We did a range of writing activities to encourage them to think about how they were using language (word choice, similes and metaphors) and line breaks to craft their poems about their places. The most popular activity was Lego poetry. I took a pile of Lego to the workshop with different words written on the pieces. Each student was given 14 pieces which they had to stack together to create a poem. 

This is a poem I wrote about Highlands Gourmet Meats in the Mittagong Market Place, where I worked while I was studying at university. I used found lines from poems by Phillip Hall (my dad) out of his collection Sweetened in Coals in this poem.

Originally, the first line of each stanza was a line out of one of Phillip’s poems, but as I edited the poem I shifted the lines around and added an extra stanza. I host the Little Mountain Readings, which is an annual poetry reading at Sturt, in December. Little Mountain Readings is supported by the South Coast Writers Centre and Sturt and aims to provide a platform for local poets to share their writing and be inspired by acclaimed poets. I am commencing a Doctorate of Creative Arts this year, exploring poetry and representations of groups of people and the relationships between people. A rehctub (butcher) in training:

Bustling like a sergeant major

the butcher swaggers the length of the shop

barking instructions and wielding

the blue knife of tension and discord.

With large unblinking eyes

the lamb carcass is slung over his shoulder,

thick strips of swacking plastic

slap him back into my periphery.

Cooler roomed dull and stiff

he thwacks the bones, muscle and fat

against a bench that is no longer gleaming

with early morning shine.

Gathering around the line

of chicken breasts to be filleted

and tenderised the apprentices chatter;

I lean in, enjoying Saturday night gossip.

Scraping the blade, I separate fat from flesh

and lean my hips against the cold bench,

shifting weight and observing

the red knife skill of a rehctub in training.