Poetry Wall

Six poets have reacted in wildly different ways to the phrase ‘Open Camouflage’. Tim Thorne’s bleak treatise on modern warfare; Joy Elizabeth’s chilling true account of the abuse of female international students; Ben Walter's football oval on an autumn afternoon…

A new and sweet view of the much-maligned snail by Esther Ottaway will show this humble stalwart in a whole new light:

You’re a show regardless of audience, a full house,
Your scribble of trails, morning reviews of your travels.

The commissioned works mentioned above, plus two more by Liz Winfield and Joe Frank, are tucked away on a far wall and deserve more space and exposure. But the poetry wall, painted by Laura Watts offers a flowing skirt of words with a blackboard opportunity for anyone to add their own. And through this, Launceston’s famous poetry festival has colonised a permanent corner of the CBD.

This chilly Wednesday afternoon poetry reading was a lovely start to Junction, a reminder that the beautiful economy of poetic words is a joy best enjoyed when read by the poet, with their own voice and inflection as soundtrack to the images they inspire.

The Poetry Wall is at the entrance to the Centreway Arcade between Brisbane and Paterson St