Launch of 2007 WA SPRING POETRY FESTIVAL

Yesterday, Saturday 13 October, the 2007 WA SPRING FESTIVAL was officially launched at the theatrette at the Alexander Library, Perth city. Poet, retired broadcaster and ex-Academy of Performing Arts lecturer, Murray Jennings, was Master of Ceremonies.

The ceremonies began with two Noongar elders welcoming us to their land, and a brief didgeridoo lesson by Squiggle, a young indigenous man with a great stage presence.

A councillor from the Perth City Council then officially opened the week long festival, but it was really for the next speaker we had all filed in. Australia poet, story writer, critic and educator, FAY ZWICKY, spoke as Patron of the Festival, and read poems from her new collection PICNIC (Giramondo Press, 2007)

Following her I read some poems, mostly about my recent stay in China; Maureen Sexton spoke about the beginnings of the Festival just three years ago, and read some of her very moving poems; and Murray Jennings read his 2006 Tom Collins Poetry Prize winning poem, which, coincidentally, was judged by Fay Zwicky.

As FAWWA's Writer In Residence, I then delivered a tribute to Fay, reading poems from some of her six volumes of poetry, before handing it over to Trisha Kotai-Ewers as President of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) to present Fay with a crucible and a scroll, thereby awarding her a Lifetime Honorary Membership of both the Fellowship and WA Poets Inc. The crucible has been a longtime tradition at the FAW here, representing the birth through fire of the precious metal from the raw material - a metaphor for the writer's craft and art.

After the Official Opening, and a certain break for a drink and nibbles, we retired to the Great Southern Room on the Fourth Floor, to conduct a panel discussion on the theme PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Panelists included Australian prize-winning poet and best selling verse novelist, DOROTHY PORTER; Singaporean poet and writer, ALVIN PANG; West Australian rising young poet SARAH FRENCH; and myself.

Thank you to Jeanette Burke for the photos.