Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: live

  • Back on the Stage

    IP - Back on the Stage

    With all the lockdowns during the pandemic I got out of the spoken word habit. I've attended a gig here or there. In March I was lucky enough to catch Andy Jackson, winner of the Prime Minister's Award for Poetry reading from his most recent collection, Human Looking. I also heard my beautiful youngest daughter reading for her first feature set at Radio Laria in Northcote. That all changed last night when I tamed the butterflies and got back up on the stage.

    The hosts of Littlefoot & Co, Eden and Josh, are beautiful human beings who create a safe and welcoming space for poets of all abilities. Their warmth is what makes this event special. The venue itself at Bunjil Place in Narre Warren is an intimate studio theatre with brilliant acoustics. The sound and lighting tech are all taken care of by Bunjil Place staff making this one of the most schmick spoken word events in Melbourne. Forget about noisy pubs or hole in the wall dens, this is next level professional. And there was free soup and sourdough bread! Seriously good people.

    I performed two pieces. One was published in The Victorian Writer and the other was a newer piece I wrote after coming back home from Sri Lanka at the end of last year. Being back on the stage again was brilliant. I love performing in spite of the nerves! And hearing other poets read their poetry is always inspiring and affirming. But the best bit of the night was after all the performances were over and I got to meet and speak to the other performers. So good!!! A huge shout out to Littlefoot & Co, all the poets and the audience for making it such a great night.

     

  • Twenty Four Hours of Poetry

    IP - Twenty Four Hours of Poetry 1

    Hours of Poetry 2

    I have just spent the most amazing day immersed in the world of words. It began with Claire G Coleman's workshop, Embracing Your Poetic Licence, at the Wheeler Centre for Books. The workshop was part of the Melbourne Writers Festival and it was wonderful to be attending an event at my first ever writers' festival. It sorta felt like a coming of age moment as an author! The festival program was incredible and there were so many great workshops that I wanted to do but I decided to be content with one.

    Claire is the author of several books including Terra Nullis and I've wanted to attend one of her workshops for a long time. She gave us some great exercises and stressed the importance of reading poetry for all authors but especially authors of prose to learn the techniques of lyrical writing. 

    IP - Hours of Poetry 3

    After the workshop some fellow festival goers were heading out for drinks so I tagged along as we headed downstairs to the Moat. It was so, so, so cool to be chatting to other writers in a spontaneous gathering after an event. This never happens to me – usually all my commitments as a mother prevent this from happening! Thanks Tash for the idea. And the funny thing was, three of us were having milestone birthdays in the following week – 40, 45 and 50. What an odd coincidence!

    I spent the rest of the evening out in Fairfield at my first Mothertongue spoken word event. I'd seen one of the co-hosts, Fleassy Malay at a festival at CERES a few years back and since then Mothertongue had been on my list gigs to attend. It was wonderful to be back in the spoken word space, hearing the stories and words of women and gender diverse poets speaking their truth. It was an intimate gig and the cakes and chai from the caterers were delicious. I could even eat them which is no mean feat given all my intolerances!

    IP - Twenty Four Hours of Poetry 4

    IP - Twenty Four Hours of Poetry 5

    IP - Twenty Four Hours of Poetry 6

    After the gig I got a lift into the city from a lovely poetry friend and spent the night in a hotel!! It was a real treat to be able to stay out as late as I wanted and not worry about having to catch public transport home to the hills. It was wonderful to stay in such a lovely room with city all lit up outside my window.

    IP - Twenty Four Hours of Poetry 7

    IP - Twenty Four Hours of Poetry 8

    The next day I hopped on a tram to Carlton for Emilie Collyer's workshop, Where We Meet the World. The workshop was put on by Melbourne Poet's Union and they even provided snacks! Fresh fruit, biscuits and tea and coffee for the break. It's the first writing workshop I've been to where I've been fed!

    Emilie is brilliant. I could happily do her workshop every single week it was that good. If you ever get the chance to do one her workshops, sell the car, abandon the cat. Do whatever it takes, but be there. I promise you, you won't regret it. Not for one moment.

    I feel so blessed to have been able to spend a while day devoted to my passions. A day of learning, writing, reading, speaking and hearing poetry. What more can a woman ask for?

     

  • Littlefoot & Co Spoken Word

    IP - Littlefoot & Co (March 2021)

    Last night saw me heading south to Bunjil Place in Narre Warren for the Littlefoot and Co spoken word night. Bunjil Place is an incredible venue. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, it's well worth the trip. They have an incredible program of events throughout the year and the building is state of the art.

    It was a wonderful night of spoken word and poetry with perfomances from first time poets right through to the 2020 Australian Poetry Slam Champion, Ren Alessandra. Spoken word gigs are a roller coaster of emotion as the poets take you on a wild ride through their experiences and imaginations. What I love about spoken word and the poetry community here in Melbourne is how welcoming they are. It doesn't matter if you're a novice or a superstar, everyone gets an enthusiastic reception. Of course, part of what makes this particular event so special is its hosts, Eden and Josh.

    It was only the second time I've perfomed live since lockdown ended and it was wonderful to be back on stage. For once, I didn't preplan or rehearse everything I was going to say. I wasn't even 100% sure what poems I was going to recite. I was too busy before hand to prepare so I decided to try something new and wing it!

    I had a few poems I was thinking about performing but it wasn't until the gig was underway that I made my final choice. I recited My Words and The Shift which are about the creative porcess of writing a poem and I finished with Never Seen which was published in Brownface, issue 100 of Cordite.

    It was interesting performing in this way – with no practice or preparation. I liked speaking off the cuff about my poems and I wasn't too nervous either. Perhaps it was because I wasn't trying to be perfect and get all the words to my intorduction right. Maybe it's because it was familiar and I've done it before. Whatever the reason, I really appreicated the feeling of being comfortable on stage and behind the microphone. I found I still knew My Words and The Shift off by heart even though it's been a while since I've perfomed them. It was like slipping into an old and familiar jumper that's cosy and warm. 

    The night ended with two original songs from a local songwriter and musician. This is one of the best spoken gigs in Melbourne and I'll definitely be going back for more poetry goodness!