v. passionate ‘leftie’. Unlikely to permanently stock
many books, as their budget is very tight and they specialise in left non-fiction. But they will, from time to time, help organise readings in the excellent café/bar/stage area of Trades Hall, with books on sale (sale or return) on the night.
The Paperback Bookshop, 60 Bourke Street, Melbourne.
Readings, Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn — Christopher Grierson (young poet who organises reg. Readings at Hawthorn Branch.
Readings, Port Melbourne — Chris Grierson
Readings, Lygon St, Carlton —manager, Mark Rubbo and Pierre (arrangements made through the latter) long time supporter of Aust. Lit. culture, has bookshop newsletter with circulation of 8,000, and
terrific website — events listed in newsletter.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Imprints, 107 Hindley Street, Adelaide. A fine arts and literary bookshop well stocked with literary titles. Excellent staff, very helpful and widely read. They don’t host readings but offer excellent
personalised service, with word-of-mouth recommendations to long-standing customers.
EAF(Experimental Art Foundation) Bookshop. Run by poet Ken Bolton. Ken gets into trouble for sneaking poetry titles into this bookshop’s stock. It specialises in non-fiction cutting-edge art theory, so poetry doesn’t sell that well here, if at all. All the same, Ken will very occasionally stock a poetry title he particularly likes, but one hates
asking him to do this, as it might cause him difficulties come stock-taking time!
TASMANIA
Fuller’s Bookshop, St Johns Street, Launceston
Fuller’s Bookshop, 140 Colins Street, Hobart, Tasmania 7000 — Manager, Clive Tilsley. Holds regular readings.
Hobart Bookshop, 22 Salamanca Square, Hobart, Tasmania 7000— Manager,
Chris Pearce. Holds regular readings.
Petrarch’s Bookshop Brisbane St Launceston
Volunteers
It simply would not have been possible for the PAF to keep functioning and to do all the things expected of us, had it not been for the invaluable assistance I have been getting from Mariana Moonsun. I am very grateful to her. The truth is, though, that we could offer more to our members if there were other volunteers able to give us a day a week on a regular basis. I know this is difficult, for most people have full time jobs. I know also that Wollongong is not the most convenient location to get to and many people would get here if they could. If, however, we are within reach, and you do have a day to spare on a regular basis, we’d love to hear from you.
Donations to PAF
The other major limiting factor on our activities is, of course, our finances. I am not complaining about this: we deliberately chose not to impose membership fees because we didn’t want to limit membership to those who could afford to pay; nor did we want to compete with other writers’ organizations for members. At the same time, there is so much more we could do if we had the financial resources to allow us to do them. I am thinking in terms of touring readings and workshops, web sites and publicity, publications, conferences and seminars…the list is endless. If you can help us in any way, we would be very grateful. Donations of or more are tax-deductible. And we are still collecting poetry books for our library.
EVENTS
Forthcoming launches
27th June: Gerry Turcotte: Hauntings - the Varuna Poems
13th July: Dennis McDermott: My Sister’s Skin. Gleebooks. 3.00pm
19th July: John Watson: A First Reading. Glebe Library, Glebe Point Road. 3.00pm
10th August: Meredith Wattison: The Nihilist Line. Gleebooks. 3.00pm.
17th August: Alex Skovron: The Man and the Map.
23rd August: Brook Emery: Gleebooks. 3.00pm.
Reading:
On the first Thursday of each month there is a reading night at Warburton in Victoria, at the Arts Centre from 7.30 to 10 pm. We encourage local and
new poets ( and other writers ) as well as more established ones. The next guest will be Angela Costi on June 5th. Contact Lynn at lynnmclellan@hotkey.net.au or ring 03 59 67 1230 for any details.
Wanted: New Members.
“Hungry Poets” meet on the second Thursday of the month in Bowral. Location: Stafford Cottage, Bendooley St Bowral (Opposite Coles car park). Time: 7pm. Atmosphere: Informal. Bring several copies of your latest poems to workshop. For more information contact Patricia Lee on 02 4888 2243
POETRY AUSTRALIA FOUNDATION PO Box U34 Wollongong University 2500 Ph 02 4221 3867 FAX 02 4272 7392 email: kpretty@uow.edu.au
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