Pitt Street Poetry

29/05/2024

REMINDER. Geoff Page's launch is this week, Thursday 30th. See you there!

06/05/2024

You are cordially invited to the launch of Geoff Page’s new collection PENULTIMA at Smith’s Alternative.
The book will be launched by well-known poet, MELINDA SMITH, after which Geoff will read for 20 minutes or so in collaboration with notable jazz bassist, JAMES LUKE. JOHN AND LINSAY KNIGHT of PITT STREET POETRY will coordinate the event.
Complimentary wine and nibbles will be provided.
Please reply to [email protected] if you’re able to attend so we can plan for numbers. There is space for about 60 people.

Smith's Alternative www.smithsalternative.com

10/04/2024

Coming this Friday, Jane Frank launches a new poetry collection WALKING THE BOUNDARY by Damen O'Brien.

WHEN Friday 12th April at 6.30pm.
WHERE Avid Reader Bookshop, 193 Boundary Street, West End QLD 4101.

In this new collection Damen O’Brien’s focus roams from worlds we know all too well to worlds we don’t know at all, from the home life of the man who repairs electric chairs to a cheeky sonnet for the tardigrade, trekking the boundaries of life, love, death and the afterlife, with a cameo from the Devil’s wife. Viperous vignettes of the animal kingdom, sharp snapshots of political passions. The unifying factor is his distinctive, wry, gentle voice, a voice which has seduced poetry prize judges the world over. There is always something unexpected, something to send your thoughts in a new direction in a Damen poem.

06/04/2024

Standing room only at the Watt Space Gallery at Newcastle Writers Festival as Judy Beveridge launches *Paris Light* by Jean Kent and Martin Kent.

Buy your copy here:

https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/paris-light/

04/04/2024

REMINDER FOR THIS SATURDAY - DON’T MISS OUT

PARIS LIGHT, A PERSONAL PLAN DE PARIS, a book of poems by Jean Kent, with paintings by Martin Kent will launch as part of the Newcastle Writers Festival official program. Launched by Judith Beveridge, Jean will read poems, and some of Martin’s artwork will be on display. Hosted by Linsay Knight.

Saturday 6 April 1.30pm - 2.30pm

Watt Space Gallery, 20 Auckland St, Newcastle NSW 2300

Tickets are available here https://www.newcastlewritersfestival.org.au/events/book-launch-paris-light-by-jean-kent/

Join us for the launch of Paris Light, A Personal Plan de Paris, a book of poems by Jean Kent, with paintings by Martin Kent. Judith Beveridge will be in...

21/03/2024

The 21st March is World Poetry Day, according to that ponderous Parisian pachyderm UNESCO. Launched on the calendar as recently as 1999, new on the block, still finding its place in the sun.

Poetry, by contrast, so many thousands of years old, vies with cave painting as the first recognisable human art form. To our passionate tribe, every day is a poetry day, and always has been.

So to poets great and small, old and new, rich and poor, the revered, and those toiling alone and uncelebrated at a solitary desk, we take the occasion to recite our mantra:

‘
Poetry makes nothing happen’

But perhaps, just perhaps, the fine art of making nothing happen is what this crumbling, magnificent world requires, now more than ever before.

Is that what Simon is saying?

Poet laureate produces 10 poems, haiku and a musical EP, working with National Trust as it renews its blossom campaign

12/03/2024

Here’s another new one from PSP.

Paris Light is an intensely personal Plan de Paris. What began as a tongue-in-cheek attempt by Jean Kent to write a poem for each letter of the alphabet, based on streets or places in Paris which had meaning for her, evolved into an emotional map of her time there with her husband, Martin, trying to...

08/03/2024

PARIS LIGHT, A PERSONAL PLAN DE PARIS, a book of poems by Jean Kent, with paintings by Martin Kent will launch as part of the Newcastle Writers Festival official program. Launched by Judith Beveridge, Jean will read poems, and some of Martin’s artwork will be on display. Hosted by Linsay Knight.

Saturday 6 April 1.30pm - 2.30pm

Watt Space Gallery, 20 Auckland St, Newcastle NSW 2300
Tickets are available here https://www.newcastlewritersfestival.org.au/events/book-launch-paris-light-by-jean-kent/

08/03/2024

What a pleasure and privilege it was to have attended Audrey Molloy's book launch last week. Ever since I sat next to Audrey in what was my very first in-person poetry class 18 months ago (taught by Australian poetry royalty Judith Beveridge, no less!), it was clear that Audrey's writing was next level. Yet Audrey was always so patient, kind, and gracious in the feedback she gave to others. I aspired to one day write with even a hint of Audrey's elegance and refinement. I never did, but that's ok - I subsequently developed my own voice. But boy, oh boy, am I in awe of the exquisite craftsmanship when I read Audrey's poetry. Audrey's second solo collection, The Blue Cocktail, is out now through Pitt Street Poetry. 💙🍸

https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/the-blue-cocktail/

23/02/2024

SAVE THE DATE FOR THIS UPCOMING THURSDAY!

At The Cultural Hub, John Foulcher launches the latest offerings from Pitt Street Poetry:
THE BLUE COCKTAIL by Audrey Molloy and
WALKING THE BOUNDARY by Damen O’Brien.

WHEN Thursday 29th February at 6.00pm
WHERE The Cultural Hub, Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
548 New South Head Rd
Double Bay NSW 2028

To buy you copy, click here:
https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/the-blue-cocktail/
https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/walking-the-boundary/

20/02/2024

BOOK LAUNCH IS POSTPONED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES
We apologise for the inconvenience. Please stay tuned for further information.

Come along to the Avid Reader Bookshop as Jane Frank launches WALKING THE BOUNDARY, a new poetry collection by Damen O’Brien
WHEN Thursday 22nd February at 6.30pm
WHERE Avid Reader Bookshop
193 Boundary Street
West End QLD 4101



https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/walking-the-boundary/

11/02/2024

Poetry, Music and Magic! What a night! Listening to the flow of honied words from four poets and the cascading play of notes from JS Bach’s first Suite for Unaccompanied Cello (baroque of course). Under the beneficent eye of bookseller extraordinaire Sally Tabner.

31/01/2024

Join us at Avid Reader Bookshop as Jane Frank launches WALKING THE BOUNDARY, a new poetry collection by Damen O’Brien
WHEN Thursday 22nd February at 6.30pm
WHERE Avid Reader Bookshop
193 Boundary Street
West End QLD 4101

https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/walking-the-boundary/

31/01/2024

Join us at The Cultural Hub as John Foulcher launches the latest offerings from Pitt Street Poetry: THE BLUE COCKTAIL by Audrey Molloy and WALKING THE BOUNDARY by Damen O’Brien.
WHEN Thursday 29th February at 6.00pm
WHERE The Cultural Hub, Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
548 New South Head Rd
Double Bay NSW 2028

To buy you copy, click here:
https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/the-blue-cocktail/
https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/walking-the-boundary/

29/11/2023

Here's the third and final pre-launch poetry reading from Stephen Edgar: ‘Freeze Frame' from his new PSP collection *Ghosts of Paradise*.

Join us TODAY (Wed 29th Nov) at 6pm as Sarah Day launches *Ghosts of Paradise* at Gleebooks in its temporary home in the old Glebe Post Office on the corner of Glebe Point Rd and St John's Rd.

You can RSVP at the link below.
https://www.gleebooks.com.au/.../stephen-edgar-ghosts-of.../

And you can buy your copy of the book here:
https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/ghosts-of-paradise/

28/11/2023

Today for your listening pleasure, here's Stephen Edgar reading ‘Second Circle' from his new PSP collection *Ghosts of Paradise*.

Join us at 6pm tomorrow, Wednesday 29th November as Sarah Day launches *Ghosts of Paradise* at Gleebooks in its temporary home in the old Glebe Post Office on the corner of Glebe Point Rd and St John's Rd.

You can RSVP at the link below.
https://www.gleebooks.com.au/.../stephen-edgar-ghosts-of.../

And you can buy your copy of the book here:
https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/ghosts-of-paradise/

27/11/2023

Here's Stephen Edgar reading 'Mango Chutney' from his new PSP collection *Ghosts of Paradise*.

Join us at 6pm this Wednesday 29th November as Sarah Day launches *Ghosts of Paradise* at Gleebooks in its temporary home in the old Glebe Post Office on the corner of Glebe Point Rd and St John's Rd. You can RSVP at the link below.

https://www.gleebooks.com.au/event/stephen-edgar-ghosts-of-paradise/

And you can buy your copy of the book here:

https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/ghosts-of-paradise/

13/11/2023

PSP welcomes distinguished poet Stephen Edgar to its roster of Australian poets with this new collection.

His new book GHOSTS OF PARADISE will be launched by Sarah Day at 6pm on 29th November at Gleebooks. Their new temporary address, the Old Glebe Post Office, cnr Glebe Point Rd and St John’s Rd, Glebe.

We hope you’ll be able to join us for the evening, Stephen is a well known and well loved poet, and it should be a landmark event.

03/11/2023

Pitt Street Poetry is more than proud to announce that Audrey Molloy’s new poetry collection *The Blue Cocktail* is now available for purchase at the PSP on line bookstore.
https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/the-blue-cocktail/

03/11/2023

Pitt Street Poetry is inordinately proud to announce that the Australia New Zealand edition of Audrey Molloy’s new poetry collection *The Blue Cocktail* is now available for sale on line at the PSP website.

Audrey Molloy’s second collection probes ideas of home across her native Ireland and Australia, where she now lives. The ‘pure sheen’ of a horse chestnut makes way for the ‘minty scent’ of gum trees in her adopted home where the sea is reassuringly familiar but plants are often not what th...

26/10/2023

In a new venture for PSP we’re unusually proud to announce the co-publication of Irish Australian poet Audrey Molloy’s new collection *The Blue Cocktail* with the legendary Dublin-based The Gallery Press: Poetry & Drama from Ireland.

Read more at https://pittstreetpoetry.com

08/09/2023

Two serious Johns, Poet and Publisher, survey the scene. of poetry

30/08/2023

PSP luminary, Jean Kent, reads from her spectacular collection THE SHADOW BOX and discusses the connection between family history and poetry with Maggie Ball as part of “History Illuminated 2023” at Charlestown Library this weekend. Bookings are essential.

22/07/2023

THE SHADOW BOX by PSP’s Jean Kent has scored a spot in the Notable Books column by Caroline Overington in the Australian Weekend Review 22nd July 2023.

04/07/2023

It with deep sadness that we share the news that Australian poet Ron Pretty passed away peacefully on Friday 30th June. Ron has been a towering figure in Australian poetry for more than fifty years.

As founder and publisher of Five Islands Press he published over 230 books by Australian poets, an achievement commemorated by the annual Ron Pretty Prize. Over the years, Ron has been a role model, friend and mentor for many of Australia's finest poets. His textbook *Creating Poetry* is an essential handbook, now in its 3rd edition and still widely used in creative writing courses across the country.

Here at Pitt Street Poetry we know him best as a practising poet, producing some of his finest work in a late flowering over the last decade. We published two new collections, *What the Afternoon Knows* in 2013 and *The Left Hand Mirror* in 2017, followed by *101 Poems* in 2022, a timely survey collection of 'greatest hits', launched last August by fellow poet Peter Frankis at the South Coast Writers Centre - which Ron helped to found so many years ago.

04/07/2023

It with deep sadness that we share the news that Australian poet Ron Pretty passed away peacefully on Friday 30th June. Ron has been a towering figure in Australian poetry for more than fifty years.

As founder and publisher of Five Islands Press he published over 230 books by Australian poets, an achievement commemorated by the annual Ron Pretty Prize. Over the years, Ron has been a role model, friend and mentor for many of Australia's finest poets. His textbook *Creating Poetry* is an essential handbook, now in its 3rd edition and still widely used in creative writing courses across the country.

Here at Pitt Street Poetry we know him best as a practising poet, producing some of his finest work in a late flowering over the last decade. We published two new collections, *What the Afternoon Knows* in 2013 and *The Left Hand Mirror* in 2017, followed by *101 Poems* in 2022, a timely survey collection of 'greatest hits', launched last August by fellow poet Peter Frankis at the South Coast Writers Centre - which Ron helped to found so many years ago.

Sitting here bleeding ink again tonight,
I know this is another letter I will not send.
Sleep well, old friend: I'll never find the words,
But my love, my care is with you always.

Ron Pretty. 'Letter, unsent'

27/06/2023

Australian Poet, Mark Tredinnick, Wins Coveted International Poetry Prize in China

THE GOLDEN TIBETAN Antelope Poetry Prize, which may be, among poetry prizes, the most beautifully named in the world, is awarded periodically by the organising committee of the Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival. The prize was established by Jidi Majia, now one of China’s foremost poets and the chair of the China Writers Association, when he was governor of the province and first established the Qinghai festival a dozen years ago.

The prize recognises the body of work of an international poet whose work has made a difference in their homeland and beyond it, and whose work touches on themes of justice and the preservation of the wild and the human spirit; it has been given to Syrian poet Adonis, Argentine poet Juan Hermann, Indigenous American poet Simon Ortiz, and San Franciscan beat poet Jack Hirschman.

And this prestigious prize is being awarded this June in Qinghai, to celebrated Australian poet Mark Tredinnick.

Mark is the father of five, and he lives with his partner Jodie Williams on Gundungurra Country, southwest of Sydney.

Link for more: https://www.marktredinnick.com/news/the-golden-tibetan-antelope-poetry-prize

07/06/2023

We welcome Andrew Taylor to the PSP list and look forward to celebrating his new collection SHORE LINES in Glebe tomorrow night (Thursday 8th June) 6.30pm for 7.00pm, The Shop Front Gallery, 112 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.

If you want to read the poems ahead of his conversation with poetry great, Judith Beveridge, head to the PSP website and grab a copy https://pittstreetpoetry.com/book/shore-lines/

02/06/2023

10/05/2023

We're excited to welcome Andrew Taylor into the PSP family. His new poetry collection will be released very soon.

BOOK LAUNCH A celebration of “Shore Lines” by Andrew Taylor published by Pitt Street Poetry and launched by Judith Beveridge. WHEN Thursday 8th June, 6.30pm for 7.00pmWHERE The Shop Front Gallery, 112 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW