Saturday, August 17, 2013

DAX CENTRE POETRY COLLECTION

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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