It is long overdue but Australia will finally be getting a Poet Laureate next year. But do we need a Poet Laureate?
It’s a question that has been asked for decades – most agree we do – and it will be one of the topics discussed at QPoetry! – on at the Judith Wright Arts Centre in Fortitude Valley, August 9 to 10.
This groundbreaking event is Queensland Writers Centre’s pivot to keep poetry uppermost in our minds after the demise of the Queensland Poetry Festival.
And one of the hot topics to be discussed among the readings and workshops will be a panel session called A Poet Laureate For Australia, featuring Yvette Holt, Martin Dolan, Mindy Gill, Vuong Pham and Ella Jeffery.
We will hear from these poets and industry professionals as they discuss this new role and what it means for the poetry community.
The Albanese government has budgeted $19.3 million dollars to establish Writers Australia, a new body charged with the task of establishing the nation’s first national Poet Laureate from 2025. More details are sketchy but it’s probably wise that we keep talking about it so that it really does happen.
Importantly, Australian Poetry (the national body for poetry) chair Martin Dolan is on the panel and the discussion will be led by Yvette Holt of First Nations Australia Writers Network. In an interview with the ABC on the subject Dolan pointed out that poetry enjoyed a diverse range of modern voices but the country broadly lacked awareness about the talent on its shores.
“Poetry has sat in its own little corner, maybe for a little bit too long,” Dolan told the ABC. “We need to remind people of what they’ve got in this rich treasury and what’s still going on today.”
The Brisbane discussion comes at a critical juncture. But will come up with some potential candidates?
New Zealand already has one (Chris Tse) and so do a number of other countries including the United Kingdom. Simon Armitage holds the position there and, in the UK, past Poet Laureates have included John Dryden, William Wordsworth, Ted Hughes and Carol Ann Duffy.
QWC CEO Lori-Jay Ellis says the Poet Laureate conversation is important.
“It’s part of working to understand how the sector in Australia is going,” Ellis says. “QPoetry! is a celebration and a reimagining of poetry in Queensland.”
It was put together to bridge the gap in the market left by the closure of the Queensland Poetry Festival.
“Festivals are struggling at the moment and we ask, what is a model that will suit the environment better?” Ellis says. “Many festivals are being pulled back or on hiatus. Some festivals have to slow down.”
So QWC has stepped into the breach with a program that includes thought-provoking panels, interactive workshops and inclusive readings, plus the launch of Queensland’s renowned poetry awards, including the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, Val Vallis Award and XYZ Prize, supported by Arts Queensland, and the Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize, named in honour of a founding member. Some of the poets attending include Ella Jeffery, Jarrod Bruinstroop, Mindy Gill, Scott-Patrick Mitchell, Coco X Huang, Vuong Pham and Helen Marshall.
Leading poet and academic Sarah Holland-Batt is enthusiastic about the new format.
“I’m so pleased that Australian poetry has found a new home in QPoetry! “ Holland-Batt says. “Queensland has produced and been home to many of Australia’s great poets, including Judith Wright, Oodgeroo, David Malouf and Thomas Shapcott. Queensland has also long been a special gathering place for poets from around the country and the world to share their work with readers and with each other. Poetry! plays a vital role in supporting and championing poetry in all its forms. Long may it continue.”
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Ellis says encouraging young writers is crucial.
“One of our focusses is youth writing,” she says, “We are here to support writers of calibre, that’s great, but we need development of the next generation of writers. On the Saturday morning of QPoetry! there will be four workshops at the Judith Wright Centre, which is really the home of poetry. (It is named after the poet Judith Wright who spent three decades of her long life in Queensland.)
“QPoetry! is about a new beginning, starting afresh. The legacy of Queensland Poetry Festival is a vibrant one but there is a changing idea of what a festival is. So, we went to Arts Queensland and put our hat in the ring. We invite all Queensland and Australian writers to explore with us what poetry looks like here, and where to next.”
Tickets for QPoetry! are now on sale: events.humanitix.com/qpoetry-2024
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