Six of the Best: Poetry / Writing Opportunities

SpeedPoets Zine open for submissions

Brisbane’s longest running poetry event is now calling for submissions to its monthly zine. SpeedPoets is a not-for-profit organisation that distributes its zine free of charge at the monthly event. As a result, contributor copies are not able to be provided. To submit, send up to three poems in the body of an email titled ‘SpeedPoets Submissions’ to geenunn(at)yahoo.com.au (replace (at) with @ when typing address). Preference is for poems of 30lines or less. For people wanting a copy of the zine, they are made available for the very reasonable price of 5 x 65cent stamps for people in Australia and $4USD for overseas contributors.

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Overland: Call for spoken word submissions

Audio submissions of spoken word poetry are sought for a special online presentation of Overland to be published in July 2012. Submissions must be under ten minutes in length, and sent as an audio file via the online submission system at overland.org.au before 12 July 2012. No more than three pieces by each poet will be considered for publication. Poets whose work is accepted may be asked to submit a YouTube clip of their poem within seven days of acceptance for consideration for inclusion in the publication. For funding reasons, publication is open to Australian citizens only. Audio Overland will be guest edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke. Full details here: http://overland.org.au/blogs/editors-blog/2012/05/call-for-spoken-word-submissions/

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Newcastle Poetry Prize

The Newcastle Poetry Prize is accepting entries of poems or suites of poems up to 200 lines. With almost $20 000 in prize money up for grabs over a range of categories, you should most definitely visit their website for more info. Entries close 8 June.

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Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize

The Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize has been endowed by Bruce Dawe, one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary poets, as an annual $1500 award to encourage poets throughout Australia. The endowment is held in trust by the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, and administered by the Faculty of Arts. The prize is judged by the English Literature staff of the Faculty, chaired by Professor Chris Lee.

The competition opens on 1 March and closes on 30 June 2012. The winner is contacted personally and announced on this website in early October 2012. For full details visit the website: http://www.usq.edu.au/arts/community/poetryprize

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Stilts Handbook of Adventure

Stilts are currently accepting submissions for their next issue, The Stilts Handbook of Adventure. They’re looking to collect stories of journey, abandon, and unknown. They’re looking for pieces to take while travelling along the highway, or sailing the seven seas, or tucked under the doona on a hungover Sunday.

Submissions close on the the 31st of July and the next issue will be due for release in early December. For full details visit the Stilts website.

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State Library of QLD Young Writers Award

Got a way with words?

State Library of Queensland Young Writers Award is now open!

If you’re 18 to 25 and live in Queensland, enter your short story today for a chance to win $2000.

Entries close Friday 13 July.
Get all the details here

sand flats
still wet after
love making

 

Another Lost Shark Tour Diary: Poetry and Fire in Blackall

Blackall was as beautiful as ever and the people as warm and generous. For a small town, it has such a big spirit and truly welcomes all comers.

On Friday night, the Heartland Festival opened with the announcement of the art show winners and then all of the eager patrons that had gathered were invited in to see the exhibition. Artist in Residence, Adriaan Vanderlught was the judge and the winning entires showed his impeccable taste and the depth of artistic talent in the west.

From there it was a short trip across to the mighty Prince of Wales Hotel, for some poetry & song, courtesy of Sheish, Giselle, Cindy and this Lost Shark. It’s a great stage at the P.O.W and the crowd was rowdily appreciative. I could play there every Friday night!

We also brought own own brand of fire to the Blackall sky as part of the Friday Night Lights Project. This week Cindy had the idea to place some steel wool inside an egg whisk, attach it to a dog chain, then light it and spin it in perfect circles. To say the least, the sparks sure did fly (and yes, that’s me inside that fiery orb)!

On Saturday we took part in the Shockwave Festival, performing for and engaging in discussions with the large youth audience that had gathered from Blackall, Tambo, Longreach and Winton. These performances offered up one of the weekend’s highlights as we were joined on stage by an incredibly talented young man who read his poem while Sheish and Giselle created the perfect backdrop of guitar swirl.

The other major highlight came when we performed on Sunday at the Heartland Food and Music Fiesta. As we were tearing into our set, we noticed a sheep being carried up to the smaller stage in front of us and then before you knew it, the clippers were on and the wool, well it was coming off! Not many poets can say that they have done a reading while a sheep was being shorn right in front of them. That is what I call authentic installation art!

My other highlight of the Food and Music Fiesta was the Billy Cart Racing. So much fun! Reminded me of the elation I felt flying down my own street on our Billy Cart made by dad when I was a kid. And there were some cracking designs flying down the track. Check out Hinzy’s Hippo below!

So I just want to say a huge thanks to QLD Poetry Festival and Sally Cripps for being the driving force behind getting us back out to Blackall. I also want to thank Danielle and all the Heartland Festival team for their amazing work. That’s leg one of the 2012 Another Lost Shark Tour over… next stop, Mission Beach, but more on that soon.

(all photographs by Cindy Keong)

 

Negativity don’t pull you through…

Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues – Bob Dylan

So true Bob, negativity is a heavy load. A dead weight.

This morning as I wake to experience the beginning of my 41st orbit of the sun, wife and son smiling, I feel totally free of any negativity… this Lost Shark is indeed blessed.

And as I share my birthday with Bob, I couldn’t help but share this gem… A clip from Eat the Document, featuring Bob and band laying Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.

Now if that didn’t put a smile on your face and shed the weight, I hope this will.

birthday morning rust on the watering can

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See you all next week when I return from Blackall,

Another Lost Shark 2012 Tour: Blackall Heartland Festival

It’s well known that I like to take a dip in the waters of some of this state’s regional towns as well as traveling interstate as part of the annual Another Lost Shark Tour.

This Friday, May 25 the 2012 tour kicks off with my annual pilgrimage to the ‘big-sky’ country of Blackall, located approx. one thousand kilometres north west of Brisbane. On Friday night, Sheish, Giselle, Cindy and I will be taking our words and chords to the stage of the Prince of Wales Hotel as part of the Blackall Heartland Festival. Then on Saturday we will be running a series of workshops with young people as part of the Shockwave Festival.

Blackall’s landscape has inspired many poems, so I thought I would repost one to give you a snapshot of its stunning vastness.

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Beyond

seduced
by kite hawk
that spirals
on hot thermal winds
loneliness
like that
of the spirit of sky
inspires a hopeless
heart-broken
longing

wind at dusk
resents the song
of insects
and falling leaves
remind me
of the great distance
between
us

I want to fill my hands
with moonlight
and bring it back
to you

(you can read the full poem here)

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Look forward to bringing you all back some words…

SpeedPoets Calls Back Marisa Allen

Each month at SpeedPoets, thirty poets are given the opportunity to sign up for Open Mic and at the end of the day, one of these poets is called-back by the monthly features to perform a short set to close the event. In May, that poet was Brisbane based singer-songwriter-poet, Marisa Allen. I just posted her poem and bio on the SpeedPoets website, so be sure to click on over.

And to give you all a taste of her musical prowess, here she is performing Nerve Child live for Balcony TV. Such a voice!

SpeedPoets takes over Brew again on Saturday June 2 and features Julie Beveridge premiering work from her new collection, home{sic} and the launch of Alan Jefferies‘ new book, Seem.

When: Saturday June 2, 2pm – 5:30pm
Where: Brew (Lower Burnett Lane, Brisbane City)
Entry: Gold Coin Donation
More details at www.speedpoets.com

New poem & quote from R.H. Blyth on haiku

rusty hook
an ibis fishes
the shallows

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And I just couldn’t resist posting this quote by R.H. Blyth. You can read the full essay over at Issa’s Untidy Hut.

Bashō made haiku literature, and yet something beyond and above literature, a process of discovery rather than creation, using words as means, not ends, as a chisel that removes the rock hiding the statue beneath.