Introducing the poetry component of
The Bellingen Readers & Writers Festival, April 8-10, 2011
I am the Artistic Director of a new festival called the Bellingen Readers & Writers Festival which covers all genres, and which in its first year has an emphasis on the regional environment, the encouragement of local writers and youth. This festival covers many genres, but here I want to highlight my approach to unearthing an audience for poetry.
Events scheduled in the week leading to the festival weekend begin with a session on forestry (global policy) and forests (local knowledge) with an expert on policy, a philosopher with intimate knowledge of local forest ecosystems, and a poet. I wanted to weave poetry into the natural and festival environment in different ways to attract an audience and there is an early morning bush walk with poetry in the world heritage Dorrigo National Park, followed by a reading in the Rainforest Centre with the environmentalist Mary White and a poet.
There are a number of poetry events, readings and workshops, at regional schools and libraries during the week, but the weekend kicks off with a Poetry Slam on Friday evening with a $500 first prize. The following day brings its antithesis, ‘The Living Poem’. A single festival goer can spend 10 minutes in a small tent listening to one or two poems read by a festival poet and ask the poet a question or two; this is an intimacy many poems deserve. Then there is ‘Paddle with a Poet’, the brainwave of Brian Purcell, festival founder. This canoe safari pauses for the Riparian Muse at scenic spots along the beautiful Bellinger River. Poetry events sometimes use gimmicks to attract interest from the media or an audience; I am hoping that these events will showcase the power of the poetry itself.
There are of course poets reading poems sessions, both for kids and for adults, and a session of youth writers reading poems from our successive pilot project ‘Words for the Future’. Our Saturday night showcase (‘Saturday Night Live’) sees a variety of writers and performers, including poets, and a screening of video poetry. There are two indigenous poets performing, including Auntie Bea Ballangarry on a farm outside Bellingen with its own stone circle, and one of the book launches, of the long awaited Francis Webb Collected Poems, invites festival poets to read their favourites. In the marquee local poets can sell their books and read their poems, and there are some fine local poets, for example, Elizabeth Routledge, a runner up in the recent State Poetry Slam.
It is an ambitious first festival, poetry being only one element, but an element that will hopefully showcase a variety of Australian poets in various environments to nourish an audience which rarely gets the opportunity to hear contemporary poetry.
Guest poets for BRWF 2011 include: Auntie Bea Ballengarry, Uncle Tony Perkins, Judy Beveridge, Brook Emery, MTC Cronin, Michael Sharkey (and late great Francis Webb).
See http://www.brwf.com.au/ for further details.
Come along if you can, it will be fun.
John Bennett