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September Poem of the Month by Rob Ferris

Guerillas by Rob Ferris

Still camouflaged from the air
the guerrillas are dead in a glade.
Birds and conservative creatures
diminish them.
In cocoons of dappled cloth
their bodies pupate backwards
while images crawl away
alive on a cameraman’s back.

In the forest
they fade by fragmentation
their flesh maintaining 
sun drenched birds
rehearsing siren 
trumpet calls:
the music of
historical necessity
that placed them
in this shade.

Ideas swarm and die like bees,
steel wobbles and rushes
through leaves.
Fruit of revolutionary change
falls and dries
in the sun.
In villages, men’s mothers
lie awake
and make them brothers.

October Poem of the Month by Elaine Barker

IN SUMMER’S HEAT by Elaine Barker

Blue Mountains, NSW

Who has taken up this azure veil,
casting it like a mantle
to float silently into the valleys,
to tangle with trees,
to drift over rugged peaks and cliffs,
escarpments and chasms
and then away, away into the distance
as far as the eye can see?
As the vivid mist rises, 
the colour of lapis lazuli,
its earthy opulence carries
the essence of the eucalypt.  
And who, enveloped in summer’s heat,
savouring the heady aroma 
and gazing over these mountains
has not stood, caught in awe,
and wondered at this infinite mystery?

Friendly Street Poets New Poets 20 & Single Poet Books Launch

Monday, 25th November, 2019
6:00pm – 9:00pm

The Box Factory
59 Regent Strett, Adelaide, SA 5000

FSP is proud to launch the latest collections by the winning poets in the New Poets and Single Poet Competitions:

Single Poet winner: Ben Adams‘ first full collection of poetry, A Synonym For Sobriety.

New Poets 20 winners: Alys Jackson‘s Wolf Ghosts, Sharon Foulkes‘ Finding Their Voices and Julia Wakefield‘s Shifting Viewpoints.

Please come along, help celebrate the success by these emerging poets whose names have joined a wonderful list of past winners and hear them read some poems from their successful manuscripts.… Click for more

Message from the convenor…

To the membership of Friendly Street Poets,

On Monday 4th of November, 2019 a reader at the Box Factory Meeting committed a serious breach of accepted standards by reading for about 11 minutes, far longer than the 3 minutes allowed at the Open Mic.

As the Convenor of FSP and the MC of the 2nd Half that evening, I want to apologise to the members who had to endure such behaviour. I chose to not confront the individual when that person passed the 3 minute mark and indicated intention to continue, because I did not want any escalation to ruin what was an otherwise wonderful evening of poetry.… Click for more

FSP November City Meeting and Open Mic

Monday, 4th November, 2019
6:00 – 9:30pm.

The Box Factory
59 Regent Street, Adelaide.

Bring along your poems to read or just come and listen to a diverse range of poetry. Remember, 3 minutes maximum mic time per reader to make sure everyone gets a go and has an audience.

Sign-in from 6:00pm for a start around 6:20pm. Second session starts around 7:30pm.

If you want your poem to be considered for this year’s anthology, you must be a member of FSP (you can join on the night). Bring along two printed copies of your poem with all your contact details on them for submission.… Click for more

Erica Jolly‘s new blog site…

Long-time member of FSP Erica Jolly has set up her own blog. This is what she says about it:

“Poets cross boundaries all the time. I have set up a blog – Sciences and Humanities – on which I put items that, in one way or another, make the connections we need to have across disciplines. The times of the separation of the sciences from the humanities unfortunately are not over.

My blog, given my inadequacy with machinery, might not be the most effective and I’m told people won’t look at it if it goes beyond sound bites – and it does.  … Click for more

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