Writing Water: Rain, River, Reef
through unmapped
space somewhere
between,
beyond,
water and sky.
~ Georgina Reid from 'Wind'
From cloud forests to flood, water connects us in every sense
Red Room Poetry’s Writing Water: Rain, River, Reef project is commissioning celebrated poets and inviting public submissions that look below the surface and reimagine our essential relationships with water. From the slow-moving waters of TarraWarra in Victoria to the extinction of corals and conversations with wetlands in Western Australia, poems are provocations to honour, remember and interrogate our responsibilities with water in a time of environmental change.
Eunice Andrada
Tony Birch
Luke Davies
Georgina Reid
Nicole Smede
Poems
answer , the poem begins with a breathing reef , sanctuary , How Water Works , Black Ophelia , Birrarung Billabong , PYROCENE TRIPTYCH , There is Nothing Heavier Than a River , Avicennia marina , Low Tide in the MangrovesWriting Water chapbook | Now available
From rain, rivers and reefs to tidal pools and coastal shelves, the Writing Water chapbook is a bespoke collection of 24 poems, written by commissioned and public poets about their relationship with our earth's most precious resource, water. Discover new poems by Eunice Andrada, Tony Birch, Luke Davies, Georgina Reid, JV Birch, Ann Shenfield, Peter Mitchell, Esther Ottaway, Sean West and others.
Produced with sustainability and community at its heart, Writing Water was created with the Rizzeria using natural dyes and a handprinted Risograph stencil process, giving it a lovely hand-crafted texture that may remain on your fingertips. We hope that each poem serves as a reminder of how water should be held in the hand, gently and with gratitude.
Workshop with Eunice Andrada | Wednesday 12 August
Award-winning Filipina poet Eunice Andrada led an immersive Writing Water workshop designed to help us explore our relationships with water in all its forms: as witness, giver, receiver. 65 participants came together to create unique poems for consideration in the Red Room Poetry Writing Water chapbook.
Poems float on Sydney Ferries
Noticed anything new on your ferry commute? To celebrate World Poetry Day and the launch of Writing Water, poems will be floating on Sydney Ferries throughout March. Snap a pic of a poem on a ferry and tag @RedRoomPoetry on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for your chance to win a Red Room Poetry prize pack!
Partners and Supporters
Writing Water: Rain, River, Reef is supported by generous individuals, TarraWarra Museum of Art for the TarraWarra Biennial 2020 and our major partners:
