Tootsie Fine Art and Design in Yass was the perfect venue for a Sunday afternoon of poetry readings and performance (October 30). Lizz Murphy and Robyn Sykes from the Binalong Arts Group arranged the event as part of the 2016 Poetry, Prose, Place series of workshops and readings.

The fun venue was packed with poets and friends from Binalong, Boorowa, Canberra, Queanbeyan and Yass. Short poems, long poems, rhyming poems, free verse poems and performance poems entertained the crowd.

More than a dozen poets who had participated in the Poetry, Prose, Place workshops during the year were on hand to read, with others joining in for the open mic session. Lizz and Robyn’s own poetry was a hit with the crowd, while well known Yass poet, Jane Baker, and myself read as featured poets for the afternoon. Here are a couple of tanka I read on the day:

 

sitting alone

by the campfire

I listen

as the conversation

slowly dies down

 

seated

in a formal garden

symmetry

about the rows of roses

and the meeting of our lips

 

Don’t forget the final Poetry, Prose, Place event for the year will be at the Black Swan Gallery in Binalong on Sunday 27 November (1:30pm for a 2:00pm start).