The Uluru Statement From the Heart painting. (Image credit: The Uluru Dialogue)
On the 14th of October, Australia is holding a referendum which seeks to alter the constitution to recognise the First People’s of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. It’s a very simple yes/no question and I guess it won’t surprise anyone that I’m firmly on the “Yes” side.
It seems extraordinary to me that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples aren’t already recognised in the Constitution as the first people’s of Australia, and don’t already have a say on laws and policies that specifically impact on them. As soon as I heard about Writers for the Voice, I was delighted to join them. The website is incredibly informative, well pulled together and a great way to find out more about what is really a very simple, and important change that is long overdue. https://writersforthevoice.com.au/background.
I’ve long been keen to join in the exceptional list of poets who have read at 
Live Poets at Don Bank has been running in North Sydney for over 28 years and on on Wed the 27th of September, I’ll be one of two featured poets, appearing along with the inimitable Kit Kelen. The session will take place at Don Banks Cottage/Museum on 6 Napier St, North Sydney, 7:30-10:30pm. Kit and I will be reading poems from our most recent poetry books and talking about mothers, grandmothers, DNA, Flying Islands Press and a whole lot more. Entry $10 includes supper and drinks. Please come along and join us – either sharing your own work in the open section, or asking us hard questions in the Q&A! I don’t think you need to prebook – just show up.
Very pleased to have a poem, “Common Ground”, in a new anthology The Art of Touch: A Collection of Prose and Poetry from the Pandemic and Beyond Edited by Joan Schweighardt and Faye Rapoport DesPres. This collection contains a number of essays and poems that explore the importance of touch. The book is being released by the University of Georgia Press and will be available in bookstores on the 1st of November. More details can be found here: https://ugapress.org/book/9780820365336/the-art-of-touch/
Another impending event is the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival! Have you seen the 
I am so very blessed to have lots of upcoming events. The first is Love lines, run by 
I’m very pleased to have been long listed in the 2023 Liquid Amber Press Poetry Prize. Judges Ann M. Carson, Rose Lucas and Reneé Pettitt-Schipp chose the long list out of hundreds of submissions written to this year’s provocation of ‘Home.’ Short List will be announced on 5 August and winners announced on 12 August, with the anthology launched via Zoom on the 30 November. The full long list can be found here: 
Thuy On has written a thoughtful and balanced piece on competition entry fees for ArtsHub Australia in which, along with many other writers, I am quoted. You can read the whole piece, which is very timely, here: