Ballarat Writers are proud to announce that the winner of our biennial Martha Richardson prize for 2018 is Janine McGinness-Whyte with her poem “Transplanted”.
Category: poetry (Page 2 of 3)
Words Out Loud is turning super sleuth in October and ‘following its nose’ to a great evening of spoken word.
The October 11 event 
(note: this is a week earlier than it normally would be) will be held at the Printers Room, in the basement of Sebastiaans at the corner of Mair and Lydiard streets. Continue reading
Words Out Loud Ballarat looks to the winter solstice for inspiration. As the longest night falls, poets, writers and storytellers gather to celebrate poetry, prose and good yarns in the warm and welcoming surrounds of The Printers Room.
Words Out Loud is taking its inspiration from White Night Ballarat when it takes to the stage on March 15 at the Printers Room, in the basement of Sebaastians at the corner of Mair and Lydiard streets.
The spoken word event encourages poets, writers and raconteurs to share their work, or favourite pieces by others, for five-minute open mic sessions on the third Thursday of each month (unless otherwise advertised). The theme for March is “shine a light”, but it isn’t compulsory.
Enter via Mair St. Drink and food available before and during. Enjoy the show from couches, the tables or a seat by the bar. Gold coin donation appreciated.
Performances begin from 7pm.
This is a great opportunity to test new material, celebrate a success or share some inspiration, or simply enjoy a diverse range of spoken word.
Keep in touch at facebook.com/wordsoutloud or join the mailing list at the website.
Words Out Loud gets heartfelt on February 15 when it searches for “that lovin’ feelin’” at the Printers Room, in the basement of Sebaastians at the corner of Mair and Lydiard streets.
The spoken word event encourages poets, writers and raconteurs to share their work, or favourite pieces by others, for five-minute open mic sessions on the third Thursday of each month (unless otherwise advertised).
Enter via Mair St. Drink and food available before and during. Enjoy the show from couches, the tables or a seat by the bar. Gold coin donation appreciated.
Performances begin from 7pm.
This is a great opportunity to road test new material, celebrate a success or share some inspiration, or simply enjoy a diverse range of spoken word.
Keep in touch at facebook.com/wordsoutloud or wordsoutloudballarat.com.au
The City of Ballarat is seeking responses from interested poets to create a public display of their poetry at Little Bridge Street Pocket Park. The poem(s) will be incorporated into new seating in the Pocket Park design. The selected poet will work with selected street furniture designers to successfully incorporate the poem into the selected seat design.
The commissioned poetry will reflect the stories of the local community. The selected poem will reflect the theme of contemporary life in urban Ballarat. The commissioned poet should consider the broad appeal of the poem they submit, noting that the area is used by a cross section of the Ballarat community including families.
A sum of $2,000 and will be paid to commission the poem. The City of Ballarat will provide and install seating for the poem(s) and will cover the cost of integrating the poem to the seats up to the value of $3,000 (as arranged by the seat designer in collaboration with the poet)
The selected poet will work with the selected designer and seat manufacturer ‘Street Furniture Australia’ to produce the poetry seating. The selected poet will work with an existing seat design and input into the seating colour, spacing and layout of text and the integration of the words onto four seats (for example this may be etched or printed, an audio recording or another creative integration). The poet will be asked to strongly consider how public interaction may affect their work and include in their proposal how their design addresses threats of graffiti vandalism, incidental and wilful damage and any ongoing maintenance requirements.
Submission date and requirements
Interested poets should provide one PDF file containing the following to publicart@ballarat.vic.gov.au by 5pm Monday 29 January 2018.
- The full name and contact details and CV of the poet (maximum 2 pages)
- A one paragraph biography of the poet
- Up to four poems for selection for the poetry seats (i.e. one poem across all seats, or one per seat)
- A one page description/design of your concept for the poetry integration onto the seats including an indicative production cost (to be confirmed once seat design is selected)
If you have queries or concerns about these requirements, please contact Kate Gerritsen on 03 5320 5199 for assistance.
Words Out Loud returns for 2018 at its new venue, the Printers Room, in the basement of Sebaastians at the corner of Mair and Lydiard streets, on Thursday January 18.To mark the new venue’s former life as a printery/book bindery (check out the graffiti on the columns!), the non-binding (heh) theme for the night is ‘hot metal’.
The spoken word event encourages poets, writers and raconteurs to share their work, or favourite pieces by others, for five-minute open mic sessions on the third Thursday of each month (unless otherwise advertised).
Enter via Mair St. Drink and food available. Enjoy the show from couches, the tables or a seat by the bar. Gold coin donation appreciated. Performances begin from 7pm. This is a great opportunity to road test new material, celebrate a success or share some inspiration.
Keep in touch at facebook.com/wordsoutloud
Words Out Loud draws the curtain on its run at Ballarat’s wonderful Babushka bar in October, but we’re seeing the awesome venue out in style.
Special guests Steve Smart and Jessica Wilkinson will get the party started, and there will be five-minute slots available on the night for others to share poetry, prose and yarns.
With Babushka having been sold, this is likely the last chance to attend a Words Out Loud at the bar.
This free night of spoken word is on Thursday October 19, 7–9pm, and writers, readers, poets — all word lovin’ folks with a hankering to share the love — are invited to join in the fun and farewell this special venue.
The theme for the night is “the last shout”, and, as always, performers are encouraged to take the theme and run with it — or ignore it altogether.
Find out more at the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/wordsoutloud/
Words Out Loud gets its equinox on with a theme of ‘light and dark’ at Babushka lounge in Ballarat on Thursday, September 21, 7–9pm, for its next session of spoken word!
Writers, readers, poets — all word lovin’ folks with a hankering to share the love are invited along, with five-minute open mic spots on offer.
With Babushka having been sold, time is running out to enjoy this fabulous venue, so if you’ve been wondering what Words Out Loud is all about, now’s your time to do it! Air your writing, share someone else’s, just enjoy and encourage the work of your fellow scribes.
As always, performers are encouraged to take the theme and run with it for their five-minute slots — or ignore it altogether!
Entry is free, though a gold coin donation would be appreciated for this non-profit, community event.
Keep up to date at the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/wordsoutloud/
Ballarat Writers is pleased to announce the winner of the 2016 Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize, judged by acclaimed poet Emilie Zoey Baker.
The winner was “Christmas Day in Harlaxton” by Vanessa Page. You can read the winning poem here.
The four highly commended finalists were:
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf” by Gayelene Carbis
“Rules for the Dead” by Damen O’Brien
“In the Ear of the Beholder” by Ian Pettit
“Orange Blood” by Roger Vickery
The winner of the AU$1,500 prize was announced at the last Ballarat Writers meeting of 2016 on 30 November. Congratulations to Vanessa and the highly commended poets, and thanks to all who entered and supported the contest.
Ballarat Writers is due to run the Southern Cross Short Story Prize in 2017. Stay tuned for details in the new year.