What Drives A Poet

[Bob Pacey]

Heather

To use your own descriptive style.

Ya bloody DAG.



But you are right.

You might have to use some of your moderating skills and move us to another format ?

Bob

[Terry]

Nothing wrong with having a good old chinwag Bob.

'I like a bloke who speaks his mind, or sheila's come to that'.

Terry

[Irene]

Bill, do you need to compete in the competitions? You don't need to win a competition to know that your work touches many a heart, and that you are successful in your own style.
If I was you, I would be looking for poets breakfasts that allow you to read your poems, and not stress about the performance competitions. The performance comps have a set of criteria, in which read works do not qualify, but that doesn't mean that you have no other options. We don't have read work in the competitions here in WA (might be because we rarely have comps here!! ) but it is allowed at most poets breakfasts that I have attended.
Look for the other options that do suit what you do (and do so well, I might add!!). Your work would go extremely well on radio - which you have done - and at the poets breakfasts at many of the festivals around. There are so many poetry events over on the east coast apart from the competitions, that I would have thought there would be lots of opportunities to participate in events outside of competitions.
I have to say I don't think it is discriminatory to exclude read works from the competitions, because the competition regulations are set to be judged, among others points, on memory skills as well. Like I mentioned before, we shouldn't expect criteria to be changed for us - we should find something that has the criteria that we fit into. And if there isn't a competition that has that criteria, it is the perfect opportunity to someone to bite the bullet and organise one with a whole new category for reading of works, and see if it is successful. If so, then it will perhaps be picked up by other competitions as a routine category. If, in time, the read category proves more successful than the reciting category, then any competition that wants to be successful will move along that track.

I know I have said it before Bill, but you don't have to win competitions to be successful!! I have heard you on radio, and I know you are successful in what you do. Don't keep away from all events just because you can't compete in a competition - go out to the events that aren't competitions, and knock their socks off with your wonderful 'reading' ability!!! You will probably achieve much more satisfaction by touching the heart of the everyday man/woman on the street who stops by the event to listen, than you will by winning a competition. Competitions allow you to compare yourself to your peers according to set criteria, but audience reaction to your work gives you a much better judge of how well you are doing, and how well people relate to what you have written. You don't need an award to tell you you have made a difference when someone comes up to you and says - with a tear in their eye - "Thank you so much. Your poem meant so much to me."
Or that they have never laughed so much as when they listened to you recite a humorous poem!! (Don't know that feeling!! )

Catchya
Irene

PS. Now I know why I should stay away from this site - I have a habit of writing long missives of waffle!!! )

[Zondrae]

Irene,

you don't pop in often enough so when you do you have lots of unused space. We like to be in touch with our WA members.

[Terry]

Irene[quote]
PS. Now I know why I should stay away from this site - I have a habit of writing long missives of waffle!!! )

No need to apologize Irene We all do our share of waffling because we're passionate about Bush Poetry and all want to see it grow and continue to be as successful as possible.
I think it's healthy to have the odd bit of a discussion like this, and we don't have to always agree with each other either.
It's through tossing ideas about that improvements can sometimes be found, no one of us possesses all knowledge, but between the lot of us we just may come up with something that appeals to most of us and if not who really cares.

Cheers Terry
Still don't know how to quote I had to copy and paste

[Heather]

But does anyone actually listen and follow up from the comments? Just a thought.

Heather

[David Campbell]

Neil

I don’t want to prolong this unnecessarily, but you’ve prompted a couple of further thoughts. Believe me, I have no “lack of respect” for what you and the others you’ve named have achieved…quite the opposite. I have the greatest admiration for it, and thought I’d made this abundantly clear. And I can’t for the life of me see “a lot of” (or, indeed, any!) comments from anyone else in this thread suggesting that reciters “…are not seen as serious contributors to our craft.” I don’t know where you got that idea. Anyway, all I can do is repeat the words from my previous post: “The work that has been done by you and other top performers in promoting bush poetry and attracting crowds has been absolutely magnificent, and nobody will argue with that.”

But I have to question your comment that “…to read and not involve them in the performances is only going to damage the crowds we attract.” Then you follow up with the observation that the poetry shows are “…a vehicle to give reciters and serious presenters the opportunity to perform in front of and be appreciated by these audiences.” There are two assumptions here…that readers cannot involve an audience, thus damaging crowds, and are not serious presenters who will be appreciated.

I very much consider myself a serious presenter, someone who tries extremely hard to involve an audience…with, so I’ve been told many times, success. I don’t bury my head in a book and mumble, if that’s your idea of what a reader does. And if people started walking out in droves I’d rethink what I was doing pretty damn quick. But so far there’s been no sign of any “damage” to audiences.

I do get the feeling I’m banging my head against a brick wall in trying to get this message across. The word “reader” seems to conjure up a big red flag and the message: “Danger! Keep Away!” And while that continues, I’ll keep attacking that wall. Brick by brick.

Finally, Heather’s question is a good one. A lot of people have contributed to this thread, which actually started with a poem of Terry’s about the challenge of writing poetry, and the discussion/argument has prompted a variety of interesting ideas/suggestions. Definitely some food for thought and possible action.

Cheers to all
David

[keats]

Hi David, and I certainly mean no disrespect to yourself, either. Again just the opposite. What I was trying to say when I made the comment

But I have to question your comment that “…to read and not involve them in the performances is only going to damage the crowds we attract.” Then you follow up with the observation that the poetry shows are “…a vehicle to give reciters and serious presenters the opportunity to perform in front of and be appreciated by these audiences.” There are two assumptions here…that readers cannot involve an audience, thus damaging crowds, and are not serious presenters who will be appreciated.

was that the vehicle (I was meaning Breakfasts such as Gympie, Longyard, etc.) has attracted it's usual parochial crowd and this is the perfect time to give an inexperienced artist a chance at performing in front of them. I give this opportunity to different emerging poets every year. Generally their poetry is serious, but emotionally enthralling and thus....through the medium of comedy performance poetry, large crowds that have known no other form of visual poetry get the opportunity to experience different styles. Th last 3 have gone on to no longer reading and their performance skills have gone through the roof, but when I invited them, they were still reading from a sheet of paper. I always include a reciter of traditional works such as Geoffrey Graham or John Major to give the audience a taste of the traditional, all strategically placed amongst the Comedy Aussie Poetry to broaden the Audiences horizons re. poetry. So because of our big and loyal crowds, these venues are a perfect vehicle to introduce other styles, but in small doses.

I am not against people reading at venues where it is appropriate, and a chap made the finals in the performance section at Tamworth a couple of years back reading. Sadly for him the judges told him he must memorise it for the final. He tried and failed. Inexcusable by the judges to put him in this position. To his credit he returned the following year, recited it from memory and won.

Reading has it's place. All Audiences are different, but I still maintain that the bulk of audiences, many who previously could not stand poetry, flock in for the Comedy Poetry Breakfasts, so is this not a good place to slowly give those folks a taste of the other styles? All I would hope for is proper preperation by those perform.


Neil

[william williams]

Sorry everybody if I have given you the wrong thoughts about what I was TRYING TO EXPRESS
in words with my lousy expressional written vocabulary

Yes it is nice to compete and yes I do enjoy it and it is not the end all is it, but it is nice to be able to do it. Don’t you all think so As the old saying goes

IT IS BETTER TO HAVE COMPETED THAN TO NEVER COMPETE AT ALL

Many of you enter written competitions and there are many prize placing even thought you may never win a prize you still compete. I have but now I do not as my works do not come up to a reasonable standard this I except in all honesty and good will.

In my youth I was a competitive Rodeo rider and Novelty rider I did not compete in shown events as there is an element of the personal opinion of the judges of which I dislike. Impartiality to me is the very truth in life
In later years I was a Trainer Driver and competed in Trotting Races but NOTE all were at my ability not the whims of a judge I repeat my ability I have lost more times than I care to think but none of the above losses have ever caused me any discomfort in loosing it even made me try harder

Now if I was to spend my hard earned money to travel further wide in this huge country to a lot more venues which there are many and see and hear other competitors compete. Don’t you think it is like looking at that lolly jar and saying don’t touch. Like many others if I spent my money why can’t I participate to, and the entrance fees charged to some at these venues are often far beyond the means of the common person or family EG the nationals at Canberra $64 dollars per person for one day.

My life may be past it’s best health wise but why can’t I compete against people who may be near the same age as myself but have better health Now you say rules are rules and yes they are. But who made those rules. Were they people who never gave much thought about others or only the majority ?

I don’t wish to rock the boat Irene and the rest of you lot. So I’ll go back to my kennel and shut upbut remember if you want help you’ve got two hands and tongue so use em.

BILL THE OLD BU------er

[Neville Briggs]

Did you mean to say Bill, " It is better to have competed and lost than never to have competed at all " Oh well I'm in there.