Festival Highlights

Highlights from the Canberra Spring Poetry Festival Nov 13-15 included Terry Jaensch with his monologues on growing up in an orphanage - subtle phrasing, gentle, disturbing, beautiful; Amelia Fielden and Kathy Kituai reading from their collaborative book of responsive tanka In Two Minds (MET Press, USA) and a fascinating discussion of their process and inspiration; Emily Ballou's readings from her verse novel on The Darwin Poems (UWA Press); Omar Musa who might hold the Australian Poetry Slam title but his words and performance go beyond labels.

The Poetry Appreciation panel on promoting poetry was a jampacked meaty session if I do say so myself as one of the speakers with John Foulcher, Harry Laing, Paul Magee and Geoff Page.