Down a long hallway, beyond the rational mind,
is a room with your name on it. You open the door
and go in. It’s all there: in a row, the houses you lived in
and those who lived there with you,
the beds you slept in and those where sleep wouldn’t come,
the people next door, your teachers and school friends,
the brown-eyed boy who taught you to dance,
the way he held you, looked at you, the inexplicable stirrings,
warm and wet like the sun on the sea. It’s all there.
The blue-eyed blonde with the circumstantial breasts
who fainted during assembly, the tall and handsome
maths teacher who scooped her up,
the dress you tore on a low-hanging branch
when you turned back for one last look
at the brown-eyed boy who was turning back for one last look
at the circumstantial breasts, who fainted at will
so the tall and handsome maths teacher would scoop them up
and risk dismissal one more time. It’s all there.
And sometimes you wish it wasn’t;
that the houses you lived in could be traded in
for the house in the woods you really wanted;
that the people next door hadn’t moved away;
that the tall and handsome maths teacher
would scoop up the blue-eyed circumstance
and carry her away to the dingy cell of his own memories
and leave you alone with the brown-eyed boy for one last turn
round creaking boards at the youth club hall on a Saturday night.
Louise Nicholas
Posted on April 30th, 2008 in
Feature Poems |
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$100 prize for best entry!
Entries Close June 3 2008.
Download the details and entry form below:
Posted on April 21st, 2008 in
Competitions |
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Closing Date: Tuesday 6th May 2008.
Presentation: June 2008 Friendly Street Meeting
Judges: Martina Taeker and Maeve Archibold
A – HAIBUN: a haiku journey max 600 words — $150 $50
B – HAIKU: (page of 3 = 1 entry) S.A. Residence Only — $100 $50
C – HAIKU SEQUENCE: 8 –11 haiku by one or more poets — $100 $50
Dowload entry form below:
Posted on April 7th, 2008 in
Competitions |
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Theme: Poetry publishing today
UniSA’s Poetry and Poetics Centre cordially invites you to the 2nd annual Poetry and Poetics Symposium to celebrate poetry’s important part in South Australia’s vibrant literary culture.
The symposium will present keynote speeches by the acclaimed poet Kate Llewellyn and Lythrum Press editor Michael Deves, and showcase the work of established and emerging SA poets David Ades, Janine Baker, Courtney Black, Robert Bloomfield, Steve Brock, Belinda Broughton, Roger Higgins, Ivan Rehorek, Alice Sladdin, and Amelia Walker. Professor Kerry Green will also launch the book Vibrant, a collection of poems and papers presented at the 2007 Symposium. The Symposium is organised by the Poetry and Poetics Centre in conjunction with Friendly Street Poets and is supported by Arts SA.
Date: Friday, 11 April 2008 (5:30-7:30pm)
Saturday, 12 April 2008 (9:00am-1:00pm)
Venue: SA Writers’ Centre, 2nd Floor, 187 Rundle Street, Adelaide, SA
Contact: poetryandpoeticscentre@unisa.edu.au
Download origninal flyer below:
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 in
Events |
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Adelaide 2008
Be part of the International Love Poetry Hate Racism movement!
Saturday 19th April, 6pm
SA Writers’ Centre, 2nd Floor, 187 Rundle St, City
Featuring Juan Garrido-Salgado, Aleisha Heikkenen, Pablo Musleras, John Willanski, Ken Vincent, Tiggie Katsapis, Indigo & Amelia Walker reading poetry from all over the world.
Open Mike –arrive early to secure a place!
Book Raffle –to raise funds for a LPHR anthology
For more information, contact Amelia 0400235737 / mealzislost@yahoo.com or visit the Love Poetry Hate Racism MySpace
Posted on April 1st, 2008 in
Events |
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