ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Week nine maybe but lesson nine is spoons?

And they reckon Queenslanders are SLOW !

Never pays attention our Heather.


Bob

Oops, just let me put my head back on straight - it's been a bit skewed this week....


Right, that's better, I can see without peering around corners now. Yes, Bob, you did say lesson 9....


Queenslanders are slow but ......

Do you still say "but" at the end of every sentence or has been been replaced with "hey"?

Being serious now - I wonder how many schools actually do foster poetry in children? Are there any figures on it that are hidden away in some pollies portfolio? The Ipswich Poetry Feast seems to attract quite a good percentage of child competitors and they are supported by their schools or is that by individual teachers perhaps as opposed to being a part of their syllabus?

I did notice the claim made by the following - The Dorothea Mackellar award.

The oldest and largest poetry competition for school aged children in Australia. http://www.dorothea.com.au/

The Awards aim to inspire students across Australia to express their thoughts creatively through poetry and, by doing so, support the legacy of Dorothea Mackellar and her legendary poem ‘My Country‘. Entries open on March 1st each year and close on the 30th June. In 2013, more than 700 schools entered with 10,000 poems submitted from all over Australia.

Dunno Mausie, i do know that on Wednesday I'll be doing a couple of workshops for around 130 kids.
Last year at Winton, Janine Haig and I judged over 300 performances by kids ...

There's an interesting article in today's Weekend Australian ( p22 of Inquirer section )

It's by Christopher Bantick, a literature teacher at a Melbourne grammar school and he has headed it, Dying Light of Poetry. He is alluding to Dylan Thomas of course and at the end of the article urges English teachers to cease abrogating their responsibility and rage , rage against the dying of the light. He believes that Australian children are missing a vital education without teaching in poetry.

Plainly, Mr Bantick's poetic stars are no. 1 Dylan Thomas, also Sylvia Plath, Auidrey Lorde and Philip Larkin. As for Australian poets of class, he goes for Kenneth Slessor, Judith Wright, AD Hope, John Shaw Neilson and James McAuley. And advocates teaching the poetry of Les Murray, Bruce Dawe, Gwen Harwood and Michael Thwaites.

What caught my eye is that he makes the provocative statement " Forget the tired old claim that it is AB Banjo Paterson or the drunk Henry Lawson who resonate the national voice or spirit. They were voices of their time but they have not stood the test of time "

Ooowah.
Do bush balladeers stand the test of time. There are still books being published on Banjo and Henry, most people still recognise the names, and their lines are still quoted in the public press. I am not sure that he can be firm on that point.

Will the " bush " poetry stand the test of time, as Australia inexorably moves to a very different makeup of demographics. Will the children of Asian and Middle eastern immigrants want to learn about Clancy, the pack horse drovers and the wide brown land.

There are a number of enthusiastic teachers out there who welcome any help in teaching poetry.
'Slam' poets are doing the rounds and so are we ...

So many schools and so few (bush)poets .....

Neville Briggs wrote: " Forget the tired old claim that it is AB Banjo Paterson or the drunk Henry Lawson who resonate the national voice or spirit. They were voices of their time but they have not stood the test of time "

...and therein lies the very basis of our problem....coupled with the media's uninformed, sycophantic support of same. 'David & Goliath' was a walk in the park.

and yet everday unwittingly Australians hold a bush poet in their hand - on the $10 note - havn't seen any rap poets on our currency yet

'G'day all,

It seems that unless either a parent or a teacher is very enthusiastic the children are not interested.
The two years that I have been involved in helping to run the poetry for the Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival it appears that the teacher, who had several of her class enter, virtually held their hand and put the entries in the envelopes and posted them for the kids. She also came along to the festival and sat with the kids.
The other two individual children had quick thinking parents who noticed that finalists would get a free pass, with an adult, for the Saturday of the festival. Two kids in the same family... a pass each for Mum Dad. Lovely day out for the family. Mind you one of the girls won her age section with a sweet little poem.( I'd like to put money on them entering again this year) Even my own grandkids, who I have tried to get interested in competition didn't put their poems in.

Much information has been published in the ABPA Mag as well as on this forum about working with kids.
We know that poetry is part of years 3 - 10 as well as foundation year in the National Curriculum - look it up.
Outlines for workshops and further suggestions and even a primary school Unit planner for poetry have been put up to help the members.
The unit plan, posted here to further help interested members, has been mocked, and we (poets) still find reasons why poetry in schools can't be done.

If you really want to work with schools and kids - DO IT!

If not - don't! ...