Soul singer and musician Alexi Kaye is set to start a new initiative– a monthly Poets’ Breakfast, with the first to held at Kincumber Neighbourhood Centre on Sunday, July 16.
Dedicated to the performing arts, Kaye runs a choir out of the Neighbourhood Centre, teaches others and has held several performances with other critically acclaimed artists.
She said the new event was about people sharing their work or the work of poets they loved, hearing other people’s work and getting together in the name of the arts and in particular the written and spoken (or sung) word.
“All are welcome to read out their poetry to a supportive audience,” she said.
She said Poets’ Breakfast was inspired by the multiple poetry meetings and events in NSW such as Poetica in Sydney (produced by Miriam Hechtman), the Gosford Poets and the annual Words on Waves Festival on the Central Coast.
“Each month there’ll be a guest poet and an open mic section, as well as a fun and brief communal poetry writing activity (just for fun) near the end of the event,” she said.
“The open mic section offers anyone who so desires about five minutes to read their work or that of a poet they love – we’ll keep the time the same for everyone in the open mic section to give everyone a fair shot.
“(There is) no need to be a professional poet (but we welcome you if you are).
“Song lyrics and short stories are also encouraged.”
The theme for the first breakfast will be Winter and the hope it brings.
Special guest poet at the inaugural event will be Central Coast journalist Jackie Pearson, who published her first book of poetry, Mother’s Song, late last year.
Pearson will read some poems from the collection which align with the month’s theme.
She will also talk about her poetry and read a couple of new poems.
Pearson has been writing poetry since she was five or six years old.
“I had dreams of becoming a world-famous poet but worked out at about age 12 that all the famous poets were poor and/or long dead,” she said.
After carving a successful career as a journalist, Pearson reconnected with poetry in a serious way when she moved to the Central Coast in 2001 and I discovered Central Coast Poets.
She has had poems published in anthologies but Mother’s Song, published by Ginninderra Press, marked the first collection of her own work.
“This collection is about what it is like to be a Generation X woman,” she said.
“It is about being a mother, as the title suggests, but it’s about many other things.
“The poems explore nature, relationships, the complexities of family, politics and war.
“Mother’s Song includes poems about love, loss and everything in between.”
Pearson donates $1 from every copy of Mother’s Song sold to the Central Coast Domestic Violence Committee.
The Poets’ Breakfast will be held at Kincumber Neighbourhood Centre from 10am-12.30pm on Sunday, July 16.
Tickets are only $15 and can be purchased at https://events.humanitix.com/poets-breakfast-at-the-kincumber-neighborhood-centre
Hot food and drink will be available for purchase.
Terry Collins