A beautiful spring day in Perth, with a maximum temperature of 37 Celsius, but plenty of shade, saw the inaugural Cultural Centre Markets Poetry Readings. What a lively bunch our WA Poets Inc members are! Chariperson and MC for the afternoon, Peter Jeffery (pictured) rolled up with a microphone and speaker, and poets arrived, bearing books for sale and big smiles. The dark angst ridden poets of bygone eras seem to have faded into the night or the dank corners of cellar bars. Here the sun shone in all its glory, and the words rose to greet the occasion. High-nesting cultural birds provided a chick chorus as Coral Carter got the reading off to a spirited start. I followed, and took the audience on a trip about Western Australia finally landing in China. From my quiet pensive tones to Janet Jackson's performance recital of colourful poems which she projected over PICA and down city streets. The poets followed each other, playing tag, introducing themselves as they went: Sue Clennell (reading from her book The Ink Drinkers), Sally Clark (reading from Poets@KSP, a small anthology hot of the press), Amanda Joy (reading from two USA magazines she has recently appeared in), Rose Van Loon (from Poets@KSP), Brendan Fenton, Jan Napier and his nibs Peter Jeffery.
The weather was great for us, in our shadey place, enjoying each poet's performance, but it seems to have discouraged shoppers. I have seen those markets crowded four times larger than today's meagre crowd, but the readings have begun, and we thank the Maidens of the Markets who encouraged such a reading and supplied the power for our humble amp. (Billy Thorpe wouldn't have used it as fold-back >g<)Further outings of a similar kind will be advertised here as dates and performer lists come to hand.
All photos by Amanda Joy.
