Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: poetry workshop

  • Writing Together

    IP - Writing Together 1

    I had such a fabulous time yesterday at the Kathleen Syme library in Carlton, teaching my poetry workshop, Beyond the Page, to a lovely group of people.

    Beyond the Page is a different kind of poetry workshop. Instead of analysing poems written by other people and then trying to write your own poems, the focus is on what the poets already know and those gifts that they have within themselves. They trick is helping them to find the right key to open that locked box of treasure.

    The poets whole-heartedly embraced all the prompts including hopping about like a grasshopper and blowing in the wind like a tree in a hurricane. I created a mix of movement, drawing and sensory exercises along with poetry prompts to help the writers access their subconscious minds. 

    IP - Writing Together 2

    IP - Writing Together 3

    After all the preparation and promotion leading up to the workshop, it was so lovely to sit aback and let the poets do their thing. It was so much fun seeing them scribble away and then hear the results of their efforts. It was a real honour and a privilege to hear such raw and fresh writing.

    Thanks to everyone who came! I hope you found the exercises useful and that you can incorporate some of them into your writing  practice.

     

  • Beyond the Page – A Poetry Workshop

    Humanitix 2024 Sonic Poetry Festival Workshop (2160 x 1080 px)
     
    I’m running a poetry workshop, Beyond the Page, on Saturday 7 September in Carlton as part of the Sonic Poetry Festival 2024.
     
    If you're feeling uninspired or stuck in a poetry rut, come along and learn how to neurohack your writing through sound, movement and drawing.
     
    Through exercises and writing prompts, you will:
    • use movement and drawing as part of your writing practice and to access different parts of the brain. 
    • write poems from different points of view, including insects and inanimate objects.
    • write using senses other than sight — especially those of sound and hearing.
     
    Bring your child-like self, a sense of adventure and a willingness to play!
     
    This workshop suits emerging poets wanting to learn new skills as well as more experieienced poets looking to super charge their writing.
     
    Will you join me? Book now!
     
     

  • Haiku in the Hills

    IP - Haiku in the Hills 1

    I drove up into the Dandenong ranges earlyish on Sunday morning for my second poetry workshop of the weekend. This time it was Haiku in the Hills with AJ D'Costa, another Sonic Poetry Festival event which makes three in three days! I love poetry month – there's so many amazing things to do!!!  

    We all met up at the gazebo and then AJ took us through a beautifully curated and thought-out walk through the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden in Olinda. We stopped at various places along the way where AJ would give us some haiku theory/history/poems and a prompt for writing our own. As we walked between locations, she asked us to note down our observations which we then turned into haiku at the end. It's been a while since I've been in the hills and I had forgotten how chilly it gets, especially in the mornings at this time of year. Luckily we got moving and I soon warmed up.

    IP - Haiku in the Hills 3

    At the very end of our walk, we stopped in a grassy meadow and spent some time working on our haiku in the sun. After that we had a picnic style lunch with pakoras, samosas, dips, veggie sticks, cheese, apricots, crackers, chai and iced tea – all carried in packs by AJ and Ady, her partner.

    It was a brilliant morning and it's definitely in my top three of all time favourite workshops. It was the perfect combination of walking, writing, talking and eating. And I met so many lovely new people. Huge thanks to AJ and Red Room poetry who gave AJ a micro grant to run the workshop. Aj is an incredibly warm and generous person and donated all the profits for the day to PARA (Palestine Australia Relief & Action), supporting Palestinian refugees in Australia.

     

  • Storylines: Voices in the Street

    IP - Storylines Voices in the Street 1

    Exploring new places is one of my absolute favourite things to do. All those new little nooks and crannies to explore. Those new cafes and bookshops to discover. The hidden gems just waiting to be found. On the weekend I was lucky enough to be able to combine my twin loves of exploring and writing when I caught public transport to the Voices in the Street: Storylines poetry workshop hosted by Mothertoungue, a long running Naarm poetry night.

    It was a rare, sunny day here in late winter and I had an enjoyable stroll from the station to the Ivanhoe library where the workshop was being held. I found the cutest ever bookshop that almost took all my money (but not quite) and a bulk food store that had the best trail mix ever and gorgeous mini white Persian figs. Oh my.  They were so good that I went back and bought more after the workshop!

    When I walked into the workshop room I was greeted with a table filled with art supplies, flowers, leaves, feathers, an emu egg and a couple of coolamons made by Aunty Sharon. It was my first clue that this workshop was going to be anything but ordinary!

    IP - Storylines Voices in the Street 2

    Aunty Sharon Hughes and Kristen Munro from the Storylines Aboriginal Writers Group were our facilitators. We started with a beautiful movement practice led by Kristin that called on the land and the elements. We were guided through a fabulous writing prompt to create five lines of poetry. We then learnt how to make mini books and spent the rest of the afternoon happily collaging and decorating our mini books with the art supplies on the table.

    It was so wonderful to be making something with my hands again. Poetry, art and books? I was in heaven!

    Thanks Aunty Sharon, Kristin and Mothertongue for a fabulous afternoon!

     

  • Beyond Words Poetry Workshop

    IP - Beyond Words Workshop 1

    The Centre for Stories in Northbridge Western Australia has the best library I've ever seen. When I walked into the building to check out the space before doing my poetry workshop for the Perth Poetry Festival, I fell in love with this room. It's so fabulous that I wanted to move in! They said I could come back and hang out at any time but unfortunately I was so busy with all things Perth Poetry Festival that I didn't get the chance.

    I did however return to the Centre for Stories over the weekend to attend all the poetry workshops for the Festival and to host my own workshop, Beyond Words A Liminal Spaces Workshop. The idea behind the workshop was to get people thinking and writing differently by using movement, sound and senses to tap into other areas of the brain. I used games I learnt as a nature connection mentor for the rewinding group, Firekeepers along with meditation and drawing exercises. I followed these up with prompts that used techniques of point of view, collage and personification.

    IP - Beyond Words Poetry Workshop 2

    I was worried that I would run out of exercises and prompts for the workshop so I prepared eight prompts just in case. When planning a workshop it's hard to know exactly how long things will take. Once you take into account interaction, discussion and sharing of poems, it becomes a piece of string that can be short or long. I'd thought that we would get six prompts done in the two hours and had planned an extra two, just in case… We ended up doing three of the prompts which leaves me five that can become new workshops for the future. See, nothing gets wasted, not even workshop plans and outlines!

    I had a couple of learnings from the worksop. The first writing prompt was for five minutes. One of the participants wrote a very funny poem about the impossibility of doing the set task in five minutes. As a result I extended the writing time for the subsequent prompts (and felt quite proud of myself for being flexible and adapting the workshop on the fly!).  The other feedback was that the movement exercise wasn't accessible for people of limited mobility. In future when running this workshop I will make sure that there are chairs people can sit on for this exercise.

    Seventeen people came to the workshop and I had some great feedback with one participant saying that the exercises had got them thinking differently. Someone else said that the workshop had helped them write lots of poems and overcome their writer's block. And another person told me that it was the best poetry workshop they had been to recently. All in all I think the workshop was a success.

     

     

     

     

    Seventeen people turned up for my poetry workshop, Beyond Words, A liminal Spaces workshop.

     

     

  • Liminal Spaces, Beyond the Page Workshop

    IP - Liminal Spaces Beyond the Page Workshop

    Has the muse left you and inspiration fled? Do you find it hard to put into words your feelings, thoughts and emotions? Are you stuck in a rut with your writing — revisiting the same metaphors and line breaks again and again? How can you see the world with new eyes so that your writing becomes fresh and imaginative once more? Don’t worry, help is at hand with this two hour workshop that aims to get you out of your rut and thinking in new and different ways.

    The key to writing differently is to learn to think and do things differently. Which isn’t as easy as it sounds as anyone who’s tried to break a habit will know. But it is possible and in this workshop you’ll get out of your head and creep into the cracks by exploring the spaces in between. Bring your child-like self, a sense of adventure and a willingness to play. Through movement, sound and drawing you’ll discover how to write poems that move beyond the page.

    Bring along any art supplies that feel inspiring (coloured pencils, textas, watercolour paints etc) as well as journals, sheets of blank paper etc. It’s an excuse to go wild in the stationery section. If you want to stick with pen and paper that’s fine too but no screens please.

    There will be time during the workshop to share your work with the rest of the group. Sharing is optional and positive feedback is encouraged. This workshop is suitable for poets at any level from emerging to established. Please come at least 5 minutes early so we can start on time.

    Liminal Spaces – Beyond is Page, is part of an incredible line-up of events at this year's Perth Poetry Festival where I'll be appearing as a National Guest Poet alongside Juan Garrido-Slagado from South Australia and Jean Kent from New South Wales as well as International Guest Poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay from India and Local Guest Poets Lisa Collyer, Caitlin Maling, Talya Ruben and Luoyang Chen.

     

    Workshop Details 

    Facilitator: Indrani Perera

    Event: Perth Poetry Festival 2023

    Organiser: WA Poets Inc 

    Time: 9.00 – 11.00am AWST

    Date: Saturday 16th September 2023

    Venue: Centre for Stories. 100 Aberdeen St, Northbridge, WA

    Cost: $25-30

     

    Book your tickets for the workshop here.

    (early bird discount availabe until 1 July 2023)

     

     

     

     

  • Poetry As Memoir

    IP - Poetry as Memoir Workshop Image (22 April 2023)

    Over the last few years I have done a lot of online poetry workshops and I am super grateful for the technology that has allowed me to do so. However, there's something super special about being in a room of other people, all of whom are writing a poem at the same time. I don't know what the word for it is. I did coin the word craftyr a long time ago to refer to the experience of crafting together so perhaps writyr could describe the experience of writing in the company of other writers. Whatever you want to call it, it's magic – the act of writing in company.

    On the weekend I travelled to the gorgeous little Victorian country town of Woodend where I attended the Poetry as Memoir writing workshop run by Amanda Collins and Dave Munro. I know Dave through my monthly poetry group and have published both him and Amanda in the pages of the Pocketry Almanack so it was super special to spend a morning with them in the Woodend library, talking and writing poetry. We did some great exercises and mind mapping of the senses and talked about joy, appropriation and consent.

    To top it all off, we kept the poetry going by heading out to lucnh at a nearby cafe afterwards to eat and drink and talk some more. Even better, it was a crisp Autumn day and the drive there and back was delightful. I'm looking forward to more regional poetry experiences in the coming year. What about you? What are you looking forward to this year?

     

  • 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!

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    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?

     

  • The Revision Process

    IP - The Revision Process

    I'm just finishing the last lesson for the brilliant Online Poetry class I've been doing with Pip Smith. I can't reccommend this class highly enough. Pip is a brilliant teacher and you get great feedback on the poems you submit in response to the assignments for each week.

    This lesson is all about the process of revision and I wanted to share with you some thoughts I had about my process after responding to this question from Pip:

    Do you have a reliable revision process? If so, do share!

     

    And here's my answer of sorts:

    When I write a poem, I don't start out with a long, paragraph or chunk of writing. I tend to write my first draft in lines, breaking them with natural pauses. I'm interested in trying the paragrpah approach to see if that chages my thinking / writing and adds more lyricism to my poetry. I suspect it might shift my work from bare/bald to colourful/descriptive.

    Hmm, interestingly I haven't thought much about the revision process of writing poetry, however, I've thought a lot about the creative process of writing poetrry (and written lots of poems about it!). I really like your clay sculpting analogy (or is it a meataphor?). I think you've set me off on a whole new direction!

    I think I often revise as I go. Crossing out words, leaving spaces for words I know should be there but can't think of at the time, adding in lines etc. My first drafts look like a mess of scribbles and footnotes and lines connecting it all.

    And then I'll type it up, often editing as I go. And once it's typed, read it through, hearing it in my head. I think I could add reading aloud to this process. There's something different about shaping words with your tongue and sounds with your throat

     

    It was amazing how this simple question provoked a whole series of thoughts and gave me two new ideas to try with my poetry:

            write my initial thoughts as a paragraph / stream of consciousness  and

            read my drafts aloud to feel the words on my tongue and in my mouth

     

  • Back To School

    IP - Back to School

    Since I wrote about being filled with doubt about my poetry, I've been going out every day for bike rides and spending time at the lake watching the birds and drinking in the sky and the clouds. I was going to say breathing in the fresh air except I'm not doing that at the moment as I have to wear a mask as part of the stage 4 lockdown requirements we currently have in Melbourne. However, I am very grateful that we are still able to go outside for an hour each day to exercise.

    We're in the middle of a cold snap at the moment as winter gives its last gasp but the days are getting longer, the trees are blossoming and the birds are going nuts. It's hard not to get caught up on the excitement of all the new growth and life around me. It feels like spring is just around the corner and so is the time for new beginnings.

    I decided I could sit around moping all day about the sorry state of my poetry and my perceived lack of writing skills or I could do something about it. I'm at my best when I'm taking action and doing something positive to change my circumstances. I'm not really the kind of person who can sit still doing nothing for ages. Far too boring when there is os much to learn.

    And that's exactly what I'm going to be doing – learning. I've signed up for a couple of poetry courses to improve my skills, learn new things and have something to occupy myself for the next little while of lockdown.

    The first class is Sharpened Visions with Douglas Keanney over on Coursera. A fellow poet from my poetry writing group put me on to this one. The good thing about it, is you can do it whenever works for you. I've done the first lesson so far and it was amazing. Douglas is very funny and he has a great way of explaining the structure of poetry. Thanks for the tip, Lee!

    The second class is What the Light Tells, an online poetry class with award winning Ausralian poet Mark Tredinnick. He's running a Monday evening and a Wednesday morning class starting next week. Can't wait to start!

    With any luck the learning and daily bike rides should keep me sane. Are you learning anything new right now?