Poetry Sydney is thrilled to be host of seed spin everywhere in celebration of World Poetry Day, as recognised by UNESCO (1999) to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.

"Arranged in words, coloured with images, struck with the right meter, the power of poetry has no match. As an intimate form of expression that opens doors to others, poetry enriches the dialogue that catalyses all human progress, and is more necessary than ever in turbulent times." Audrey AzoulayDirector General of UNESCO

Curiosity, openess and dialogue are important tools for engaging with contemporary poetry. Poets continue to push the boundaries of what poetry is and how it can be made, or seeded.

The event doubles as the launch of the Poetry Sydney's new website, a digital centre for poets and poetry. Poetry Sydney, where all poetry has a place.

The central network service is a platform and directory for poets, poetry organisations, conveners of poetry, readers of poetry and poetry audiences with a focus on Sydney and New South Wales, and Australasia. Poetry Sydney membership services program makes important commitments to poets and poetry organisations that contribute to our communities. Our services will amplify poets and poetry; develop poetry audiences and strengthen relationships.

This is a celebration of one of humantiy's most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity. We showcase the creative and critical thinking of poets across subjects and disciplines from an international compass with the commonanility of being point in centre for a shared experience @ the Knox Street Bar.

We are introducing you to Australian, international and expat poets for one-night only in the bespoke Drum Room in the Knox Street Bar. In this dynamic environment we have the privlege of platforming a performance by Canadian poet, Cat Kidd, who is on a national tour. The event features more than six feature poets with a diverse range languages and artistic vocabularies and Emceed by the Irish poet living on Gadigal land, Daragh Byrne, whose work is published in journals, newspapers and anthologies in Australia and Ireland. Songs and musicianship by the accomplished writer and performer Peter Miller-Robinson.

There is also an open platform for those attending. Ticketed attendance is your right of passage to platform your poetry. The venue has limited capacity and first-in attendance on the night will ensure your participation.

M E E T T H E P O E T S

International poet:

Cat Kidd has been a core figure in Montreal’s vibrant cabaret scene since the 90s, her signature style once described as ‘Dr. Seuss meets David Suzuki meets Vaudeville meets Patti Smith’. Best known for her zoology-focused solo shows ‘Sea Peach’ and ‘Hyena Subpoena’, she’s also author of poetry collection ‘Bipolar Bear’ and novel ‘Missing the Ark’, her writing nominated for Quebec and national awards. Her work has featured in festivals from Whitehorse to Oslo, Erlangen to Edinburgh, Singapore to Cape Town, earning five-star reviews on the Canadian Fringe circuit. Cat Kidd ‘weaves a mesmerising hybrid story-verse, accompanied by Jacky Murda’s enchanting soundscapes, and wild animal videos,’ describes an NFF webpage. Winner of the National Folk Festival’s Reciter of the Year Award in 2023, Cat is thrilled to be returning to Australia for NFF 2024 and points beyond (with prospective shows in XY and Z)! She looks forward to performing favourites from last year, as well as excerpts of a brand new work-in-progress, ‘Rock Dove’. http://www.catkidd.com/

Expat poet and our Emcee:

Daragh Byrne is an Irish poet who lives on Gadigal land (Sydney). His work has been published in journals, newspapers and anthologies in Australia and Ireland, including Poetry Wales, Wild Court, Southword, Crannóg, Skylight 47, Abridged and Westerly. He has won 3rd Prize in the Poetry London Competition (2022), was shortlisted for the Val Vallis Award (2022), was runner up in the Allingham Poetry Prize (2021) and Highly Commended in the Winchester Poetry Prize (2021). He makes his living writing software, and runs The Sydney Poetry Lounge, a long-running open mic night. https://www.daraghbyrnepoetry....

Linda Adair is a Sydney-born poet and artist, and a co-editor of Rochford Street Review & Rochford Press. Since 2018 she has lived and worked on unceded Dharug and Gundungarra land in the world-heritage-listed Blue Mountains. Her debut book The Unintended Consequences of the Shattering was published by Melbourne Poets Union in 2020. Her poetry engages with historical, political, and environmental themes as much as personal relationships, and has appeared in various local and international journals.

Tatiana Bonch-Osmolovskaya is a writer and an artist with a strong natural science background. She is an author of a great number of publications in Russian, including award-winning collections of short stories and essays. Her poetry and short stories in English appeared in London Grip; POEM; Rochford Street Review; Can I tell you a secret? Not So Quiet; Skywriters; Across the Russian Wor(l); Bridges; Transitions; East West Literary Forum; Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, and other editions. She participated in more than twenty art exhibitions in Russia, Europe, USA and Australia. Tatiana is also a researcher and an editor of Articulation literary journal (in Russian), and Board member of PEN Moscow. Tatiana lives and works in Sydney, Australia. In the time of the Russian war against Ukraine, Tatiana totally and completely stands with Ukraine.

Fale, is a Samoan, Western Pacific Islander, who has come to realise the lack of platforms for the voices of Pacific Islanders to be heard. She has created an organisation, which established the Tusitala Poetry Slams. Writing has been her passion and a therapy for her thoughts. Recently, she has started to explore spoken word.

Hale Isil Cosar is a Sydney based teacher and poet. Her first volume of poetry, ‘Hijabi in Jeans’ was published by Guillotine Press (2018). Her poems have been published in several anthologies and journals.

James Gering, poet, diarist and short story writer, has received various Australian and international awards for his stories and poems. His writing has appeared in many journals around the world including Meanjin, Cordite, Rattle and Blood & Bourbon. His first collection of poetry, Staying Whole While Falling Apart, was released by Interactive Press in 2021. His second collection, Tickets to the Fall of Icarus, was released by the same publisher in December 2023. James lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, where he climbs the cliffs and hikes the trails in search of Judith Beveridge’s wisdom, Annie Ernaux’s emotional truth and Franz Kafka’s dreamscapes. James welcomes visitors at jamesgering.com.

Aileen Moka （艾琳/ Ai Lin）is an Australia based Chinese Poet. She is the most well-known and popular poet in Chinese community and a regular head judge of poetry of the Shanghai International Youth Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting Competition. She holds the esteemed position of Editor-in-chief for the captivating Youth Poetry Art Collection titled "Listening to the Future," a notable best-seller showcased at the 2023 Shanghai International Book Fair. A prolific author, Moka has graced readers with her poetic mastery through works such as "Iris Lovers," "The Mood of Iris," and "Aileen's Poetry."

Oormila V. Prahlad is an Indian-Australian artist, poet, and improv pianist who was raised in the Middle East. She holds a Masters in English, and is a member of Sydney's North Shore Poetry Collective. She was a founding editor of the Sydney based literary journal Authora Australis. Her works have been widely published in various print and online literary journals and anthologies including, Cordite Poetry Review, Bracken Magazine, Sidhe Press (Germany) and Black Bough Poetry (UK). Her poetry and art have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and multiple times for the Sundress Best of the Net Awards Anthology. She was long listed for the Dai Fry Memorial Award for Mystical Poetry in Wales, UK, in 2022. She won the 66th Moon Prize awarded by Writing in a Woman’s Voice Journal and was a finalist in the Glass House Poetry Awards. She is the author of three digital micro-chapbooks published by Origami Poems Project, US. Her debut collection, Patchwork Fugue, was published by Atomic Bohemian Press, UK, in February 2024. She lives and works in New South Wales on the traditional lands of The Eora Nation. https://poetry.oormila.com/ Find her on Twitter: @oormilaprahlad

Mark Roberts is a writer, critic and publisher living on unceded Darug and Gundungurra land. He is co-editor, along with Linda Adair, of Rochford Street Review. His latest poetry collection, Concrete Flamingos, was published by Island Press in 2016. He currently has a number of manuscripts looking for a publisher.

Peter Miller-Robinson began writing poetry in his early teens. By age 20 he had been awarded an Australian Fellowship of Writers Young Writers Award, had been published in Meanjin Quarterly, Canberra Poetry and Blast. He also had pieces broadcast on ABC arts programs. After rediscovering a guitar that he had received as a gift when a child, Peter ran away to become a singer/songwriter. In recent years Peter has returned to writing and performing. He has two awards from the Australian Songwriters Association and has traveled extensively through Britain, Ireland, Central and Eastern Europe, performing at house concerts, venues and festivals.

Mohsen Soltani came to Australia in 1999 from Iran and was held in immigration detention in Perth, Port Hedland and then Villawood in Sydney for four years. His work has been published in a variety of journals, anthologies and is produced as spoken word recordings, read and performed by a startling array of prominent Australians. Since his release, he continues to lend his support to the cause of asylum seekers in detention. Mohsen's first collection of poetry in book form is published by Kardoorair Press. Mohsen performs his spoken word with and plays santoor in his band EMBER.

Poetry Sydney acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of the land where we live, create, meet and work.

Image details: screenshot of Cat Kidd's website homepage.

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