2022

Poem of the Month – December 2022 – Steve Evans

The Poem of the Month for December 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is A Frugal Proposal by Steve Evans. The commended poems for December are Every Afternoon by Judy Dally and Titled by Nigel Ford.

A Frugal Proposal
Steve Evans

My good-as-unused tinfoil
with just the odd wee tear.
My scruffy bit of paper
a little worse for wear.
My little scrap of cellophane,
my piece of broken string,
my own recycled envelope —
you really are the thing.

A seed that’s caught between my teeth,
a stone inside my shoe,
the gate that squeaks in winter wind
all make me think of you.… Click for more

Poem of the Month – November 2022 – Elaine Barker

The Poem of the Month for November 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is Tearaway by Elaine Barker. The commended poems for November are Overture by David Harris and Figs for Cockatoos by Mandy Toczek McPeake.

Tearaway
Elaine Barker

He arrived hugger-mugger into life
and feet first. What a balls-up,
said the doctor but all was well.
He was a rumble-tumble baby,
a harum-scarum toddler
who ran hurry-scurry
before he learnt to walk.
He turned into a tearaway kid
whose mother said quick-sticks
before anything would be done.
He ran riot as a teenager,
collected odds and sods
in his mishmash of a room
and was always losing things
in a slipshod kind of way.… Click for more

FSP December City Meeting and Open Mic

Monday, 5th December, 2022
from 6:00pm

The Box Factory
59 Regent St, Adelaide, SA 5000

$5 to read. 3 minutes per poet.

Add your name to the reading list on the night if you want a turn at the mic. Bring two printed copies of your poems with your name and contact details if you want them considered for next year’s anthology, or submit them electronically via the form below after the session.

This will be the final opportunity to submit poems for the next anthology.

The meeting will be held under current COVID-19 safety plans as required.

… Click for more

Poem of the Month – October 2022 – Rory Harris

The Poem of the Month for October 2022, selected by 2022 Anthology Editors, Veronica and David Cookson, is ancestors by Rory Harris. The commended poems for October are Torbay (a phonetic acrostic) by Sharon Foulkes and In Dogs we Trust by Peter Meech.

ancestors
Rory Harris

My wife
will never

wash you
so, how many hands

will miss
this opportunity

bathing you
seal slick

glistening
perfumed body

as your grandmother’s
garden still throws

colour into a suburban
universe of scent

Torbay (a phonetic acrostic)
Sharon Foulkes

Timeless twitter and tick-tick
in tall timbers that tower over
tangled tendrils and twisted trunks in tatters;

The orison
of an ornithological chorus,
always at some ornery hour;

A barrow-full of bottlebrush in bloom
bounced through a ballet of butterflies
beyond the bend;

Ancient terrain tamed into acreage:
black-face graze while snakes predate –
and then again, rain.… Click for more

FSP November City Meeting and Open Mic

Monday, 7th November, 2022
from 6:00pm

The Box Factory
59 Regent St, Adelaide, SA 5000

$5 to read. 3 minutes per poet.

Add your name to the reading list on the night if you want a turn at the mic. Bring two printed copies of your poems with your name and contact details if you want them considered for next year’s anthology, or submit them electronically via the form below after the session.

The meeting will be held under current COVID-19 safety plans as required.

… Click for more

New Poets 23 launched!

From left to right: Helen Hutton, Heather Nimmo, Stephy Kate Dewan, Shaine Melrose, Heather Taylor Johnson

New Poets 23 was officially launched at a great night on Monday 17 October 2022 at Halifax Cafe attended by about 35 people.

The launch celebrated the collective works of Stephy Kate Dewan (Little Closed Openings), Shaine Melrose (Shooting Words from my Soul) and Heather Nimmo (The Sun Came Up). The poets each read a selection of poems from their collections. Convenor Nigel Ford was the MC for the night with editor, Helen Hutton, launching the book. This year’s judge, Heather Taylor Johnson read her comments. … Click for more

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