Australian Poetry Library

24/04/2023

Vale John Tranter, a driving force in Australian poetry.

Since the late 1960s, John Tranter has been the established agent provocateur of Australian poetry. Tranter’s work has been seen variously as part (if not instigator) of a late-...

14/06/2022

A map to the Poet's Tree in East Wardell (south of Ballina). Courtesy of Edwin Wilson.

18/05/2022

The 10th Ó Bhéal Five Words Poetry Competition runs until the end of January 2023. Every Tuesday at midday (UTC) from 12th April 2022 – 31st January 2023, five words will be posted on this competition page. Entrants have one week to compose and submit one or more poems which include all five words given for that week. The judge for this competition will be Victoria Kennefick.
A prize of 750 euros will be awarded to the winner, plus 500 euros for second place and 250 euros for third place. These three, if available will be invited to read at Ó Bhéal's sixteenth anniversary event, on Monday the 10th of April 2023. Should we be able to host a physical event at that time, then an additional travel fee of 100 euro plus B&B accommodation will be provided for this. The overall winner also receives a physical award, hand-crafted by acclaimed glass artist (and poet) Michael Ray.
The shortlisted poems and winning entry will also be published in Five Words Vol XVI – the next annual anthology of five word poems, to be launched at the same event. A shortlist of twelve poems including the overall winner will be announced by the first week of March 2023.
For submission details visit:

The 10th Ó Bhéal Five Words International Poetry Competition 17th - 24th May 2022   edge    apple     simple     spin     crisp   Competition Overview The 2022/2023 (10th) competition will run for 42 weeks. Every Tuesday at 12pm (Irish time) from 12t

07/02/2022

Thanks for all your enquiries about the status of the website. I understand the frustration.
Please post here about what you love about the Australian Poetry Library website.
What poems or poets do you love?
Do you read more of the modern poets or the colonials?
Have you ever bought a selection of poems?
How do you think we could better compensate the poets whose work we feature?
Any other ideas?

31/01/2022

A tribute to a poet! Edwin Wilson's Poet's Tree, planted in 1968.

One of outgoing Councillor Sharon Parry's last actions at Ballina Shire Council was to recommend that council support a new sign to draw attention to a little-known part of East Wardell's history, the Poet's Tree.

18/01/2022

The Australian Poetry Library is currently offline. We had to take the website down in mid-December when we realised it was vulnerable to Log4Shell. https://theconversation.com/what-is-log4j-a-cybersecurity-expert-explains-the-latest-internet-vulnerability-how-bad-it-is-and-whats-at-stake-173896

It couldn't have happened at a worse time, as we have few library IT staff who understand the bespoke code for the site, so we are waiting for the university ICT to make the fix (we're in the queue).
In the meantime, you can still browse an archive of the site via Trove, but you can't search, save or purchase.
https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20190305152033/https://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/
We'll post an update when we have news.

Log4Shell is the latest hacker exploit rocking the internet, and it’s arguably the worst yet. The vulnerability is in an obscure piece of software used on millions of computers.

15/06/2021

Poetry is everywhere! Even the beautiful NSW mid-north coast. Join one of these events:

The Mid North Coast Writers’ Centre presents… Will Small Using your voice as a poetic force for good Date: Saturday 26 June 2021 Time: 9 am – 12 pm (morning tea provided) Venue: Rotary Community Centre, 198 Hastings River Drive Port Macquarie NSW. Cost: $25 per person LIMIT 20 Tickets This wor...

18/11/2020

Here is Edwin Wilson, combining poetry and his knowledge of Australian orchids!

Tom Gleeson's got a Gold Logie in his back pocket, and he's not afraid to use it. Back for 2020, with more laughs, more put-downs, and more self-declared experts lining up for a crack at the coveted Big Brass Mug.

22/05/2020

https://www.hungryhill-writing.eu/

02/04/2020

Vale Bruce Dawe

The Australian poet Bruce Dawe, known for his humour, love of family and dislike of authoritarian power, has died a few weeks after making it to his 90th birthday.

16/03/2020

Get those kids writing poetry!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our annual poetry competition, this year hosted in partnership with Red Room Poetry. The competition will open on 21 March 2020 to coincide with World Poetry Day, a day which provides the chance for teachers to celebrate Australian poetry with their students...