Poets Union e-news from October 10

Dear Poets Union Members and Friends,

Australian Poetry Ltd seeks a PUBLICATIONS MANAGER to commence January 2011 – applications Friday 22nd October

Australian Poetry Ltd is a new organisation about to be launched in 2011 as a merger between the Australian Poetry Centre based in Melbourne and Poets Union based in NSW. It will be the peak industry body for poetry in this country, based at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne, with a charter to promote and support Australian poets and poetry locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Australian Poetry is seeking a Publications Manager to oversee the publications arm of the organisation, including the publication, marketing and distribution of our flagship poetry journal.

The selected candidate will have broad experience in a similar role with a relevant organisation, and have a clear passion and vision for the position. This is a full time paid position and will commence January 2011.

Deadline for applications is 5pm Friday October 22nd.
To find out more information or apply, please email paul@australianpoetrycentre.org.au
for a position description and the selection criteria.

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RED ROOM COMPANY calls for submissions for SMH ‘Extra’ section
(up to 2 poems of 20 lines maximum – new and emerging poets encouraged to apply)

THE RED ROOM COMPANY IS CALLING ON POETS FROM ACROSS AUSTRALIA TO SUBMIT POEMS FOR PUBLICATION IN THE SUN-HERALD ‘EXTRA’ SECTION.
This new series of poems will have a focus on younger and emerging writers trying to make a name for themselves as poets. We want all styles of poetry, so that readers can get a taste of the full palate of current Australian poetry. The only limitation is space.
Submit as attachment: Please send all submissions as a simple Word .doc attachment to
Email : text@redroomcompany.org
Subject: ‘Sun Herald Extra Submission’ in the subject header.
Maximum two submissions per poet, and please, remember the size constraints when choosing work
Length: 20 lines is about the max.
REDROOM COMPANY website www.redroomcompany.org

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Mascara Literary Review (Mascara Poetry has expanded! )
Mascara Literary Review is now accepting submissions of poetry, short fiction and essays.
Mascara Literary Review is an online literary journal particularly interested in the work of contemporary Asian (as well as Australian and Indigenous) writers.

In our current issue (Issue 7), Judith Beveridge is the featured poet. Anthony Lawrence will be the featured poet in Issue 8.

We are able to pay: $75 for two or more poems, $50 for reviews and essays. For full submission details visit: www.mascarareview.com/submissions.html

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POETRY EVENTS, FESTIVALS AND READINGS
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Message from Paul Kooperman at the Australian Poetry Centre –
meet the Poet in Residence, Lisa Gorton: Wed. 13 October.

Dear Members, friends and associates,
I am proud to announce our first Poet in Residence, supported by the State Government of Victoria through Arts Victoria and City of Literature initiative as well as CAL, RMIT and the Australia Council.
Lisa Gorton, winner of the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry, author of children’s novel, Cloudland, essayist, reviewer, and winner of the John Donne Society Award for Distinguished Publication in Donne Studies, is resident poet at the Australian Poetry Centre from September 1st until Nov 30th. She is here to write poetry, but will also give a couple of workshops and readings and allow time to meet and chat with aspiring poets.
Although Lisa will be having national impact through her online workshops and web publications, the following events are in Melbourne at the Wheeler Centre, where she will be based:

Meet the Poet
On Wednesdays October 13, 27, Nov 10 and 24 between 12:30-1pm, Lisa Gorton is available for informal chats, discussion about her work, your work and all things poetry. If you get the chance, this is a (free) rare opportunity to get up and close and personal with one of Australia’s leading poets.

Date: Lisa’s next ‘meet the poet’ session’ will be on October 13
Time : 12.30 – 1.00 pm

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Saturday 16th October Perth Poetry Club is back
(Moon was up for repairs in September)

Satuday 16th Ocotber - We are well and truly back!
2-4pm at The Moon, 323 William Street, Northbridge.
Plus open mike. All welcome. Come and listen.

Info, contact info & artist bios: www.perthpoetryclub.com

Plus open mike, naturally.
2-4pm at The Moon, 323 William Street, Northbridge.
Contact: www.perthpoetryclub.com
perthpoetryclub@gmail.com 0406 624 578

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20 October – Auburn Poets & Writers’ Group
welcomes new members
The Auburn Poets & Writers Group welcomes new members

When: third Wednesday of the month
Date: Wed. 20th October
Time: 6.30pm
Venue: Auburn Community Development Network Inc.
Address: Shop P7B
Cnr Park & Queen Streets,
Auburn.

Contact: Auburn Poets and Writers Group
Email: manager@acdn.org.au
or
auburnarts@acdn.org.au
More information: Jenn Martin, Community Liaison Librarian, Auburn City Library Service at Auburn City Library
Email: jenn.martin@auburn.nsw.gov.au

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Sun. 24th October – Brett Whiteley Studio: Poets Union monthly reading – guest poet will be Rae Desmond Jones
The Poets Union monthly poetry reading is held on the fourth Sunday of the month. This month, Sunday 24th October, at the Brett Whiteley Studio in Sydney.

Date: Sunday 24th October
Guest poet : Rae Desmond Jones
Venue: Brett Whiteley Studio
Address: 2 Raper Street, Surry Hills (off Devonshire Street, via Esther Street and Esther Lane)
Time: 2.00 - 3.30 pm
Free entry. Open Mic included.

Rae Desmond Jones was born in the mining town of Broken Hill in the far west of New South Wales. Although many of his poems and stories are concerned with urban experience, he has always felt that desert landscapes are central to his language and perception. He was mayor of Ashfield, an inner Sydney Municipality, from 2004 to 2006, and during that period, held together a broad coalition of Labor Party, Green and Independent representatives. His volume of poetry Blow out was published by Island Press in 2008.

The Poets Union thanks the Brett Whiteley Studio staff and the Art Gallery of NSW for their support and we thank Rosnay wines for their wonderful wine and sponsorship.

Convenor: Angela Stretch for Poets Union Inc. Enquiries for 2010 : 0438 898 578

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Mon 25 October - Sydney Poetry book club meets to discuss
Jennifer Maiden's ‘Pirate Rain’

Date: Monday 25 October, 2010
Book for discussion on 25 Oct: Pirate Rain by Jennifer Maiden
Venue: Madam Fling Flong (upstairs salon) above Soni’s Bar
Address: Level 1, 169 King Street, Newtown.
Time: 7.00 – 9.00 pm

About Sydney Poetry bookclub – the second sydneypoetry.com bookclub will convene at 7 pm on Monday 30th August upstairs at Madam Fling Flong’s (aka Soni’s –which is the downstairs part of 169 King Street, Newtown) to discuss Judith Beveridge’s Storm and Honey.

What you need to do between now and then: read the book (Pirate Rain), develop an opinion.
About Jennifer Maiden
Jennifer Maiden has won the N.S.W. Premier’s Award for Poetry twice, the Victorian Premier’s Award for Poetry, the Christopher Brennan Award for a lifetime of achievement in poetry, and many other prizes. Her recent poetry books include Acoustic Shadow (1993), Mines (1999) and Friendly Fire (2005), which won the Age Book of the Year Award.

About the venue (Madam Fling Flong) – sometimes there are private functions upstairs, so if we are not there, we’ll be perched in the front bar downstairs (aka Soni’s).

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7.30 pm Wed 27th Oct. in North Sydney – Live Poets @ Don Bank
with guest poet tbc
Don Bank on Wednesday, October 27
Date: Wednesday, October 27
Time: doors open from 7.30 pm
Event: Live Poets @ Don Bank
Venue: Don Bank Museum
Address: 6 Napier St,
North Sydney
Entry: $7 entry includes supper and drinks.

SPECIAL GUEST:
The Open Section features: the Poetry of the First Peoples - the tradition of Oral Poetry and its Role.
Alternatively: anyone is welcome to recite, sing, tell a story or play an instrument.
Doors open 7.30 pm. $7 entry includes supper and drinks.
Further info: Danny Gardner (02) 9896 6956 Mobile: 0422 263 373 or at:
dannylivepoets@yahoo.com.au

As usual there wil be an open section where anyone is welcome to recite, sing, tell a story or play an instrument.
Doors open 7.30 pm. $7 entry includes supper and drinks.
Further details: (02) 9896 6956 Mobile 0422 263 373 or at:
dannylivepoets@yahoo.com.au

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In Sydney – RhiZomic Poetry Party –
Wednesday, October 27
Poetry Party and open-mic. Featuring: tbc

Date: Wednesday October 27 - last Wed of the month (this time it’s the 4th Wednesday)
Time: 7-9 PM
Event: RhiZomiC Poetry (the last Wednesday of every month)
Venue: Kerrie Lowe Gallery
Address: 49 King St. Newtown
Kerrie Lowe and Elisabeth Johnson
Kerrie Lowe Gallery
49 - 51 King St, Newtown 2042
Phone - 9550 4433 / Fax - 9550 1996
Web - www.kerrielowe.com
Mon-Sat 10am - 5.30 pm / Thurs till 7

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2nd November - in Glebe: WordinHand @ TheFriendinHand
In Glebe – WordinHand @ the FriendinHand

Event: WordinHand is Sydney’s premier regular and enduring poetry / spoken word event, providing open mike opportunities for voices directly from the Sydney community plus a high-energy poetry slam every month in addition to a featured poet or two.

Guest poets and Open mic.
Date: Tuesday 2nd November (First Tuesdays except January)
Time: 7:30 for 8:00 PM.
Venue: The Friend in Hand Hotel
Address: 58 Cowper Street Glebe
Tel. (02) 9660 2326.
Entry by donation: $10/$5.
Slam Prize: $50.
Check it out at the new and improved site, on the WordinHand Events Calendar.
And while you're there, why not read Tug Dumbly's and Benito Di Fonzo's takes on Bardflys, the long-running poetry nights at The Friend in Hand that preceded WordinHand?

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Rama Lama Ding Dong and ‘What Comes First?’ – Friday 5th Nov. presentations of short-listed entries for the ‘What Comes First?’ Song Writing Competition

RAMA LAMA DING DONG
“Lyrics don’t mean anything! Like ‘Rama-lama-ding-dong’ or ‘Give Peace a Chance’!” Homer Simpson

Event: short-listed applicants will sing, Karaoke style, their lyrics to James' music on the night, hoping their words will be the perfect fit for the song.
Date: Friday 5 November
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Wheeler Centre,
Address: 176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne
Free event, book here, via on the Wheeler Centre website.

The Edsels released, “Rama Lama Ding Dong” in 1958 which became a national hit, but surely not because of the lyrics. Would Bach have been better with words? What would Gilbert be without Sullivan or Rodgers without Hammerstein? And what comes first, the music or the lyrics?

On November 5th, the Australian Poetry Centre has decided the music comes first, with a competition called What Comes First, offering poets and wordsmiths all over Australia the chance to write the lyrics for a new hit single! The music has been written by established composer/music producer, James Roche (from Bachelor Girl).

Lyrics are currently being submitted and short-listed applicants will sing, Karaoke style, their lyrics to James' music on the night, hoping their words will be the perfect fit for the song. Rama Lama Ding Dong is a partnership between the Wheeler Centre and Australian Poetry Centre and we invite you to what should be a very entertaining evening of words and music. Listen to the music here .
This event is in partnership with the the Australian Poetry Centre.

Deadline for WHAT COMES FIRST song writing competition was September 30. They had the tune, but needed your lyrics.

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In Mt. Lawley WA ‘Expand your Boundaries’ poetry workshop
'Expand your Boundaries' poetry workshops
14 Nov 2010

Event: ‘Expand your Boundaries’ contemporary poetry workshops.
Date(s) : Sunday 14 November 2010
Time: 2-5pm,
Venue: Mt Lawley Neighbourhood Learning Centre
Address: 715 Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley

Cost: Participants will be asked to contribute according to their means. The suggested amount is $30 per session, but please pay what you can afford or feel the workshop is worth.
Limited places: book now. 0406 624 578 or lostpoetjj@gmail.com

Expand the boundaries of your poetry by writing and reading. Workshops include:
• Writing experiments: write in ways you may not have previously tried.
• How poetry works in English: how form can create feeling.
• Handouts with example poems, information and poets’ resources.
• Afternoon tea.
At the workshops we talk about different aspects of poetry and do different experiments. The workshops are suitable for beginning poets as well as those with some experience.
More info: www.proximitypoetry.com
Janet , Janet Jackson: Words with attitude & soul
Poems, performances, workshops, courses, events
Creative, technical and corporate writing
Editing, manuscript production, self-publishing

lostpoetjj@gmail.com
www.proximitypoetry.com
0406 624 578 (Australia)
+61 406 624 578 (World)
PO Box 258, Darlington WA 6070, Australia

Perth Poetry Club: www.perthpoetryclub.com
Breastfeeding info & help: www.breastfeeding.asn.au

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Author’s talk at Newtown Library – Cathy Bray reading from her chapbook ‘The Owl’ and reflecting on ‘Mad Woman’s Breakfast’
Event: Cathy Bray – poetry reading including her 2010 chapbook ‘The Owl’ (from Picaro Press) and poems and reflections on her Sydney Fringe show ‘Mad Woman’s Breakfast. Eat my Bush!’ broaching Australian ambivalence towards America explored with 11 of her own poems in a ‘poetry salon gone mad’ at Madam Fling Flong in Newtown.

Date: Sunday 21st November
Time: 2-4 PM
Venue: Newtown Library
Address:

Thanks to Steve Mitchell, Newtown Library Team Leader and the City of Sydney Libraries.

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COMPETITIONS, PRIZES and SUBMISSIONS
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Inverawe Nature Poetry Competition - entries due Oct 11

Message from Margaret Chestnut: Hi - we are up and running for the 2010 Inverawe Nature Poetry Competition, now in its fifth year.
Entry forms are on the web www.inverawe.com.au and follow the poetry link.
The entry forms will also be in the June edition of Island Magazine.
First prize $1000, minor award $300, Tasmanian residents $300, emerging poet $200.
Conditions: The competition is for a poem not exceeding 28 lines, on a nature theme.
Entry fee: $6 per poem, maximum three poems per poet.
Details and feedback: Last year’s winning poem and the judges’ report are on the website www.inverawe.com.au
Judge: As last year, Adrienne Eberhard will judge the competition.
Closing date: The closing date for entries is October 11, 2010.

Regards, Margaret Chestnut
Inverawe Native Gardens
Tasmania’s Largest Landscaped Native Garden
www.inverawe.com.au
gardens@inverawe.com.au
ph 03 6267 2020

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Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize- closing 15th October
Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize for a poem up to 40 lines. This competition, which was run for many years by Ballarat Writers, has been relaunched in 2010.
$1,000 prize to be won! The judge is Judish Rodriguez.
Entry is $10 and it is open to Australian and internation writers. Entry by post or online.
Details: http://www.ballaratwriters.com
Contact: Bronwyn Blaiklock- info@ballaratwriters.com

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2010 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards – nominations due Oct 18

Nominations for the 2011 NSW Premier's Literary Awards are now open.

The New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards honour distinguished achievement by Australian writers. Administered by Arts NSW, the 2011 Awards are valued at $315,000 in total, including the Special Award and Book of the Year.

In 2011, nominations are sought for the following awards:

• The Christina Stead Prize ($40,000)
• The UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($5,000)
• The Douglas Stewart Prize ($40,000)
• The Kenneth Slessor Prize ($30,000)
• The Patricia Wrightson Prize ($30,000)
• The Ethel Turner Prize ($30,000)
• The Play Award ($30,000)
• The Script Writing Award ($30,000)
• The Community Relations Commission for a multicultural NSW Award ($20,000)

Nomination forms and guidelines are for download at www.pla.nsw.gov.au or contact Arts NSW (Email: arts.funding@communities.nsw.gov.au, Phone: (02) 9228 5533, Freecall in NSW: 1800 358 594).

Closing date - Nominations need to be received at Arts NSW by 5pm, Monday 18 October 2010.

The Guidelines and Nomination form for the 2011 NSW Premier's Translation Prize and PEN Medallion for Australian translators who translate work into English from other languages will be available shortly.

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Melbourne Poets Union – International Poetry Competition 2010 due by Friday 29 October
MELBOURNE POETS UNION - Established 1977

Competition: INTERNATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION 2010
Prizes: $1,000 First Prize $300 Second Prize $200 third prize
+ $100 Martin Downey Urban Realist Award
+ Plus Book Vouchers for Highly Commended & Books for Commended
Judge: Competition Judge – Ron Pretty
Poems: not more than 50 lines
Due: Friday 29th October (see conditions below)
Entry form: Download Entry Forms from MPU’s Website http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mpuinc
More Information: Contact for MPU Inc is Leon Shann
Tel. 03 9386 6259 or email shann3056@optusnet.com.au
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
 poems should be in English, unpublished, not accepted or submitted for publication
 elsewhere and must be your original work
 poems should not be entered in any other competition, or have previously been a winner
 in any other competition
 may be on any theme, maximum 50 lines and must be typed
 shall not bear the poet’s name
 entries should be received by Friday 29th October 2010, or postmarked that date
 entries must be accompanied by cheque/money order payable to Melbourne Poets Union
 and addressed to Melbourne Poets Union, PO Box 266, Flinders Lane, Vic 8009
 $7 per poem or $13 for 2 poems or $18 for 3 poems (no cash please)
NOTE
 entry fees are not refundable
 there is no limit to the number of entries an individual may submit
 failure to meet any of these conditions shall render the poems ineligible
 please enclose a self stamped address envelope (SSAE) for results
 the judge’s decision is final - no correspondence shall be entered into.
 MPU reserves the right to publish the winning poem/s on their website.

Entry Forms – please download from MPU’s Website: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mpuinc
Sponsors: Black Inc Books, Black Pepper Publishing, The Paperback Bookshop

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Fellowship of Australia Writers – Mornington Peninsular Prize
poetry submissions invited by Oct 29
The Mornington Peninsula Prize 2010 - Offered by the Fellowship of Australian Writers (Vic) Peninsula Region

Poetry Competition: A poem of up to 30 lines: open theme and style.
First Prize : $200, Highly Commended and Commended certificates.
Entry Fee: $5.00 per poem.
Due date: Competition closes 29th October 2010.
Open to residents of Australia.
Entry form / results sheet, please send a SSAE to
P.O. Box 574, MORNINGTON, VIC, 3931,
or email peninsulafaw@bigpond.com
Conditions of Entry:
• Poems must be entrant’s own work, must not have been published and must not have been awarded First Prize in any other competition.
• A fully completed entry form is required; blank entry forms may be photocopied.
• Please avoid using fancy fonts.
• Single-sided on A4 white paper.
• Entrant’s name not to appear on manuscript, only on entry form.
• No email submissions accepted.
• Multiple entries accepted, but each poem entered requires the nominated fee.
• Please note that entries breaching these conditions will be disqualified by the Competition Co-ordinator. The judge(s) will determine prizes and commendations.

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The Greenhouse – Poets Union e-anthology
Submissions invited from members and due 15th Nov. issue #3. Members please email your poems directly to Peter Newton:
jpnewton@tpg.com.au

A Poets Union e-anthology of Environmental Poems edited by Peter J.F.Newton
Submissions invited and due 15th November for issue #3.

The Poets Union invites members to contribute poems to The Greenhouse, a collection of poems about the environment, to be published as an e-anthology over three tranches in 2010 on the Poets Union website. This is one of the most important issues we have ever faced.

The Greenhouse (first mounting), edited by Martin Langford NOW PUBLISHED - featuring the work of over 50 Poets Union members.

We invite Members to place your thoughts on this and subsequent issues on the Poets Union website.
Submission of entries for The Greenhouse #2 (the second mounting), co-edited by Martin Langford and Peter J.F. Newton, has closed and editing is under way.
Submission of entries for The Greenhouse #3 (the third mounting), edited by Peter J.F. Newton, is required by 15 November 2010.
Entry: Each member may submit a maximum of one poem per deadline (ie three poems over the whole year).
Editor: poet and Poets Union committee member Peter J.F. Newton will edit the submissions and direct queries to individual authors.
Biographical note: Members should also submit a 25 word biographical note the first time they submit work to the anthology.

Members Submit 1 poem: as a simple Word (.doc) attachment
Email poems to: Peter J. F. Newton jpnewton@tpg.com.au
Subject: submission 'THE GREENHOUSE' + YOUR NAME
Cost: Free to members of the Poets Union

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Peter Porter Poetry Prize submissions invited and due 15 Nov.
PETER PORTER POETRY PRIZE

Entry to the seventh annual Australian Book Review poetry prize – renamed the Peter Porter Poetry Prize, in memory of the late Australian poet – is now open.

First prize: $4000
Shortlisted poems: $250
Closing date: 15 November 2010

The Peter Porter Poetry Prize is one of Australia’s most lucrative and respected awards for poetry, and guarantees winners wide exposure through publication in ABR.

PREVIOUS WINNERS: Stephen Edgar (2005), Judith Bishop (2006), Alex Skovron (2007)
Ross Clark (2008), Tracy Ryan (2009), Anthony Lawrence (2010)

The guidelines and entry form are now available on the ABR website http://www.australianbookreview.com.au/

Poets must reside in Australia or be Australian citizens living overseas.
Each entry must be a single poem of no more than 100 lines.
Multiple entries are permitted, and all poems will be judged anonymously.
A shortlist comprising a maximum of six poems will be announced and those poems published in the March 2011 issue of ABR. The winner will be announced in the April 2011 issue.

Peter Rose, Editor Australian Book Review
Tel: (03) 9429 6700
Email: editor@australianbookreview.com.au
www.australianbookreview.com.au

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Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) 2010 Literary Awards
Submissions due 30th November

Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) Incorporated
2010 NATIONAL LITERARY AWARDS
Entries open: 1 September 2010
Entries close: 30 November 2010

Please direct all enquiries/correspondence to: awards@writers.asn.au
OR:
Awards Coordinator,
FAW 2010 National Literary Awards,
The Hive Creative Centre Inc.,
710 Station Street, Box Hill, VIC, 3128

Entry forms : are enclosed with The Australian Writer.
Entry forms They can be downloaded on www.writers.asn.au

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Islet on-line magazine. Summer Issue submissions due date extended to November 30 – theme: Islands
Islet and Island would like to announce a change to our publication schedule. We will now be publishing our islands-themed issues in autumn (late March/early April) and will be launching these themed issues through the Tasmanian Writers' Centre, during the 2011 Ten Days on the Island festival.

We are still calling for submissions, and would be very pleased if you would consider forwarding this information to potential contributors, via your member emails and/or community/professional/personal networks.

The new closing date is TUESDAY NOVEMBER 30 -- check the Islet submissions page for more details.

Publication opportunity for emerging writers and visual artists
Islet (www.islet.com.au) is pleased to announce the theme for its summer issue, and is now calling for submissions addressing the theme of ISLANDS.
We invite you to consider the theme imaginatively, broadly, and figuratively.

Submissions close: Tuesday November, 30
Email to : Submissions should be emailed to the editor at islet.online@utas.edu.au with ‘summer issue submission’ in the subject line.
All of Islet’s standard submission guidelines still apply, including length
Poetry: poetry must be under 25 lines, reviews under 400 words, and fiction under 600 words.
Pay rates: See the Islet submissions page http://www.islet.com.au/submissions for pay rates

Please note that non-themed submissions will continue to be received for future issues.
Islet is funded by Arts Tasmania and the Australia Council, and supported by the University of Tasmania.

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Submissions invited for the Blackened Billy Verse Competition due 30th November for Tamworth Poetry Readers’ Group

THE BLACKENED BILLY VERSE COMPETITION - ATTENTION WRITERS OF BUSH VERSE!
The 2011 Blackened Billy Verse Competition will be opening on September 1.

This is regarded as one of the most prestigious BUSH POETRY competitions in Australia.
First prize is $500 plus the famous BLACKENED BILLY TROPHY.
Second prize is $250 and third $150.

Bush poetry is a traditional type of verse written with rhyme and rhythm that reflects the Australian way of life. The genre has widened in recent years to encompass modern living in both the city and the bush. 2010 winner, Ellis Campbell, wrote on a subject which was very close to our hearts last year in a moving poem called “The Arsonist”.

Tamworth Poetry Reading Group welcomes entries from new and old writers. Entry forms will be available on September 1. Please write to Jan Morris PO Box 3001, West Tamworth or email janmorris@northnet.com.au

Entries close November 30 and the winners will be announced at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2011.
Contact: Organisers of The Blackened Billy Verse Competition and
The Country Energy Tamworth Bush Poetry Competition
Mail to: PO BOX 3001 WEST TAMWORTH 2340

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Call for poems for Hunter Writers’ Centre monthly newsletter
Hunter Writers’ Centre will be accepting poems or short stories for the HWC monthly newsletter, so if you have something you would like published, send it in to us at hwcadmin@optusnet.net.au

Poems can be up to 30 lines, and short stories no longer than 1000 words. Excerpts from novels are also welcome. Please send documents as attachments in size 12 TNR font, and have HWC submission in the subject line of your email. They can't pay for submissions but it's a good opportunity to read local talent.

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RED ROOM COMPANY calls for submissions for SMH ‘Extra’ section
(up to 2 poems of 20 lines maximum – new and emerging poets encouraged to apply)

THE RED ROOM COMPANY IS CALLING ON POETS FROM ACROSS AUSTRALIA TO SUBMIT POEMS FOR PUBLICATION IN THE SUN-HERALD ‘EXTRA’ SECTION.
This new series of poems will have a focus on younger and emerging writers trying to make a name for themselves as poets. We want all styles of poetry, so that readers can get a taste of the full palate of current Australian poetry. The only limitation is space.
Submit as attachment: Please send all submissions as a simple Word .doc attachment to
Email : text@redroomcompany.org
Subject: ‘Sun Herald Extra Submission’ in the subject header.
Maximum two submissions per poet, and please, remember the size constraints when choosing work
Length: 20 lines is about the max.
REDROOM COMPANY website www.redroomcompany.org

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Mascara Literary Review (Mascara Poetry has expanded! )
Mascara Literary Review is now accepting submissions of poetry, short fiction and essays.
Mascara Literary Review is an online literary journal particularly interested in the work of contemporary Asian (as well as Australian and Indigenous) writers.

In our current issue (Issue 7), Judith Beveridge is the featured poet. Anthony Lawrence will be the featured poet in Issue 8.

We are able to pay: $75 for two or more poems, $50 for reviews and essays. For full submission details visit: www.mascarareview.com/submissions.html

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Cordite Poetry Review ‘Epic’ 31st issue published December 2009.
Submissions now open for Cordite Poetry Review.
Message from David Prater (Ed) – we are not accepting submissions of haiku or senryu .
Details available at www.cordite.org.au

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Jazz and Poetry section of annotated discography on jazz and literature
- Submissions invited
From PU member Peter JF Newton :
I am nearing completion of the jazz & poetry section of a three-part annotated discography on jazz & literature which I expect to publish next year. The scope of this section includes recitation accompanied by jazz in any of its many varieties, poems converted to jazz vocal performances and instrumental compositions inspired by the work of individual poets. The emphasis here is on poetry with jazz and improv music as I know them; I have no wish to stray into the world of rock, rap, hip-hop and so on because they are well beyond my domain of competence.
I have adequate access to the world literature for this type of work and am in touch with a number of major overseas jazz poets working in this field, so I am looking specifically for Australian and New Zealand information which sadly seems to escape the literature.

The details sought are as follows: Band or artist name, recording dates and locations, identification of poets and composers, accompanying musicians and their instruments (including the voice), poem or song titles, type of recording medium together with recording company names, catalogue numbers, and album titles. A reference point for accessibility to these products would be a useful addition.
The recording medium can be any type of modality and of commercial, private or archival provenance.
Details should be sent to me (Peter Newton) as Chair, NSW Jazz Archive Inc., 30 Boorea St, Blaxland, NSW 2774.
E-mail jpnewton@tpg.com.au Tel: (02) 4739-1715.
All advice received will be acknowledged in the book when it appears.
Best regards, Peter J.F. Newton.

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e-zines, on-line courses and e-anthologies for poets
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Islet on-line magazine – Summer issue due date for submissions extended to Tues. November 30. Theme: ‘Islands’

Islet and Island would like to announce a change to our publication schedule. We will now be publishing our islands-themed issues in autumn (late March/early April) and will be launching these themed issues through the Tasmanian Writers' Centre, during the 2011 Ten Days on the Island festival.

We are still calling for submissions, and would be very pleased if you would consider forwarding this information to potential contributors, via your member emails and/or community/professional/personal networks.

The new closing date is TUESDAY NOVEMBER 30 -- check the Islet submissions page for more details.
Publication opportunity for emerging writers and visual artists
Islet (www.islet.com.au) is pleased to announce the theme for its summer issue, and is now calling for submissions addressing the theme of ISLANDS.
We invite you to consider the theme imaginatively, broadly, and figuratively.

Submissions close: Tuesday November, 30
Email to : Submissions should be emailed to the editor at islet.online@utas.edu.au with ‘summer issue submission’ in the subject line.
All of Islet’s standard submission guidelines still apply, including length
Poetry: poetry must be under 25 lines, reviews under 400 words, and fiction under 600 words.
Pay rates: See the Islet submissions page http://www.islet.com.au/submissions for pay rates

Please note that non-themed submissions will continue to be received for future issues.
Islet is funded by Arts Tasmania and the Australia Council, and supported by the University of Tasmania.

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POETICA – ABC Radio National. Saturdays and Thursdays :
Australia-wide Poetry program - Saturdays at 3.05 pm and repeated Thursdays at 3.05 pm
October
2nd Taha Muhammed Ali – a feature on this Palestinian poet and short story writer.
9th A Pantomime of Words – the poetry collages of Nobel prize winner, Herta Müller.
16th Neruda’s Houses – a feature on Neruda’s eccentric homes and the poetry he wrote there.
23rd Senghor – the poetry of Senegalese writer and past-president, Leopold Sedar Senghor.
30th The Journey – selected works of by Irish poet, Eavan Boland.

POETICA is presented by BRENT CLOUGH and MIKE LADD - For further details please contact the producers of Poetica: Mike Ladd (08) 8343 4928 Krystyna Kubiak (08) 8343 4271
Or visit the Poetica website at www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/poetica/

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The Greenhouse – issue # 3. Members’ submissions due Nov.15 Members email your poems directly to Peter Newton jpnewton@tpg.com.au
Email poems to: Peter J. F. Newton jpnewton@tpg.com.au

A Poets Union e-anthology of Environmental Poems edited by Peter J.F.Newton
Submissions invited and due 15th November for issue #3.

The Poets Union invites members to contribute poems to The Greenhouse, a collection of poems about the environment, to be published as an e-anthology over three tranches in 2010 on the Poets Union website. This is one of the most important issues we have ever faced.

The Greenhouse (first mounting), edited by Martin Langford NOW PUBLISHED - featuring the work of over 50 Poets Union members.

We invite Members to place your thoughts on this and subsequent issues on the Poets Union website.
Submission of entries for The Greenhouse #2 (the second mounting), co-edited by Martin Langford and Peter J.F. Newton, has closed and editing is under way.
Submission of entries for The Greenhouse #3 (the third mounting), edited by Peter J.F. Newton, is required by 15 November 2010.
Entry: Each member may submit a maximum of one poem per deadline (ie three poems over the whole year).
Editor: poet and Poets Union committee member Peter J.F. Newton will edit the submissions and direct queries to individual authors.
Biographical note: Members should also submit a 25 word biographical note the first time they submit work to the anthology.
Members Submit 1 poem: as a simple Word (.doc) attachment
Email poems to: Peter J. F. Newton jpnewton@tpg.com.au
Subject: submission 'THE GREENHOUSE' + YOUR NAME
Cost: Free to members of the Poets Union

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FROM THIS BROKEN HILL http://brokenhill.tripod.com/BrokenHill.htm
Meuse Press has released an e-anthology titled “From This Broken Hill” – a unique combination of writing from some of the country’s top writers (past & present) combined with a dazzling array of photography. A place of near mythic proportions, this city deep in the outback. A mine that put the money into Melbourne. Arts hub while simultaneously isolated by distance.
But in some ways Broken Hill was the experiment that became multicultural Australia – it had the country’s first mosque, many communities continue to thrive within its boundaries. The rough heart of Unionism still stands strong. People escape to this city, others escape a childhood there. It has its horrors and highlights, once there you’ll never forget.
Read an excerpt from a Napoleon Bonaparte set in the city, read the view back from leading poet Rae Desmond Jones who grew up there and wonder at the mining waste turned into a thing of beauty surrounded by red soil. Edited by Barbara De Franceschi, Marvis Sofield and Les Wicks.
Supported by Broken Hill Regional Writers’ Centre, Broken Hill City Council, Countrylink & ArtsNSW Available at http://brokenhill.tripod.com/BrokenHill.htm

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Guide to Sydney Beaches - http://sydneybeaches.tripod.com/guide.htm
Guide to Sydney Beaches – a driftwood concept. A new web anthology saunters the sand with some of Australia’s leading poets.
Guide to Sydney Beaches - http://sydneybeaches.tripod.com/guide.htm - is aimed at an audience that may not normally access this artform.
This is a driftwood concept – people seeking information about a certain beach stumble across this collection & discover fine Aust poetry. 20 great beaches, 30 superb poets. Hit numbers indicate it is already a huge success. This will increase as we move into Spring. The anthology is from Meuse Press, edited by PU member Les Wicks.

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Melaleuca – monthly e-zine of Australian poetry
MELALEUCA is a free e-zine of Australian poetry, delivered monthly
through your email in-box. For submissions and subscriptions, contact
the editor, Phillip A. Ellis, at phillip.a.ellis@gmail.com

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Folk Odyssey – The Magazine http://www.folkclub.com/folkodyssey/
As you browse Folk Odyssey – the Magazine, you will discover that several sections offer an invitation for you to contribute your work to this enterprise. You may do this in the form of:
-a Letter to the Editor, -an article for Features,
-information for Event Horizon,
-photographs for FolkShot Gallery,
-poetry
-autobiography for Poet in Profile
-a story for StoryBoard.

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Longlines e-anthology
Now up on the Poets Union website www.poetsunion.com : the 2008 Longlines e-anthology (from the 2008 Australian Poetry Festival is now up on the Poets Union website. The 2008 Longlines Fellows were:
Ali Cobby-Eckermann, Helen Hagemann, Kimberley Mann and Andrew Slattery.
What is Longlines? In 2008, the Australian Poetry Centre, together with the Varuna Writers’ Centre, devised a fellowship for poets who lived more than 100 kilometres outside Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Canberra. Four Fellows were invited to spend a week at Varuna workshopping their poetry with Ron Pretty. The manuscripts were then published in a series which effectively became a continuation of the Five Islands New Poets collections.
The New Poets Series 2009, comprises:
- little bit long time by Ali Cobby Eckermann
- Evangelyne & other poems by Helen Hagemann
- Awake During Anaesthetic by Kimberley Mann
- Canyon by Andrew Slattery

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PIFF - Poetry in Film Festival
launched – INVITATION TO JOIN THEIR MAILING LIST
PIFF (Poetry in Film Festival) is officially launched. Invitation from the APC (Australian Poetry Centre in Melbourne) to join their mailing list for the Poetry in Film Festival. Click here to subscribe to their mailing list www.poetryinfilmfestival.com.au

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Knopf’s National Poetry Month http://poem-a-day.knopfdoubleday.com/
If you register with Knopf’s National Poetry Month, they will email you a poem every day in April...Every year in celebration of National Poetry Month, Knopf Poetry offers a free poem—along with bonus features like beautiful broadsides, audio clips, and signed books—each day during the month of April through our Poem-a-Day emails.
Enter your email address to sign up http://poem-a-day.knopfdoubleday.com/

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OTHER NEWS FOR POETS
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4 finalists announced in the Cricket Poetry Prize
The 4 poems to go through to be re-read at the Cricket Art Prize opening on Thursday 7th Oct are:

1. “The Ton” by Peter Harvey – QLD (to be read by Sean Barker)
2. “The Last Over” by Maureen Sudlow – New Zealand (to be read by Nicole Campbell)
3.”Gentleman Jim” by Matt Young – QLD (to be read by Duncan Fellows)
4. “Evolution” by Nerelie Teese – VIC (to be read by Jessica Keath)

A very enjoyable night was had by all at the Australian Youth Hotel where upon we saw and heard the top 20 poems being read by 4 accomplished actors:
• Sean Barker
• Nicole Campbell
• Duncan Fellows
• Jessica Keath

And being ‘umpired’ by 2 proficient judges:
• Sally Loane
• Peter Fenton

Sally and Peter had a very challenging time when reading and re-reading all poems; having to make some very hard decisions in the end to get the field down to 20; then select the last 4 for the ‘finals’ at the Cricket Art Prize Opening on Thursday 7th October.
But, a big thank you goes out to all the poets, writers and authors who submitted entries, as quite obviously, without their support and participation we would not have the international poetry competition that we have now. Literally, we had entries from the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, Bahrain and Australia.

Twenty shortlisted poets for the Cricket Poetry Prize:
In no particular order, the 20 finalists were:

1. Australian Job by Lillian Allen – SA
2. A Sonnet to Cricket by Don Adams - New Zealand
3. Backyard Internationals by Glen Butcher – SA
4. Clancy of the Overthrow by David Campbell – VIC
5. Batting Order by Natasha Dennerstein – New Zealand
6. The First Delivery by Nigel Ford – SA
7. The Ton by Peter Harvey – QLD
8. Cricket's Last Stand by Brian Sam Hallewell – QLD
9. Backyard Century by Ian Keast - NSW
10. Stumps Balls and Willow (Our View) by Audrey Lawrence – QLD
11. Three Bats by Alfred Marks – NSW
12. Country Cricketers Childhood by Mark Miller – NSW
13. Testing Times by Brian McLoughlin – NSW
14. My Father's Bat by Rhonda Poholke – VIC
15. Gentleman Jim by Matt Young – QLD
16. Me Neighbour's Kid by Ian Swift – NSW
17. The Last Over by Maureen Sudlow – New Zealand
18. Evolution by Nerelie Teese – VIC
19. Setting the Scene by Noel Tennison – VIC
20. Summer Salvation by Leanne Wicks – NSW

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Australian Poetry Ltd seeks a PUBLICATIONS MANAGER
to commence January 2011
– applications close 5 pm Friday 22nd October

Australian Poetry Ltd is a new organisation about to be launched in 2011 as a merger between the Australian Poetry Centre based in Melbourne and Poets Union based in NSW. It will be the peak industry body for poetry in this country, based at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne, with a charter to promote and support Australian poets and poetry locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Australian Poetry is seeking a Publications Manager to oversee the publications arm of the organisation, including the publication, marketing and distribution of our flagship poetry journal.

The selected candidate will have broad experience in a similar role with a relevant organisation, and have a clear passion and vision for the position. This is a full time paid position and will commence January 2011.

Deadline for applications is 5pm Friday October 22nd.
To find out more information or apply, please email paul@australianpoetrycentre.org.au
for a position description and the selection criteria.

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Scanlon Prize for a collection of Indigenous Poetry – Jeanine Leane
2010 Winner of the Scanlon Prize for Indigenous Poetry

At the Poets Union Australian Poetry Festival held in The Rex Centre, Kings Cross, Sydney (4-5 September) the judge for this year’s Scanlon Prize, Yvette Holt from Queensland, announced and introduced the winner, Jeanine Leane, for her book of poems Dark Secrets (PressPress, 2010).

In the judge’s words "Leane's journey is interwoven with post-colonial stitches of a matriarchal society. Aboriginal women's voices echo throughout this divine collection of contemporary storytelling."
Ms Holt added that the Scanlon Prize “is an award of national significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander poets to aspire to in recognition of their published poetry, independent of state literary awards.”

Jeanine Leane is a writer and educator who lives in Canberra, ACT.

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Ian Reed Foundation 2010 - Writers-in-residence announced
Ian Reed Foundation 2010 writers-in-residence announced

Following a call-out by the Ian Reed Foundation, nearly 200 writers applied for two writer-in-residence opportunities with ABC Radio National. Congratulations to composer/writer Rosalind Page from regional New South Wales, who will work on her play Wildlife and Michele Lee from Melbourne, with her work See how the Leaf People Run.

These residencies will be based in ABC Radio National’s drama unit in Melbourne and Sydney.

Applications were received from all over Australia from writers who have not previously written for radio including poets, essayists, journalists and songwriters. In addition to creating a work for potential broadcast, the successful recipients will have the chance to observe work on other productions and to collaborate with ABC Radio National’s award-winning sound engineers and drama producers.

Michele Lee's play See how the Leaf People Run is about an orphan Hmong boy, Charlie, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder who almost drowned trying to cross the Mekong river to get from Laos, to Thailand and then to Melbourne.

“I'm really looking forward to learning more about the medium and the process of production,” Michele Lee said when her successful application was announced.

Michele’s Ian Reed Foundation residency comes hot on the heels of last week’s announcement of her appointment as a 2010 Melbourne Theatre Company Emerging Writer.

“The opportunity to work with percussionist Claire Edwards to further develop Wildlife is beyond my wildest dreams - just thrilling news!”, said composer/writer Rosalind Page.

Ian Reed was a notable Australian writer of radio drama. He loved the freedom of the medium and when he died in 1979 he left the bulk of his estate to the ABC to encourage ‘potential and aspiring’ writers of radio drama. The Ian Reed Foundation administers the fund that is used to provide for competitions, workshops, script development and dramaturgy as well as other activities intended to support new writers for radio.

For further information about the Ian Reed Foundation, visit abc.net.au/rn/ianreed

For media enquiries, please contact Nicola Fern, Marketing Manager, ABC Radio National on 03 9626 1758 or fern.nicola@abc.net.au

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Gum Blossom’s Poetry 2010 – Results:
Results Gum Blossoms 2010 Poetry

First Place: daybreak over mt.sondard- by Colleen Keating
Second Place: driftwood - by Orchid Tierney

Very Highly Commended:
Pressed Love - by David Troman
gregorian cats - by Frank Prem
Feather Falls - by Joanne Mills
Argent Bark - by David Troman

Highly Commended:
Walking Libations - by John Ryan
A Common Thread - by Joan Fenney
Tingha - by Joe Massingham
crimson rosella - by Colleen Keating
Illusion - by Dale Harcombe
The Pixel Pixies - by David Troman
Longing - by Colleen Keating

Commended:
Family Matters - by Adele Jones
On Bullock Mountain - by Joe Massingham
In a Flash of Brilliance - by Jacqui Merckenschlager
Overwhelmed - by Marilyn Humbert
Old Life Dreams - by David J. Delaney
listen- by Colleen Keating

Judge's Comments: Ruth Strachan

Always, Gum Blossoms delights me with the variety of poetry styles submitted. Surprisingly this year we have a number of poets receiving multiple places. While this confirms we have acknowledged our best poets, it means we have less room to publish other worthwhile poetry. It is always sad to lay aside good poems.

First place this year goes to daybreak over mt.sondar. The originality in this appeals . Imagery, simile, metaphor and personification help to build the atmosphere, and when read aloud good cadences are heard. The conclusion carries an impact that causes serious consideration.

In second place is driftwood, a prose poem. The echoing of ‘watch’ and the restrained alliteration make this attractive to the ear. It gives the reader something to think through, and we feel the emotion present. There are four Very Highly Commended poems this year! Any one of them could have been a winner in other circumstances. Well done. Congratulations.

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Poet Philip Gross is the winner of the Wales Book of the Year 2010 for his collection of poems ‘I Spy Pinhole Eye’

The Winner is … Philip Gross, I Spy Pinhole Eye (Cinnamon)
Poet Philip Gross has won the Wales Book of the Year 2010 for I Spy Pinhole Eye - a collection of poems published by Cinnamon Press. The announcement was made on Wednesday 30 June at a Gala Dinner at St David’s Hotel in Cardiff, introduced by BBC Wales Political Editor, Betsan Powys. Gross was presented with the £10,000 prize by Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones.
Philip Gross is the author of twelve poetry collections, including The Water Table which won the T S Eliot Prize 2010, as well as a fiction writer, dramatist and Professor of Creative Writing at Glamorgan University. He lives in Cardiff.
I Spy Pinhole Eye is a collaborative work between poet and photographer. Simon Denison uses a pinhole camera to transform that most mundane of objects – the footings of electricity pylons - while Philip Gross’s poems explore the act of seeing and interpretation.

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Congratulations to Nathan Curnow winner of the Josephine Ulrick Poetry Prize for his poem endtime

Nathan Curnow is the winner of The Josephine Ulrick Poetry Prize 2010 for his poem endtime.

2010 Josephine Ulrick Poetry Prize winners:
First Prize ($10,000) ‘endtime’ by Nathan Curnow, Victoria
Second Prize ($5,000) ‘Always Sometimes Never’ by Andrew Slattery, New South Wales
Commended ($2,500) ‘One Broken Knife’ by Carmen Leigh Keates, Queensland
Commended ($2,500) ‘Dead Sea Psalms’ by Jill Pattinson, Victoria
Judges' comments: http://www.textjournal.com.au/ulrick
Read the 2009 and 2010 winners and see the judges' comments at http://www.textjournal.com.au/ulrick
Visit the Griffith University website http://www.griffith.edu.au/arts-languages-criminology/school-humanities/news-and-events/josephine-ulrick-prizes

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Jordie Albiston winner of the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry (NSW Premier’s Award for Literature) for her collection ‘the sonnet according to ‘m’
Jordie Albiston lives in Melbourne, where she was born in 1961. She is a poet whose work frequently reflects historical research. Australian composer Andrée Greenwell has adapted two of her books (Botany Bay Document, 1996 - retitled Dreaming Transportation - and The Hanging of Jean Lee, 1998) for music-theatre: both enjoyed seasons at the Sydney Opera House. Nervous Arcs won the Mary Gilmore Award for a first book of Australian poetry in 1995, and was also shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Prize. Her fourth collection, The Fall, was shortlisted for Premier's Prizes in Victoria, NSW and Queensland. Here fifth, Vertigoa cantata was published by John Leonard Press, in 2007. She holds a PhD in literature.
The letter ‘m' is emblematic of recurrence and precipitousness in these poems. They emerge with the wantonness of sensations in everyday life. In this case three lives: maternal grandmother, paternal great-great grandmother and the poet. Jordie Albiston, with characteristic delicacy and zest, limns these very different women as perspectives to each other.
Recurrence is intrinsic to sonnets. They are patterned internally, and are often paroxysmal: a perfect form and formation for poems which worry the distinction between the fatal and the banal. The sequence tells what happens when you admit the existential into everyday life, in small or large doses. The results can be desolate, or sublime. And comedic as well: Albiston knows how to play between darkness and send-up, when it comes to an arduous and animating tension between body and mind.
The Sonnet According to 'M' is published by John Leonard Press
Jordie Albiston, the sonnet according to ‘m'

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Derek Motion - winner of the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets for his work 'forest hill'
07 Apr 2010 : A national prize held in honour of Australian poet Judith Wright has been awarded to Charles Sturt University (CSU) postgraduate student, Mr Derek Motion. The 2010 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets, valued at $3 000, has been won by the poet and PhD student for his work, ‘forest hill’.
The successful poets featured at a presentation event at the Melbourne Emerging Writers’ Festival on Saturday 29 May, alongside Keri Glastonbury and Gig Ryan (poetry editors of Overland and The Age respectively).
In addition to the prize money, Mr Motion’s poem will be published in the next issue of Overland, a quarterly e-bulletin about events, politics and literature. He was presented the poetry award at the 2010 Emerging Writers’ Festival in the Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday 29 May.

Commenting on the winning entries including Mr Motion’s work, judge Dr Keri Glastonbury found, “…this loose-knit community is where a lot of the energy and action in Australian poetry is, and I look forward to seeing these poets release first books”.
Mr David Gilbey, Senior Lecturer in English at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga said, “I'm delighted at Derek's continuing success in the lists of Australian letters. Derek's poetry is concentrated, allusive, multi-faceted, drawing on literary traditions and contemporary cultural and technological practices. It is also finely human and wittily self-facing - a pleasure to read.
“Like Judith Wright's poetry, Derek combines metaphysical, personal and social concerns. He richly deserves this award and it's a mark of the modernity and integrity of the judging that his poetry has been recognised.”

Mr Motion named his poem ‘forest hill' after the area on the outskirts of Wagga Wagga where he spent some of his early years and where went to primary school.
“In particular I think I was concerned with locating imagery surrounding the time when you start to become who you are; a kind of site of individuation and thinking about what this means for the adult me,” Mr Motion said.

It is not the first time the CSU postgraduate student has had his work honoured at the national level.
In October 2009, Mr Motion received an Australia Council 2010 Emerging Writers’ and Illustrators’ Initiative Grant, valued at $15 000. Read more here.

Mr Motion is doing his PhD through the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. His research focuses on his own poetry in the context of Australian poets, Christopher Brennan (1870-1932) and Michael Dransfield (1948-1973).
Living in Wagga Wagga with his young family, Mr Motion is also Director of the Booranga Writers’ Centre at CSU.

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Jean Kent WINNER of The Dorothy Porter Poetry Prize
Congratulations to PU member Jean Kent. Meanjin is delighted to announce that the inaugural winner of the Dorothy Porter Poetry Prize for 2009 is Jean Kent, for her poem ‘The Polish Guitarist’s First Paris Concert’ (Vol 68/4).
The prize was run this year as a tribute to much-loved Australian poet, Dorothy Porter, and her legacy of work, and is co-sponsored by Porter’s agent, Jenny Darling & Associates. Kent’s poem was chosen by judges Andrea Goldsmith and Kristin Henry out of all the poems accepted for publication in Meanjin throughout 2009. She was presented with a $1,000 cash prize at an awards ceremony to be held at Gleebooks in Sydney on Saturday 14 November at 4pm. The event featured readings from Porter’s most recent collection, The Bee Hut, which was published by Black Inc. in September 2009. ‘The Polish Guitarist’s First Paris Concert’ will also be published in the forthcoming December edition of Meanjin. Jean Kent has released three books of poetry, including Verandahs, which was recently republished by Picaro Press in its Art Box Series. Her fourth collection, Travelling with the Wrong Phrase Books, was highly commended for the 2008 Alec Bolton Prize. She lives at Lake Macquarie in NSW. Meanjin is pleased to announce that the Dorothy Porter Prize will run again in 2010

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Emma Jones WINNER Best First Collection, FORWARD PRIZE for her collection ‘The Striped World’
Congratulations to Australian poet, Emma Jones. Emma Jones's The Striped World, inspired by her home country of Australia, was named winner of the £5,000 best first collection prize. Hart called her "an ambitious and intriguing new voice" whose poems "are both elliptical and visionary – inhabiting a parallel world of strange disjointed images within which we nevertheless find echoes of familiar experience".
+
and congratulations to Forward Prize Winner: Don Paterson Scottish poet Don Paterson has triumphed over one of the strongest poetry shortlists in years to take the Forward prize for best collection with Rain. Paterson, 45, beat a line-up of acclaimed poets including Peter Porter, Sharon Olds and Glyn Maxwell to win the £10,000 award for Rain, a continuation of his personal and philosophical exploration of the world around him.

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Congratulations to Jean Valentine - Jean Valentine has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets.
The $100,000 prize recognizes outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry.
and to Harryette Mullen Harryette Mullen has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Academy Fellowship. The Fellowship is awarded to a poet for distinguished poetic achievement and provides a stipend of $25,000. The Academy’s Board of Chancellors, a body of sixteen eminent poets, selects the Wallace Stevens Award and Academy Fellowship recipients. Who says poetry isn’t profitable? Full story is here: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21013

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Christine Paice WINNER of The Josephine Ulrick Poetry Prize 2009
Congratulations to Christine Paice poet and long term member of the Poets Union who was the winner of the 2009 Josephine Ulrick Poetry prize with her poem The Ministry Of Going In. Sorry we are so late in acknowledging it Christine – it’s wonderful news! A copy of the poem is on the Poets Union Website under Festivals and Competitions.

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Lucy Holt WINNER of the 2009 Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
Congratulations to Lucy Holt - The 2009 NSW Premiers Literary Awards were announced at the Sydney Writers Festival.
Congratulations to Lucy Holt on her receipt of the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for her collection ‘Man Wolf Man’. Lucy was a 2004 Poets Union ‘Australian Young Poets Fellowship’ holder and was mentored by the Poets Union. In 2005 the Poets Union published a chapbook of Lucy’s poems ‘Stories of A Bird’. The Poets Union is committed to raising funds to develop our mentoring, Poetry Fellowships, Poetry Scholarships, Residencies and Prizes. The full list of winners of The NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and more information about the awards can be found here: http://www.pla.nsw.gov.au/

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VOICEWORKS MAGAZINE
TURNED 21 - The Words We Found: the best writing from 21 years of Voiceworks magazine.
Edited by Lisa Dempster, The Words We Found: the best writing from 21 years of Voiceworks magazine is Express Media’s coming-of-age anthology and, like all good 21st celebrations, it’s a fierce, flirtatious and furious record of our life so far.

The Words We Found available through all good bookshops and online at www.expressmedia.org.au http://www.expressmedia.org.au/ Extract rights are also available. For all media enquiries, please contact Bel Schenk, Artistic Director on 0431 054 190 artisticdirector@expressmedia.org.au

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Best wishes,
Cathy Bray
for Brook Emery and the Poets Union committee,
Poets Union Inc,
PO Box 755,
POTTS POINT NSW 1335

Tel. (02) 9357 6602 (Tuesdays & Wednesdays)
Email: info@poetsunion.com
Please visit the Poets Union website: www.poetsunion.com and our new blog: www.poetsunioninc.blogspot.com