If you are feeling in need of a little warmth, The Back Room is the place to be this Sunday. There is a stunning line up of artists ready to set your synapses sparking and a menu that will make any belly warm. Jason Peppler and the crew at Confit Bistro (4/9 Dogget St Fortitude Valley) sure know how to celebrate the languid glory of a Sunday afternoon / evening!
Doors for the event open at 3pm and as always, entry is free. And remember, if you have a poem that is burning a hole in your chest, dying to be read, be sure to arrive nice and early to register for the Open Mic. All poets welcome!
This month, you can take in the voices of three Brisbane word dynamos.
First up there is Fern Thompsett, who grew up with a view of the ocean, an overactive imagination and not enough sports skills to keep her out of the library. A compulsive scribbler from an early age, it wasn’t until she found the Brisbane poetry scene much later on that she put her words into wavelengths. Since then, she has been a feature poet at events including Words or Whatever, SpeedPoets, Avid Reader’s Poetry Month, Confit Bistro’s Back Room and Spoken, as well as having created and hosted 4ZzZ’s spoken word show, Waxing Lyrical. She now daylights as an anthropologist and moonlights as a musician, but dreams of working as a Notional Park Ranger, catching words and releasing them back into the wild.
*****
Then there is Rob Morris, one of Brisbane’s truly ‘hip’ voices. His words are rhythmic and his performances are hypnotic and real. His last collection, So Much Weather was published by Small Change Press in 2007 and a limited edition art book featuring a selection of poems from this book was also published. Rob is one half of the publishing team that produces the legendary Small Packages and they are currently looking for poetry submissions for their landmark 12th issue.
*****
And finally, there is Israel Mukasa. Israel is a poet with a deep sense of spirituality. He is a regular reader at Brisbane’s longest running poetry event, SpeedPoets and is also an accomplished photographer. His work explores the intricacies of the human spirit through a multicultural lens. Israel released his first collection of poems The Dreamer’s Disease in 2011 and is set to launch his debut poetry CD this Sunday at The Back Room.
*****
You can also experience an exhibition of photography by Therese Morgan. Therese owns and operates the freelance photography business A Little Room To Bloom, specialising in Art Portraits as well as Wedding and Special Occasion (baby dedication, engagement, birthday, art-glamour) photography. A Little Room To Bloom also offers poetry and story writing, and other mixes of the arts. Therese Morgan is particularly interested in collaborations between art forms such as dance and poetry, photography and music, story telling through exhibitions and any combination of these, with a view to public performance, when opportunity arises.
*****
Frankie V will also be there to steam up the stage with her own daring brand of burlesque. A Canadian idiom residing in Brisbane, Frankie is a burlesque dancer, model, butoh performer, physical theatre collaborator, writer, director, dramaturge, and day-dreamer, with over 17 years of experience in art and performance. She is the MC for the monthly burlesque, spoken-word poetry, and performance event FRESH, held at Brisbane City Library. She is passionate about seeking out and cultivating Brisbane’s incredible, yet largely hidden, creative community.
*****
And let’s not forget the beautiful noise of The Lucky Ones, featuring Sheish Money, Giselle Sheehy & Leanne Davie. Their blues-fulled romps rocked the first Back Room event this year, so it is with great anticipation that we welcome them back to close what is a stunning line-up.
