Kimberley Mann is a highly creative person. I first met her around 2002 when we were both doing TheatreSports in Adelaide. I bumped into her the following year when I joined Friendly Street Poets. As well as writing poetry she’s completed plays and a recent novel.
Kim (aka K*m) launched her first full poetry collection Awake During Anaesthetic – part of the Australian Poetry Centre’s New Poets 2009 series – last Saturday in Adelaide. Sadly I was elsewhere in the state and couldn’t make it. There’ll be a bigger launch at Katoomba on May 18 as part of the Sydney Writers Festival.

I haven’t sighted the book yet, but knowing Kim’s previous work, it’ll be a beauty.

Got an invitation from Australian poet Les Wicks to contribute to a website which features WA & SA poets.
The ADELAIDE poets are Jude Aquilina, Christina Bell, Sharon Kernot, Kimberley Mann, Louise Nicholas, Amelia Walker & me.
The PERTH contingent is David Barnes, Andrew Burke, Martin Chambers, Liana Joy Christensen, Josephine Clarke, Suzanne Covich, Lynne DePeras, Kevin Gillam, Helen Hagemann, Louise Helfgott, Patricia Johnson, Trisha Kotai-Ewers, Patricia Moffett, Anne Morgan, Jeanette Nelson, Susan O’Brien, Virginia O’Keeffe, Glen Phillips, Marcella Polain, Flora Smith, Rose van Son, Jayne Surry, Lyndal Vercoe & Julie Watts.
I’ve never met Les face-to-face, but we’ve exchanged a few emails over the years after I reviewed his Stories of The Feet on Cordite.
My contribution to the collaboration is the timely The Mouth (written after walking from Goolwa Beach to the Murray Mouth a few years back.)
Les tells me he’s just had a very successful tour with his new Islands Press collection The Ambrosiacs.
Thanks for the opprtunity to join these talented poets, Les.

The collaboration is HERE.

Yesterday i spent the day with Jessica Walker (as far as i know, no relation), a very interesting artist from Virginia. Jessica is currently on Walkabout, meeting Australian Walkers. After she videoed a one hour interview with me i showed her around our orchard, then she recorded me humming – part of what will become a musical compilation of hundreds of Walkers. She’s a fascinating artist. I can’t wait to see the results of her collected Australian moments.