What Drives A Poet

[Terry]

Well done Sue,
You were following in the footsteps of a very accomplished bloke there.
Congratulations on your win.

Terry

[Zondrae]

Sue,

If you know John, then I don't have to tell you, - you will go a long way before you find a more honest and sincere young man. If you need advice, he is your man. And if you don't know him perhaps you should try to get to know him. Batlow is not far from Tumit.

[keats]

Just touching on what Zondrae mentioned before and is just so right. The lack of female performers at the moment. I know from running the Longyard and Mildura Breakfasts and being involved in the Gympie breakfests, all for over 13 years now, that at present we have very, very few female performers coming through. It has often been remarked "Why is it nearly all blokes?" That's because if a handful of female poets, in particular Marion Fitzgerald, Carol Heuchan Melanie Hall and Shirley Friend, then it starts getting hard to find others who want to go, or are capable of going on to the big stage. We are screaming for female poets to get up there and give us blokes a belting, but at the moment the ranks are very thin, so the invitation is there for any female poets who wish to become performers and entertainers.

[Irene]

Congratulations on your win Sue - I am sure it will just be the first of many.

Catchya
IRene

[Frank Daniel]

Dear Heather and all,

It is nice to see your poems in print, especially in the local papers, as the locals are the ones who respond better than readers who have never heard of you.

Like MacPoet (Neil) says, there is not much to gain in writing competitions that you might never win.
If you don't win, or take out a place, your poem will not be mentioned in the results.
Because of entry requirements it cannot be published by the author until after the competition.
Due to some written comp requirements it may be needed for an anthology (someone elses book?) which could take another month or so before it comes to light in front of an audience.
I can't wait that long.
When I write a poem I want people to see it, hear it and give feedback earlier than that.
So good on yz all!
Keep on writin' and keep on recitin'!

Joe

[Zondrae]

G'day Joe,

you deserve some accolades. These past few years you have been laboring under a heavy burden yet you keep coming back each time, with not too much whingin'. Great to see you still 'writin' n recitin' regardless. You're a Champion.

[Maureen K Clifford]

G'day Joe - You and I have a similar mindset. I don't like keeping things under wraps either, drives me nuts. When I write something I am so excited I want to share it straight away - good bad or indifferent (well hopefully not indifferent) and if it is something that I think is pretty good - even more so, having to wait until after the Bronze Swagman to show you what I wrote for that is grinding. Whether it is good enough I don't know but I am rather proud of it because of its factuality and history - but only Dave and Leonie have had a glimpse at it. Is it a winner? Probably not but it is a good yarn

Cheers

Maureen

[william williams]

Good day Frank and Maureen
I was talking to an old girl ( not you Maureen)
And she made this statement after reading one of my pieces.
She said if it was good enough for me to write it.
Then it was good enough for someone to read it and it may help someone remember their past.

Bill Williams the old battler

[Leonie]

None of my friends or family (with the exception of Adam) have any interest in poetry and most don't even know I write it. I don't think I could ever perform either, my memory is terrible. I've forgotten most of the poems I've written within five minutes of writing them. It's a pity really because most of the stuff I write is funny and it might go over well enough if I could only bloody remember the lines.

I wrote a silly little one for my cousin's birthday. He lives in a nursing home. One of his carers framed it and put it up on his wall and he reckons everyone who comes into his room reads it and has a little laugh. I have to admit that felt pretty good.

[Zondrae]

G'Day Bill,

The reason you have given here is exactly why I get up to recite my poetry. If I think it is any good at all I should be proud to show my face as the creator. Also if is isn't good enough for me to read or present why would I hope that anyone else would want to buy, read or perform my poems.