A Bit About Myself

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Peely
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A Bit About Myself

Post by Peely » Sun Oct 31, 2010 10:13 pm

G'day All

Bush poetry has long been an interest of mine. The seed was sown back when I was a student in primary school where my teachers encouraged my classes to read and recite works by poets like Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson and CJ Dennis. I was also exposed to the great rhyming verse of modern day children's writer, Doug Macleod. My parents also purchased books by Paterson and Lawson around this time.

I was around about eleven when I made my first attempts at rhyming verse. Limericks were among the first things that I had a go at attempting. As a thirteen year old, I won a prize in a poetry competition on the subject of Arbour Day for a rhyming poem that I wrote (this comp was for any poetry). I remember writing other poems in secondary school as well - most of these were rhymed. The last poems that I wrote as a school student were written when I was in year ten.

Following school, I attended university and gained a degree in engineering. I did write a few poems as a university student. Even though I may not have done much in the way of poetry in the period after year ten until the end of university, the interest was still there.

It wasn't until late 2002, following a car accident, when my interest in bush poetry really started to ramp back up. It was at this time when I started to write much more regularly. By mid 2003 I had put a few poems together and braved my first time reading poems in front of an audience (other than just family) at the Batlow Rotary's inaugural "Pasta, Plonk and Poetry Night". I was encouraged by the audience response and was inspired to keep on writing.

In 2005 I discovered the world of performance bush poetry competitions. I had heard about Poets' Breakfasts from a family friend (Zondrae's son in law Dan). I decided to find out where there was one on by doing an internet search. This brought up the Victorian Championships at Benalla. That year, the championships were on over the Labor Day long weekend in March. I decided to learn a few of my own poems to do at the breakfasts that were part of the championships and watch the competition. After doing a couple of poems at the breakfast on the first morning, I was encouraged to have a go in the competition. Even though I had a fairly nervous start, I was greatly encouraged by the judges and my fellow poets. Since then I have been hooked on performing.

2005 was also the year that I discovered the ABPA (the info for the Victorian championships came from Frank Daniel's website - he was hosting the ABPA on his website at the time). I have been a member of the ABPA since that time. I enjoy meeting my fellow poets through these forums and also at bush poetry events. I have been the Victorian rep to the ABPA in the past and I am currently a committee member.

My first major success in a performance competition came on Australia Day in 2008 when I won the Golden Damper in the original section of Tamworth Poetry Reading Group's Country Energy Bush Poetry Competition at the Country Music Festival in Tamworth. I have been successful in a number of other performance competitions since then.

Who knows what else the future might bring?

Regards


John Peel
John Peel - The Man from Gilmore Creek

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Re: A Bit About Myself

Post by thestoryteller » Wed Aug 01, 2012 4:05 pm

Goodonya Peely great to see you enjoying your poetry.


Merv
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.

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Peely
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Re: A Bit About Myself

Post by Peely » Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:56 am

Thanks Merv

I hope you continue to enjoy your bush poetry experiences too.

Regards


John Peel
John Peel - The Man from Gilmore Creek

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Re: A Bit About Myself

Post by Rimeriter » Sun Aug 05, 2012 11:43 am

"onya" John.

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Peely
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Re: A Bit About Myself

Post by Peely » Sun Aug 05, 2012 2:41 pm

Thanks Jim
John Peel - The Man from Gilmore Creek

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