Ode to the enduring potential of poetry

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Terry. You are absolutely right about picture books and rhyming verse. That is why I am so frustrated that the Bush Laureates have dropped "Children's Poem of they Year" as a category. They were not getting enough entries. The difficulty is finding a way to get the publishers of rhyming picture books to enter the Bush Laureate awards. To be honest, I don't think they even know they exist. On the one hand we have Tamworth, on the other hand we have the capital cities where the big publishers live, and they are like two different worlds - parallel universes, almost. One of the items on my (increasingly long!) list of things to do this year is to try to persuade the Bush Laureates to re-establish the category, then try to persuade the publishers to enter poems in it! (It reminds me of that Monty Python sketch - when I grow up I want to be a brilliant medical researcher, invent a vaccine against a deadly disease, and save the world!)

Manfred, thanks for your encouraging and generous comments. I am not feeling particularly disheartened, but I am trying to be clear-eyed about the nature (and scale) of the problem, and see if I can find a solution by thinking a little laterally. Get the teachers on board, and the children will follow. On the other hand, try to get the children on board without the teachers, and it's going to be an uphill battle all the way.

By the way, you can find out more about my forthcoming book here:
http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Books/The ... 1922077431

It is pretty much the distillation of a lifetime's writing.

[warooa]

One to look out for I'm sure: The Billy That Died With Its Boots on . . . goodonya Doc!

a fantastic ode to the enduring potential of poetry I'm sure

Marty

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Marty. Walker have done a great job creating a book that looks really terrific - not that I'm biased, of course!

[David Campbell]

I wrote an article in response to the Barry Hing piece and sent it off to The Australian, but they ignored it.

Stephen's observation about publishers of children's books is very pertinent...I've been involved with a couple of them and the connection with the Bush Laureate Awards would never have been made. As Terry says, that word 'bush' creates problems. We know that it can be interpreted broadly within the ABPA definition, but it's damn difficult getting that message across.

And, as we've discussed before, there's still disagreement about it within the ABPA. For example, below is the first stanza of a poem of mine. How would it be received in bush poetry circles, particularly in terms of the subject-matter? It's written from the point of view of a young girl. (Although it might appear inconsistent in terms of metre, there is a deliberate pattern.)

David

Prey

My father has an eagle on his chest,
a brutal, harsh tattoo…flared wings at rest,
spread talons poised to strike
some tiny creature like
a field mouse maybe, but it’s not;
it’s me in those sharp claws, so hot
with shame and fear I cannot speak
as yet again that cruel beak
attacks and lacerates
my soul. I see Hell’s gates
and feel such pain, far more than I can say,
for he is predator…and I am prey.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Lovely piece of writing, David.

The thing about the Bush Laureates is that I'm not at all sure they interpret 'bush' as loosely as the ABPA does. My Golden Gumleaf was for a poem about Ned Kelly. I am not sure that a rhyming picture book, no matter how good it was, would win a GG unless it was set in the bush. Does anybody know for sure?

[warooa]

Good point Stephen, I guess that's something you'd have to ask the Bush Laureate people.

And David . . . I really like that . . is the first stanza just a tease or do we get the rest?

Marty

[Robyn]

I love the poem David, but take your point that many - especially those outside ABPA circles - will not see it as 'bush verse'.
Given that rhyme is making a tentative resurgence in contemporary poetry eg sonnets seem to be quite popular at the moment, I can see this poem placed in a modern anthology alongside free verse.
But would you enter it in the Open or Bush section of a competition? The 'bush poetry' tag seems to encompass not just rhythm and rhyme, but a narrative ballad structure as well. So are we bush poets, rhyming poets or just poets who choose to use rhyme and metre? Or do we just accept that some poetry and poets can't be easily classified?
I really enjoy the way you push the boundaries of our craft!
Thanks for the article Manfred. Food for thought.
And good luck with the book Stephen, and with raising the profile of writing poetry for children. My kids all loved their rhyming poetry stories when young, and it would be a shame to see others miss out.

[Vic Jefferies]

I think we have covered this subject many times, but I also think the quoted article contains the answer regarding the lack of popularity of poetry today: where are our modern day Wilfred Owens; Rupert Brookes;Siegfried Sasoons and T.S. Eliots. Who is writing with the force, skill and ability of The Banjo or Lawson? Have you read anything written in the last twenty years to rival the works of these poets or poets such as Keats, Kipling or WB Yeats? I doubt it!

[Terry]

Wow setting the bar pretty high there Vic.

I wonder if anyone would bother read it even if we could match them - Guess I shouldn't be so cynical.

Cheers Terry

[Vic Jefferies]

The point I am trying to make Terry is that the people didn't get sick of poetry, they simply rejected the nonsense that the literati and "modern" poets tried to serve up as poetry. I am firmly convinced when someone like a Sassoon, Brooke, Kipling, Paterson or Lawson emerge they will be thoroughly acclaimed and just as popular.
We do not have a current Australian Poet Laureate, but when he/she does arrive, it will be because the people appoint and accept him or her.