life is a cab – QPF (part 1)

 

For those of you who have not caught up, this is another one of those “divided heart” weeks for Peril Magazine. And so, while our Melbourne-based crew will be heading to the Chinese Writers Festival, our #TeamBNE will be attending the Queensland Poetry Festival.

Both of these engagements are as a result of ongoing collaboration and partnership with their respective organisations. In the case of the Queensland Poetry Festival, we first connected for Edition 18 which was guest edited by then QPF-Director, Sarah Gory. Featuring writers and artists such as William Yang, Stuart Cooke, Janaka Malwatta, Candy Bowers, Misbah Khokar and yours truly, this edition was a fabulous chance to connect with some of Queensland’s fine poets. The festival’s focus on Lost Language Found sees a diverse group of writers, with perspectives and practices from around the world, including extraordinary Indigenous and First Nations writers. These are some of our picks for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday – look out for tweets-in-residence, Ashley Ho and myself at the festival.

prince and dukeThe Prince & the Duke Thursday 25th 9:30pm-10:30pm
(DJ Zaziz spinning tracks in the foyer bar from 830pm)
JWC Shopfront, Tickets $15

A Prince/Bowie remix night all bells, whistles and lighters in the air. Because screw it, sometimes you gotta dance. Featuring: The Stress of Leisure (duo mode), Zenobia Frost, Eleanor Jackson, jiveswallow, Toby Fitch, Hannah Makk (MKO Sun), Dylan Hoskins,  Amrita Hepi, Janet Rogers (Canada), Ben Brown (NZ), and Jeet Thayil (India). Hosted by Meg Bartholomew (Ruckus Slam).

Hip Hop Is My Passport, Friday 26th 6pm-7pm, IMA Screening Room, Tickets $12.50. Morganics. Real deal. Hip hop theatre.

qpfforjwc_1

Kalyakoorl: QPF Literary Cabaret, Friday 26th 7:30pm – 9:30pm, JWC Performance Space, Tickets from $25

This is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of the festival, featuring both the Indigenous Poet in Residence Sam Wagan Watson and 2016 Arts Queensland Poet in Residence Jeet Thayil. Together with Indian poet, Tishani Doshi, Steven Oliver (Black Comedy) in spoken word mode,  Pulitzer Prize winning poet Tracy K. Smith (US) and a set by songstress Gina Williams (WA) singing in the rare Noongar language. I will be your hostess with the mostess, so I can confirm that the evening will be wild and beautiful.

For Saturday, if we get up early enough, we’ll be joining Amrita Hepi for Beyoncé dance classes, before arriving breathless at:

Peace and Duress, Saturday 27th, 10am-10:30am,  IMA Screening Room- FREE. I have the honour of leading an in-conversation with Canadian poet Janet Marie Rogers – a Mohawk/Tuscarora writer – who works with the mediums of performance, video, and music in-conversation across an incredible, diverse body of work.

After we recover from that, we’re going to hit this incredible panel, Many Waters Rise: Poetry & Lyrics, with ARCHIE ROACH, HELEN FRANZMANN/MCKISKO and MOE CLARK. WE ARE SHOUTING BECAUSE THIS WILL BE AWESOME.  Saturday 27th 3:45pm-4:45pm, Tickets $15.

archieroach-crop-u4734

And then we’re going to prep our good selves for Archie Roach In Concert: Saturday 27th 8pm-10pm, JWC Performance Space, Tickets $60.

Fresh from an international tour, national treasure Archie Roach will be sharing songs from his soon to be released new album, Let Love Rule, alongside some of his classic hits. Archie will be supported by WAMi award-winning artist Gina Williams. Legendary Indigenous poet and activist (and proud Yugambeh man) Lionel Fogarty and one of Australia’s most exciting new writers, Ellen van Neerven (of Mununjali and Dutch heritage), will also read to open up the night. Hosted by Fred Leone.

And this only gets us to Saturday….

Prepare yourselves.


Note: Eleanor Jackson is a Board Member of the Queensland Poetry Festival

Author: Eleanor Jackson

Eleanor Jackson is a Filipino Australian poet, performer, arts producer and community radio broadcaster. Eleanor Jackson is a former Editor in Chief and Poetry Editor of Peril and currently Chair of the Board.

Your thoughts?