Queensland Poetry Festival is the flagship program of Queensland Poetry one of Australia's premier organisations for all things poetry. It exists to support and promote a poetry culture in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and Australia, embracing the wide possibility of poetic expression in all of its forms. As well as hosting an annual festival, Queensland Poetry also produces a number of signature projects and programs throughout the year.

History

QPF was originally founded by Brett Dionysius in 1997, an organisational role he continued in until 2001 when it was being run as the ''Subverse: Queensland Poetry Festival''. Queensland Poetry Festival then continued under a number of Directors and Managers including Rosanna Licari (2002–2003) and Graham Nunn (2004–2007) whilst becoming the incorporated entity Queensland Poetry Festival Inc in 2007. Since this new inception QPF has been directed by Julie Beveridge (2008–2009), Sarah Gory (2011–2014), Co-Directors Anne-Marie Te Whiu and David Stavanger (2015–2017), Lucy Nelson (2018–19), and Shane Strange (2022-) In 2016 an event was held at Government House, Brisbane as a Celebration of the Queensland Poetry Festival's 20th Anniversary. In a speech delivered by His Excellency the Honourable

Paul de Jersey Paul de Jersey, (born 21 September 1948) is an Australian jurist who served as the 26th governor of Queensland, in office from 29 July 2014 to 1 November 2021. He was Chief Justice of Queensland from 1998 to 2014. Education De Jersey was edu ...

AC as Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, he said:

Not only poetry, but also poets, have enjoyed special status. They have been credited with exceptional insight into our existence, coupled with great expressive powers ... for twenty years, the Queensland Poetry Festival has been a wonderful champion of the enormous cultural wealth that resides in poetry, particularly our own, and of poetry's capacity to enrich our Queensland communities and our State's culture.

QPF's 2017 Arts Queensland Poet in Residence, award-winning Mvskoke/USA poet and musician Joy Harjo said:

I have travelled to festivals, performances and residencies all over the world, from the U.S., to Europe, to India, to South America. The Queensland Poetry Festival residency remains one of the most memorable. I was warmly welcomed and taken care of from even before I arrived, then throughout the residency. Every detail was covered. I encountered a generosity of spirit in the sponsors and participants of each workshop, performance, and of course, the community. It was apparent that the Queensland Poetry Festival had made a beloved place in the community, through the efforts of its leadership and staff. They have a committed fan, in me.

The 2016 festival saw the emergence of a strong commitment to including more diverse and Indigenous voices including the creation of the Indigenous Poet in Residence (Sam Wagan Watson 2016 and Ali Cobby Eckermann 2017) & the inaugural

Oodgeroo Noonuccal Oodgeroo Noonuccal ( ; born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, later Kath Walker (3 November 192016 September 1993) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, artist and educator, who campaigned for Aboriginal rights. Noonuccal was best known for ...

Indigenous Poetry Prize. Queensland Poetry maintains its commitment to supporting voices of Country. During the Covid pandemic (2020, 2021), Queensland Poetry switched to providing a number of online programs in lieu of a live festival. In June of 2022, the first live festival was held in Brisbane/Meanjin with the theme 'Emerge'. It was the first festival held live since 2019. Queensland Poetry administers and manages a year-long program of poetry workshops, programs, events, and competitions. These include: three Arts Queensland Poetry Awards in the Val Vallis Poetry Award,

Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize The Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, named in honour of a distinguished Queensland poet, is a literary award for an unpublished poetry manuscript by a Queensland-based author. The prize was established in 2003 and currently comes with prize money of $2 ...

and the XYZ Prize for Excellence in Spoken Word (introduced in 2015), the Arts Queensland Poet in Residence, SlammED! and the Australian Poetry Slam QLD Heats & Final. Queensland Poetry also partners on programs such as the monthly VOLTA event at Brisbane Square Library.

Organisational structure

The current structure of Queensland Poetry includes a Management Committee, a General Manager, Artistic Director, Events and Marketing Manager and program coordinators.. In 2016 Queensland Poetry was successful for the first time in applying for Organisational Funding for Operational/Staff costs for the 2017–2020 period via Arts Queensland. Since 2007 QP has been an incorporated community organisation with a dedicated and growing audience, with a strong tradition of volunteerism and known increasingly for celebrating poetry in all of its forms. QP currently has office space under a tenancy agreement with the Queensland Writers Centre, in the State Library of Queensland.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize

In 2016 the Queensland Poetry Festival introduced an Indigenous program, which included the inaugural Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize. The prize was named in honour of Aboriginal poet

, with the permission of her family and after consultation with Quandamooka Festival. It is the only open-age Indigenous poetry prize for an unpublished poem. Past winners have included Brenda Saunders, Andrew Booth & Julie Janson, Jeanine Leane, and Sachem Parkin-Owens.

Past guests

In its history the festival has featured some of the world's finest poets, spoken word artists singer/songwriters and other artists including

Mark Doty Mark Doty (born August 10, 1953) is an American poet and memoirist best known for his work ''My Alexandria.'' He was the winner of the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008. Early life Mark Doty was born in Maryville, Tennessee to Lawrence an ...

(US), Ali Cobby Eckermann, Joy Harjo (US),

Jennifer Maiden Jennifer Maiden (born 1949) is an Australian poet. She was born in Penrith, New South Wales, and has had 36 books published: 28 poetry collections, 6 novels and 2 nonfiction works. Her current publishers are Quemar Press in Australia and Bloo ...

and

Maxine Beneba Clarke Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian writer of Afro-Caribbean descent, whose work includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her collection of short stories ''Foreign Soil'' won the 2013 Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award, the 2015 ...

in 2017; Tracy K. Smith (US), Jeet Thayil (India), Lionel Fogarty, Ivan Coyote (Canada) and

Tishani Doshi Tishani Doshi (born 9 December 1975) is an Indian poet, journalist and dancer based in Chennai. In 2006 she won the Forward Prize for her debut poetry book ''Countries of the Body''. Her poetry book ''A God at the Door'' has been shortlisted fo ...

(India) in 2016; Kate Durbin (US), Les Murray, MacGillivray (Scotland) and David Brooks in 2015;

Warsan Shire Warsan Shire (born 1 August 1988) is a British writer, poet, editor and teacher, who was born to Somali parents in Kenya. In 2013 she was awarded the inaugural Brunel University African Poetry Prize, chosen from a shortlist of six candidates o ...

(UK) and Christian Bok (2014); Shane Rhodes (2013 – Canada);

Angela Rawlings Angela Rawlings (known as a rawlings) is a Canadian poet, editor, and interdisciplinary artist who uses many spectacular languages for her material. Career In 2001, rawlings received the bpNichol Award for Distinction in Writing when she grad ...

(2012 – Canada); Jacob Polley (2011 – UK)

Emily XYZ Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

(2010 – USA) and August Kleinzahler (2010 – USA),

Hinemoana Baker Hinemoana Baker (born 1968) is a New Zealand poet, musician and recording artist, teacher of creative writing and broadcaster. Biography Baker was born in Christchurch in 1968 and grew up in Whakatane and Nelson, and descends from the Ng� ...

(NZ) and Neil Murray (2009)

Shane Koyczan Shane L. Koyczan , born 22 May 1976, is a Canadian spoken word poet, writer, and member of the group Tons of Fun University. He is known for writing about issues like bullying, cancer, death, and eating disorders. He is most famous for the ant ...

(2007 – Canada), Chris Bailey (2005 – The Saints), and

Dave Graney Dave Graney is an Australian rock musician, singer-songwriter and author from Melbourne. Since 1978, Graney has collaborated with drummer-multi instrumentalist Clare Moore. The pair have fronted or been involved with numerous bands including The ...

(2006).

References

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External links