The Red Room Company

A National Poetry Education Program

The Red Room Company's poetry education program transforms the way poetry is taught in Australian schools and learning institutions by bringing young and emerging poets into classrooms across the country to run practical writing workshops. To complement this work, we offer a range of learning resources with activities designed to meet curriculum outcomes. We also provide various forms of professional learning for teachers, to ensure that the effects on teaching practices are long-lasting.
See projects from participating schools here.

The Poetry Object

The Poetry Object is a free writing project for students in Years 3-10 attending NSW Public Schools. Created in collaboration with NSW Public Schools, the project is run as part of our poetry education program and invites young writers and their teachers to submit poems and photographs about objects that are special to them. Special objects that inspired poems in 2012 included a magic cat, dinosaur teeth and even one student’s brother, revealing the rich meanings that objects acquire as irreplaceable parts of our lives. The project culminated with an exhibition and awards event held at the State Library of NSW. Find out more about The Poetry Object

"It made me appreciate what a powerful tool poetry was... there was so much opening up, respect, and sharing, from the most unlikely group of poets!"
Sarah Johnston, Mt Carmel High School
"I recently saw this program on display in Melbourne... It seemed to spark the students' interest in language and verse to a degree I had not anticipated."
Professor Geoffrey Blainey, The Ian Potter Foundation
"Papercuts is enormously flexible and can easily be adapted to suit the needs of the school…. It provides opportunities for differentiation and accommodates a range of learning styles"
Maura Manning, Head of Teaching and Learning, Pymble Ladies' College
"In many ways my workshops at these high schools were some of the best experiences I have had with poetry."
Dr Lachlan Brown, Papercuts Poet, 2009 & 2010
"The Red Room Company provides the right environment and stimuli for students to discover their talent."
Ann Ding, Year 10 student at Pymble Ladies' College
"Poet Luke Beesley gave me, the ‘teacher’ (aka, the learner) new ways to talk/think/appreciate/write/share poetry."
Natalie Bellis, Head Teacher, The Peninsula School
"The students and I consider the program transformative. Its benefits to students are exceptional."
Dr Felicity Plunkett, Papercuts Poet 2010
"The Red Room Company... brings poetry to where students are and to where their interests lie, and then transports them beyond."
Eva Gold, Executive Director, ETA NSW
" I used the poetry cards with a Year 9 class yesterday and they were a huge hit. Students finished one card and then swapped with others... Absolutely fantastic!"
Bryan, Teacher, Wollongong High School
"As a poet working with The Red Room Company, I have been privileged to see the impact of their poetry education program on young people. Red Room helps poets and students connect, explore and engage with poetry on a level unlike anything else I've seen. As a writer, it's inspiring to witness it!"
Candy Royalle, Poet

For Teachers

All you need to know about the program.

For Students

Find out how to get a living, breathing poet to your school.

For Poets

Professional development and employment opportunities for poets.

Contact Us

Tamryn Bennett (Education Manager) Email: education@redroomcompany.org Phone: 02 9319 5090

Redroom Library

View Redroom library

Support Papercuts

The Red Room Company relies on the generous support of individuals, corporations, government funding bodies and philanthropic foundations. Become a sponsor

Riverside High School, TAS

On Wednesday 10th April, more than 90 creative writing students at Riverside High School took part in poetry workshops with local Launceston performance poet, Bert 'Storyteller' Spinks.

Students from Years 7-10 worked on a range of writing activities from The Disappearing learning resource. Following Bert's reading of his Disappearing poem 'The Wolves', students composed groups poems in response to images of the Tasmanian Tiger as well as writing their own themed poem to be published on The Disappearing app. Find the student poems under Riverside High School on The Disappearing app or listen to the ABC radio interview with Riverside students and Bert 'Storyteller' Spinks.

Papercuts

Red Room Education on tour

From rain and river views in Tasmania to 36 degree desert sun in Alice Springs – The Red Room Company’s education program is taking poets into classrooms across the country to share their experiences and encourage a new generation of writers. Last week we ran a series of workshops at Riverside High School with Bert Spinks, and tomorrow The Disappearing comes to St Philip’s College with local Alice Springs poet, Leni Shilton.

At Riverside, Bert Spinks performed poems, showing students how words can bend the universe, shaping our ...