ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Probably No, No, No and No Marty. I don't believe personally that the amount of members who use this site is anywhere even close to a true representation of our Bush Poetry Association. I believe the site itself has a place in our Association, but in recent times, only a handful of members, mainly written competition poets, frequent here. Very few performers, organisers and just general members. I don't know what the cost and time involved in keeping these forums up and going and monitored is, but it would be interesting to know. I also see that Manfred is looking for someone to take on the Webmaster role, but no takers as yet. Interesting discussion, mate.

Neil

I don't know enough about the cost side of keeping a web site going to comment - but I do know the ABC Pool web site has closed due to funding and that had 100's of people contributing posts to it with new people coming in all the time and was I believe Gov't subsidised. Somedays you were flat out reading all the contributions to it so it was an extremely busy and popular site.

So I know that doesn't help but every organization has to have a shop front of sorts and were this to cease being where would our shop front be? I know our performance poets do a bloody good job strutting their stuff and spreading the word, but that too is in reality to a captive and select audience. Only a very small % of Australians have ever been to a Bush Poets breakfast or similar event.

Maybe it is just a sign of the times - things change and people gravitate to different areas. I don't think this site is any worse than any other apart from the fact that the input on it does seem to come from the limited few, as is the case with very many sites. But how does one count the silent majority that are hopefully reading and enjoying what they read but not putting their thoughts or views on line? Do we have a means of telling how many people view a site in a day? And if one person visits more than once or twice do we have a means of isolating that out to count as just one hit? Maybe???? these are the things we need to ascertain before throwing the baby out with the bathwater and as someone who doesn't know how these things are done with computers I can't help but I am sure there are computer techo's out there who can help.

Don't be to quick to denigrate the cameraderie that one finds on this site either - No one twists anyones arm to participate in discussions or homework or anything else. As consenting adults we don't need to be nursemaided we can make our own choices. It is all a bit of fun with little vitriol and some great friendships have been established as a result of ABPA and the banter that goes on within its pages.

Do we really want to be a site where we would be having high blown discussions re poetry, critiquing and nit picking and slagging off every one else's work, getting on our high horse when someone says something about our work we didn't like etc etc. You know what I mean. We don't do that here and that is part of the charm and the touchy feely feel that it has. Some of us like that. We're not afraid to speak our mind and share our thoughts and our piccies because we know our 'ABP mates' will take a genuine interest.

The only suggestion I could put forward to draw more people (perhaps) into the fold would be to go public on or Facebook/Twitter site - but that then becomes a whole new ball game and any bit of poetry put out there on that would to all intents and purposes be considered to be 'published' so that could become totally self defeating.

Cheers


Maureen

Gee, Neil. Marty only asked three questions. How come he got four answers?

If it weren't for this website I would not have discovered bush poetry. I would not have found an interest in poetry. I would not have started writing. I would not have entered any competitions. I would not have travelled to a dozen bush poetry events in the past 2 years. I would not have made many friends in the bush poetry world. I would not have joined the ABPA. I would not have told many other people about the ABPA and bush poetry in general.

Heather

Stephen, I gave an extra No for effort. Well picked up! lol

Heather
I don't wish to degenerate the friendships made here either, but our membership is going down, not up. It's not an unreasonable debate Marty has started here, and a healthy debate may just stimulate ideas on how we can reverse the trend. I too have made friendships through these forums.

Neil

My guess is the whole bush poetry movement is in decline.

My advice is - don't shoot the messenger, for I feel that is what you would be doing if you closed this site down.

My suspicion is that shutting down this site would only accelerate the decline, it would not slow it or reverse it.

Australia is a huge country, as we all know. We now have the technology to put people from all parts in touch with each other. It seems to me it would be very foolish not to use it.

It seems a shame to point the finger at people who do use the forum, just because they are visible. If you want to point the finger at anybody, point it at all those who don't use the forum...and I don't think it's fair to describe the forum users as a clique. That implies a degree of exclusivity. I think we all know that by and large the forum users are all extremely inclusive.

I also don't think it's any coincidence that the forum users are predominantly writers rather than performers. After all, you participate in the forum, by writing - tapping away at those old keys - not performing.

I think it does Marty. Others have discovered the same things I have from this site.

This site is where I read other poets' poems - on a daily basis. It is where anyone can find information about events and competitions and results. It is where organisers post information about their events on a regular basis.

Users come and go and always have well before you joined the forum. Some use it regularly, others spasmodically, but they come back now and again. I can only think of two people that didn't re sign up with the new forum and one of them is in his 80s.

Maureen is right about the shopfront. We have at least one overseas forum user and many from remote places. Where would new people find out about the ABPA and get information otherwise? They don't receive the magazine. The website is a way of reducing distance. We have poets spread across WA, QLD, NSW, Vic, SA, (Ross was in NT) and if not for this forum we would not have met in person or on the net and exchanged ideas and helped each other with our poetry. This week alone I have been discussing (privately) poetry with poets in three other states - poets I met on this site. Don't underestimate the value of meeting other poets on the web, the exchange of ideas and sharing of poetry.

The site hasn't changed that much Marty and I'd go so far as to say that user numbers are as much the same as when you joined but they are fluid.

There hasn't been a lot of poems posted in recent months but you can't MAKE someone write a poem if it isn't in them and that has always been the way too. I recall many times in the past few years when people said they were waiting for the muse to return to them. We do have discussions about poetry. Neville in particular is always giving us new things to think about and discuss and challenge us. But then you also complain that we are discussing things over again.

I don't come here to "make friends". I come here for poetry but have made friends along the way because we have a common interest in poetry.

The only thing I would like to see added to the site would be some poetry from some of the traditional poets such as Lawson, Paterson, Boake, and some of the lesser known Australian poets.

So how do you go about promoting a website Marty. You are in IT. How does that happen? It's not my area of expertise so maybe you have some answers.

Heather

Neil, friendship was something that came about from a common interest in poetry. I didn't come here to make friends.
I would NEVER have found bush poetry or written anything if it weren't for this site. Look at the improvement so many of us have made from the help and ideas that have come from this site. I can think of numerous new writers (including myself) who have received heaps of help from other poets on this site and their writing has improved as a result.

I agree with Stephen. Bush poetry is in decline. The website is not the problem and closing it would make bush poetry less visible.

Heather

See? Healthy debate on our craft. This is good.

Neil