ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Hi Everyone, please let me know if this isn't the right section for this message and I'll redirect it...

After a very busy year's travelling up and down our beautiful Newell Highway and overseas, I'm about to head off again. The committee has just advised me that I'll be part of Monday night's Welcome Reception Dinner's Cultural Presentations of the International Association of School Librarians' Annual Conference in Bali with an adaptation of my poem, 'Welcome to Australia' (presented at Australia Day ceremonies in 2012, 2013). Small changes will see it called, 'Greetings from Australia' for this presentation. So now I'm going to pack my Barmah Bush Hat along with my sarong.

I believe quite a few Australian teacher librarians are going so there's a chance our Bush Poetry culture will be talked about when they're back home. There's also going to be a fantastic international audience some who'll be hearing about Bush Poetry for the first time. The cultural presentations are always very well received, I had a ball at the last IASL conference a couple of years ago, but at that stage wasn't aware that I could have joined in. Now I'm about to and really looking forward to it and not just because Bali will be warmer than Echuca .

Cheers,

Nerelie

Wow ! Nerelie that's great congratulations do you have any spare room in ya bag ??? please

Can you post a copy of the poem ? would love to read it.

Goodonya

Bob

Thanks Bob, I'm not sure how to post the full poem, and like many of my narratives it's not short.

The reworked version will start:

I bring greetings from Australia with its extended sunlit plains
my land of wide horizons and droughts and flooding rains
I bring greetings from The Rock, The Reef and our golden wattle
from where we love our games of footy and where we swig straight from the bottle

Would be happy to think about squeezing you into the swag, Bob, but now that the hat and the sarong are going I don't think there's enough room ...

Cheers, Nerelie

Take the hat out - you can share Bobs Good on you Nerelie that's a great accomplishment.

Thanks Maureen, we're all pretty chuffed about it.

Great news Nerelie, congrats eh! good to see someone else showcasing Aussie bush poetry in other parts of the world....

Have fun with it Nerelie.

Heather

Thanks Heather, sure will.