Hello Aussies, hometown of Perth Australia here I come!

Hello hometown people – it’s been too long!   I’d love to see you… 

 

Feature reading from The Shaking City

Saturday 18th February, 2-4pm 

The Moon Cafe, 323 William St, Northbridge

https://www.perthpoetryclub.com/whats-on

 OR UK time via Zoom 6-8am for early birds!

Also featuring poet, Karen Louise

 

With poems also from the wonderful poets from both sides of the hemisphere that I’ve been working with these past couple of years: Jenny Hetherington, Tineke Van der Eecken, Coral Carter, Suzanne Iuppa, Glen Hunting, Kathy Armstrong, Rtia Tognini

There are also open mike slots to sign up for if you come early.

 

This is the very long time coming post-pandemic reading from ‘The Shaking City’ …

 

The Shaking City is beautifully engaging, lively and imaginative with tremendous flow and movement, turning so much of life into memorable language, imagery and emotional resonance.  The poems pulse with emotions and connection. Judith Beveridge

 

The Shaking City (Seren Books) conjures a threatened world and the pleasure it takes in language as an act of grace. The tone may be conversational, sometimes ironic, but its wisdom is delivered with subtle craft and formality. The poems burst with images of tilt and teeter, life at an angle, on the verge of disaster but rich with transformation.  Imtiaz Dharker

 

 

Water, water everywhere! writing workshop

The Wetlands Centre, Cockburn, 184 Hope Road, Bibra Lake, WA 6163 

Thursday 16th March, 6-8.30pm… a poetry sundowner!

 

WA Poets Inc & Cockburn Wetlands Centre are hosting my workshop at the gorgeous wetlands centre. Come and immerse in the delights of water! 

Thanks to poet-in-residence Lakshmi Kanchi.

For more info and to sign up refer to the WA Poets Inc website HERE (info coming soon)


 

 OOTA Reading and Q&A

Fremantle Arts Centre, Friday 17th March,10am-12 

 Private event for OOTA writers group – but you can join OOTA, a very marvellous Perth writing collective that I always love hanging out with.

https://www.ootawriters.com/  There’ a Join Us button in blue at the right hand top of the homepage.

 

 

Poetry & Mindfulness on the Beach (South Fremantle)

Sat 25 March, Arrive by 730am

730 to 8.45am

 

Mindfulness & Poetry have been gamechangers in my life so combining them is double the pleasure! Find new ways into your writing and boost your day. Our session will focus on nature, senses and solace. Half an hour of guided mindfulness will be followed by a writing exercise or two.

 

Bring something to sit on that will be comfortable for 30mins of stillness – a foldup chair is ideal. Of course a swim afterwards if you wish!

If there is an unlikely downpour, I’ll let you know and refund.

Join HERE (About $18, payment system is in £GPB and converted),

 

 

 

Red House Writer- in-Residence, Donnelly River writing workshop

Wc 27th March – date & details to come 

The poetry workshop will focus on Nature Connection & Disconnection in the stunning Donnelly River Village, hosted by Sally Paulin.



A poetry picnic in April at Shenton Park Lake – Sat 22nd April TBC

Poetry refreshments for 2023 – Cath Drake’s The Verandah

The writing of the poem is an experience. It’s not the record of an experience. Even if you’re writing about something that happened before, it has to be a new experience… There has to be a discovery in recalling it. Marie Howe 

 

The Climate  of Change poetry workshops, 2023

After two successful series, the Climate of Change workshops continue. This can be a difficult and overwhelming subject, but writing together is more enjoyable, nurturing, rewarding and productive. Find new and transforming angles into this complex crisis.

Join live international zoom workshops either in the morning UK time (Australia late afternoon / evening) OR UK evening time (also suitable for US timezones).

It was great to work within a supportive community of writers on the most pressing issues facing humanity at this time. A kind of magic happened… Anne 

I was positively stretched as a writer. Patricia 

Thursdays: 19 Jan; 23 March; 18 May

Choose from two timing options:

UK Morning & Australian evening

 OR

UK Afternoon &  US timezones

 

Poetry & Mindfulness Uplift

Recharge in the new year.

A series of four poetry & mindfulness sessions for writers to explore techniques to recharge their wellbeing and creativity. But equally, you don’t have to be writer or poet to enjoy the sessions. Try the first session or sign up for all four.  A top Xmas present idea too.

It was a little oasis of calm in a busy, too active life; time to switch off and be still… to be a human being rather than a human doer. Moira

I can feel the impact during the day, and as the week goes on… Kath

Four Tuesdays: 17th, 24th, 31st January & 7th February

30-45mins long  

 

Dive into Poetry

Splash into poetry reading & writing sessions in 2023. The most enjoyable way to share & learn poetry is in a small group. In the first hour of these workshops, we’ll discuss an inspiring batch of poems and then we’ll write together. Rich & life-enhancing. Suitable for UK, Perth & other Aussie timezones.

Sunday 22nd January

Sunday 19th March 


Poetry of Place with Judith Beveridge, 30th January

 A masterclass with one of Australia’s best! The American poet Maxine Kumin said: ‘In a poem one can use a sense of place as an anchor for larger concerns, as a link between narrow details and global realities. Location is where we start from.’

Place is a tremendous inspiration for many poets. We are all formed by the landscapes and cityscapes with which we have interacted. We will look at poems by Philip Hodgins, Charles Wright, Sarah Holland-Batt, Anthony Lawrence and Elizabeth Bishop to explore the power of place.

 .

‘A constellation of words and seeing’ – Cath Drake’s The Verandah

Discovery is what I want when I write a poem, when I read a poem. I want to be left changed … If the poem is good, I am a different human being for having made the journey through that particular constellation of words, seeing, imagination, music and understanding. Jane Hirshfield

  • Dive into Poetry, three sessions of reading and writing poetry together – is there anything more enjoyable and rewarding? Expert guidance, inspiration for writing and enriching discussion. Flex your creative muscle. Sundays, starting 15 May. 
  • Poetry feedback workshops to help take your poems to the next level. Make your good poems even better.  Mondays or Wednesdays, starting in May (intermediate and advanced).
  • The Power of Poetry Rhyme with Mimi Khalvati 23/5/22 : one of The Verandah’s most favourite teachers and poets, Mimi Khalvati, explores the wonder and power of poetic rhyme.  SOLD OUT – sign up for waiting list.  
  • Experiment with Poetic Voice:  Masterclass with Karen McCarthy Woolf, 16/5/22 Award-winning poet, Karen McCarthy Woolf leads a poetry masterclass experimenting with voice to expand and enhance our poetic repertoire. How can we take on voices other than our own? How can we create a strong, authentic and consistent voice in our poetry?

Coming up later in 2022 … More masterclasses including with Hannah Lowe – UK (Breaking the Sonnet on 23/6/22), Judith Beveridge – Australia (Lyrical Poetry on 11/7/22), Paul Hetherington & Cassandra Atherton – Australia, Caroline Bird – UK and more! Join the mailing list HERE to hear about these.

Part of the UK/Australia Season of Culture 2021/22.

 

Refreshing poetry & creativity programme into 2022 with Cath Drake’s The Verandah

  • Mindfulness and Poetry Uplift to get your year off to a good start and recharge your energy and creativity. Mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress and improve well-being, clarity, focus and creativity. Of course, I’ve thrown in a sprinkling of poetry and a period of writing together for a weekly uplift! Writing with mindfulness gives your writing a refreshing edge. Six short 30-45min sessions, weekly January to February. 
  • Refresh 2022! The new year isn’t far away. It may not have been the easiest of years for many of us, so let’s refresh and reflect on another year with journaling, mindfulness and, of course, some choice poetry. Set aside time for yourself: you deserve it. Get ready for a great 2022. Sunday 16 January. (Tming best for Perth & UK Audiences.)
  • Dive into Poetry, three sessions, monthly, of reading and writing poetry together – is there anything more enjoyable and rewarding? Expert guidance, inspiration for writing and enriching discussion. Flex your creative muscle. Sundays, starting 9 Jan.  This is for beginners to intermediate level. Try something new this new year!  (Best for Perth & UK Audiences.)
  • Three new year poetry feedback workshops to help take your poems to the next level. Do you have a new year’s resolution to focus more on your writing and to send your pieces out for publication? Make your good poems even better.  Mondays, starting 10 Jan.
  • The Making of a Sonnet with Mimi Khalvati, is the first of The Verandah’s one hour interactive sessions with poetry masters on how they created some of their best poems. Mimi is our most sought after teacher with peerless wisdom on writing and editing sonnets. SOLD OUT
  • Crafting a prize-winning poem with Professor Paul Hetherington, revered Aussie poet with 16 collections to his name. Paul takes you through the process of creating one of his best poems that won a major prize in 2020. Spend a rich hour with Paul, 28 February. NEW

Coming up later in 2022 … More masterclasses including with Judith Beveridge, Paul Hetherington & Cassandra Atherton, Caroline Bird, Karen McCarthy Woolf and more!

Part of the UK/Australia Season of Culture 2021/22.

 

 

International Laurel Prize

The Shaking City was longlisted in the international Laurel Prize. The prize is run by the Poetry School and funded by the UK poet Laureate Simon Armitage’s Laureate’s honorarium, which he receives annually from the Queen . It is awarded to the best collection of environmental or nature poetry published the previous year. Congrats to the winners and all on the longlist. It’s a lovely booklist to dip into!

 

 

Courageous connections in poetry in the 2020s – new programme!

My virtual poetry programme, The Verandah, part of the UK/Australia Season of Culture 2021/22, kicks off in September / October and runs until late 2022. There’s high quality timely poetry workshops, masterclasses, debates, readings, mindfulness & poetry sessions – all led by and featuring top UK & Aussie poets.  

The theme of the Season is Who are we Now? My take on this is given COVID-19, the immense environmental and social challenges we face both locally and globally, who are we now in relation to our connection with our land and people? How can we describe, challenge or create new connections with our land and people in the 2020s?  Poets are inherently courageous in searching for truth and meaning. Find out more about the wider Season HERE. As usual, events are afternoon/evening time in Australia & mornings in UK.

First offerings

Coming up

  • More masterclasses
  • Poetry & Mindfulness sessions from November.

A Reading to Buoy Us + new writing workshops

reading logo 3

It’s been wonderful and terrifically buoying writing about these challenging times with writers across Australia and UK. Join our celebratory reading on 6th June. Hopefully our creativity will help buoy you too.

We’re thrilled that our guest reader is Mark Tredinnick OAM, one of Australia’s most celebrated poets who has published many books of memoir and poetry, wonderful essays and has a long list of prizes, including the Cardiff and Montreal Poetry Prize. Mark has a strong focus on the natural world and his most recent poetry book is ‘A Gathered Distance’ (Birdfish, 2020).

We’ll read highlights of our poems and stories from across the UK (incl. Liverpool, London, Lincoln, Devon, Worcester, Margate) and Australia (incl. Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast), plus also Auckland from:

Kate Potts, Bree Alexander, Rita Tognini, Be Manzini, Cyndie Innes, Babs Knightley, Kathleen Broderick, Jessica Taggart Rose, Nina Lewis, NJ Hynes, Kathy Armstrong, Tineke Van der Eecken, Lesley Sawyer, Edna Heled, Eleanor Yule, Gayelene Carbis, Colin Hopkirk, Janet Chan & Cath Drake

Sign up to the free event HERE

Please arrive on time as we may be close the meeting room a little after the start. It will be about 1.5hrs long.

Saturday 6 June – do check and double check your timezone 11am UK (GMT+1)  /  6pm Perth, Australia /  8pm Australian Eastern Standard time

If you want to sign up to next term which starts in late June CLICK HERE for dates and info, or CONTACT ME. 

SIGN UP TO MY MAILING LIST HERE

Clerkenwell cabaret live-stream

Award winning poetry, comedy and songwriting from Tyrone Lewis, Cath Drake, Catherine Rudie, Steve Parry and Chris Dowding – all wrapped up in one 90-minute Facebook livestream. Like assembling the avengers for a slanging match against the temptations of silence and solipsism. Or something. Here amongst the Indoor Fireworks.
Wednesday 27 May. Brought to you by Diego Brown and the Good Fairy. 💯♨️♨️♨️

To join in – JOIN THE CLERKENWELL ART’SLAB’S INDOOR FIREWORKS Facebook page 

clerkenwell arts may 20

XR People Of The River Rise!

I’m reading with a fab group of writers to highlight the impact of climate change on rising waters . XR People Of The River Rise was meant to be held live beside the Thames but it’s now online! Presented by XR Writers Rebel & Culture Declares Emergency, introduced by Toby Litt with readings by novelists James Miller, Monique Roffey, Courtia Newland, Jessica Townsend, Chloe Aridjis, Jeff Goodell, Clare Morrall, Edward Platt.

Zoom, Wed 20th of May, 7.30 pm.  Sign up FREE here:

A truly global launch of The Shaking City

Thanks so so much to everyone who came to The Shaking City launch!
Over the 2 timezone launch events there were about 130 people from across the globe: Wales, Scotland, England, USA (Texas), Bangkok, Switzerland, Malta, Australia (Melbourne, NSW, Queensland, Canberra and Wheatbelt, Albany, Fitzroy Crossing, Fremantle and Perth in WA), Delft (Netherlands) and probably many more I can’t remember. A few tears were shed. Lots of fun and incredible connections.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT SO SPECIAL XXXX