A very interesting
discovery (thanks to Facebook friends) is the Dax Centre which ‘promotes mental health and
wellbeing by fostering a greater understanding of the mind, mental illness and
trauma through art and creativity.'
If you're an arts
practitioner exploring these issues through your artform or working with
sufferers of mental illness you’ll want to visit their website at http://www.daxcentre.org/collection/poetry-collection/ If you’re closer, visit
the Dax Centre itself in the Kenneth Myer Building at the University of Melbourne,
and the Dax Collection of over 15,000 visual art works by people who have
experienced mental illness or psychological trauma.
The Humanising Truth
But that’s not all! A
recent development is the establishment of a poetry collection. Its priority is
to ‘respectfully appreciate the humanising truth that poetry possesses, and the
talent with which poets are able to give expression to universal experiences.’
Headed by poet Jennifer Harrison with assistance from poet Jessica Raschke, the Dax Poetry Collection is collecting individual poems, chapbooks, collections
and anthologies of poetry that address mental health issues or trauma. You can
submit poems for the collection – education value is the primary criterion - or/and
anthologies and books about mental illness and trauma for the library.
Read all about it in
their free pdf brochure which
includes poetry by Sandy Jeffs, Mal McKimmie, Chris Wallace-Crabbe and Petra White.
Writers tip: Think broadly - think outside the poetry box. Send your poems to publications and organizations with an interest in the themes and topics surfacing in your work.
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