Gaol gig was bonkers!

Just home from the Castlemaine State Festival. I had the pleasure of reading at the Old Gaol up there which was a perfect setting for ‘ghost poetry’. I featured with two blow-your-mind poets, Ian McBryde and Karen Knight, who just happened to blow my mind.

So I get up there, the lights go down and I start shouting at the audience who are surrounded by cells, sitting just beneath the gallows.

Who was there to shout back at me from the second storey?

The kick-arse-wonder-poet, Ross Gillett. This guy handled the call-and-response poem like the true professional he is, helping open my set to perfection. Ross is a total inspiration to me, and I’ve learnt so much from his lyrical poetry over the last few years. Thanks mate! You really do put the ‘la’ in Ballarat ;)

And was extra-chuffed too with the poets & peers who turned out to listen and support the evening. It makes me feel very encouraged and well, just plain gooey-ectoplasm-special. Ta. Ross Donlon, you rock!

So, the gig was friggin ace! You could have heard a pin drop (or a condemned man) through each of the readings. Now if anyone else has a gaol they want me to read at, just send me a line. The Ghost Poetry Project will be launched in August. Can't wait!

Check out one of my ghost poems here on Stylus, written about the 'haunted' Quarantine Station at Spring Cove. Friggin spooky!

http://www.styluspoetryjournal.com/main/master.asp?id=920

Now a big shout-out to my kiss-and-a-punch poetry star, Alicia Sometimes. Check out her super new book, Soundtrack, plus she’s working on a new spoken word spectacular at the Melbourne Planetarium. How cool will that be? Check out the details here…

http://www.aliciasometimes.com/page13.htm

So after all this festival action I had the pleasure of running into Australia’s Rummikub champion. Yes the game of Rummikub is played at the highest level, and before long she found herself on an all expenses paid trip to Holland to battle it out with the best… placing ninth in the world! Not bad for someone who’d only ever played the game once before. I am so in the wrong game!!! But with a bit of enthusiasm you too could be off to the next competition in Spain. Bizarre.