Bush poets host birthday bash

VERSE, rhyme, and story will be spun at the Bendigo Club this Sunday when the Bendigo Goldfields Bush Poets celebrate their twenty-first birthday.

The group came together in 2002 to foster a mutual appreciation of the uniquely Australian form of poetry and performance, which as a genre is centred on rhyme and metre.

Bush poetry has a long tradition of depicting life in rural and urban Australian settings, but club president Ken Stewart said there is more to the genre than the poems of old.

“Poetry is not restricted to the old masters such as ‘Banjo’ Paterson and Henry Lawson and others of that era,” he said.

“A strong mix of modern-day poetry with humour to the fore is always heard.”

Bendigo Goldfields Bush Poets hold bi-monthly recitals for members, but visitors are welcome to attend as part of the audience or get up and perform.

The concerts run as open-mic events where participants can recite the verses and poems of their choosing.

“We are a friendly group of people whose foremost aim is to keep the Aussie tradition of bush poetry alive so it can be performed or read, and enjoyed by audiences of all ages,” said BGBP secretary Colin Carrington.

“Members and visitors are encouraged to participate, no one is expected to be a star.

“Numerous persons started hesitatingly, but with practice have developed their reciting or reading skills to become competent entertainers.”

The next concert will be held on Sunday 3 December at the Bendigo Club in Strathdale from 1pm to 4pm.