Feeding Paper Tigers reviewed

I was excited to discover that my micro-collection Feeding Paper Tigers has been reviewed at Martin Duwell’s Australian Poetry Review. This is my first review and what better place to find it!

You can read my review, along with that of my co-BNV III poet Carmen Leigh Keates as well two more emerging poets in Eileen Chong and Matthew Abbott by visiting the below link:

http://www.hotsdots.com/poetry

Here’s a taste from the review:

The same, rather shaky distinction between a poet who explores and exploits conventional structures and one who seems, from the outset, to be doing things in his or her own way is re-enacted in miniature with the two poets of  Brisbane New Voices III. Vanessa Page’s poems tend to focus on emotional states: the first, “Five fifty-three am” is about happiness, and its structure – a set of rhapsodic metaphors (“It’s the morning rubbing the last of a dream from its eyes / as day-broken birds open their throats to the light”) – mimics the way the state lends itself to imaginative celebration rather than, say, sceptical analysis. A more common state in these poems is loss and separation from the loved-one. This seems a state more easily connected to exploration and one really fine poem, “Chrysalid”, does this within the metaphor established in the title:

This day is made for breaking. I lie awake inside the shell of sleep. Outside my window, agapanthus heads invite deconstruction There are only incidental details left. I inhabit shadows like silk-sheen resting my fingertips on your detritus . . . . .

 

 

 

QPF 2012 launched

There has certainly been a lot happening of late and this blog post is once again a bit of a ‘catch up’ one. First the most exciting news is that the program for the 2012 Queensland Poetry Festival – ‘Spoken in one strange word’ has been launched and I am thrilled to be performing for the first time along some very fine poets.

 On Sunday 26 August at 12:15pm I will be performing alongside Nathan Curnow and Jill Jones in the ‘Whisper me awake’ session in the Theatre Space. In addition, I will be performing as part of the showcase event – A Million Bright Things on the Saturday night at 8pm. This session will involve a short set from all program poets, as well as the launch of Poet in Residence a.rawlings’Queenslandcomponent of the series ‘Sound Poetry and Visual Poetry’.

There are so many exciting things happening throughout the festival and some great sessions not to be missed. You can download the entire program by visiting http://www.queenslandpoetryfestival.com

I will also be involved with a special project throughout the festival with some more details to come soon.

The poetry scene in Brisbane continues to thrive and there has been no shortage of events of late. Most recently I joined my fellow Ipswich Beeble Poets at our new home at the Prince of Wales for an afternoon of open mic, musical sets and even a three minute speed poetry challenge. Last weekend I joined the crew at the Back Room at Confit for some more open mic, music and excellent food and am looking forward to SpeedPoets this Saturday at Brew. All of these events offer great ‘tasters’ into the world of poetry and are well worth the effort to get along to and experience. It has been especially wonderful of late to have introduced some of my non-poet friends into the scene and see them enjoy themselves and take in some of the cultural delights of our fantastic city.