Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively A special, curious or ‘talismanic’ object might be considered so because of its appearance, materials, WHAT function or history. From carved hieroglyphs to obsidian arrow tips, your special object will hold personal meanings and memories. Think about the IS A object’s role in your life. Is it a ‘talisman’ that guides and protects you? A reminder of an adventure or the keeper of a secret? This bird statue has fl the generations own down SPECIAL and has landed at my do orstep. Choosing your special object ~ from ‘MY INHERITA NC E’ OBJECT? Think outside the box. Teddy bears, necklaces and by Shyam, Year 4, watches are special, but is there something else you Rex Prize (Primary), could write about that is more intriguing or more Poetry Object 2018 unique to only you? Look around your room or home. » Do you have a unique or handmade gadget, gizmo, artwork or souvenir? » Is there an object in your life that might seem ordinary to someone else but is very special to you? » What makes your object special? BRING YOUR OBJECT TO SCHOOL » What makes your object unusual? Once you have chosen your special » What significant moment do you remember as object, make sure you have permission you feel your object? to bring it to school for the Poetry » Was your object given to you by someone special? Object lesson or workshop. How have you changed since you received it? » What history, magic power, Bring your object on the day, inner world or secret does and hold it close as you write. your special object hold? © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 10 Speaking and Listening; Object on Displ Writing and ay Representing GUIDE TO CURIOUS OBJECTS Spyrogyra is on 27 Apr – 11 Aug, display at Ar t Ga llery NSW, ART GALLERY OF NSW alongside The es Duchamp exhibi sential tion. Special Po work shops w ill et ry Object be held at the AG 30 & 31, includ NS W July ing inspiration fro m SPYROGYRA BY SIR TONY CRAGG Spyrogyra. Book your school's sp ot. Background Discussion Questions An oversized bottle rack, Spyrogyra makes a playful » Discuss how Cragg has combined art and science in reference to Marcel Duchamp’s famous readymade, this artwork. How does this synergy make an impact Bottle Rack (1914). The structure of Cragg’s sculpture is, on the viewer? however, far more open and intuitive than Duchamp’s. » Compare Cragg’s sculpture with Marcel Duchamp’s Its spiral shape is suggestive of a DNA strand and other Bottle Rack. How are they similar and different? What organic, yet symmetrical forms, which are ubiquitous is the effect of using objects from the everyday world? in Cragg’s art. Each rod attached to the spiral can » Find examples in nature that are both organic and accommodate certain different types of bottles and, as symmetrical. Create an artwork inspired by these forms. a result, with each new installation, it changes in the particular but maintains its essential form. In this way, Poetic Prompts Spyrogyra mimics genetics, which accommodates both » Free write: write a word or idea at the top of your type and individuality. page and allow your thoughts and images to cascade The artist says, ‘As a sculptor, I am a passionate downwards, mimicking the artwork's widening spiral. materialist, I believe that everything we know, the reality » Collect information about the time and place where around us, our intelligence and even our emotions are Spyrogyra was created. Write a poem comparing your aspects of material and that the material is unimaginably context with that of the artwork. complex and wonderful…’ Sir Tony Cragg Extension Spyrogyra 1992 glass and steel, 220 x 210 cm » How does Spyrogyra reference historical ideas and/or Art Gallery of New South Wales Mervyn Horton Bequest Fund 1997 other pieces of art? Write an extended response about © Anthony Cragg the artwork's intertextuality. Photo: AGNSW © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 11 General Capabilities: Personal and Social Capability Literature and context: Year 3 (ACELT1594) • Year 4 (ACELT1602) • Year 5 (ACELT1608) • Year 6 (ACELT1613) • Year 7 (ACELT1619) • Year 8 (ACELT1626) • Year 9 (ACELT1633) • Year 10 (ACELT1639) Speaking and Listening; Writing and Representing GUIDE TO CURIOUS OBJECTS Wilhelmina's Story These model cows are an example of folk art, MUSEUM OF Discussion Questions objects that tell us about the cultural life in a » What's something you've made that you are proud of? community. They were made by Wilhelmina » What's an activity you can spend hours APPLIED ARTS Jurd, with the help of her sisters, on an Australian outback station in the late 1800s. and hours on and remain focused? » Why do you think people were so Wilhelmina used things she could find on her & SCIENCES interested in Wilhelmina’s cows? property to construct these miniature replicas. She sculpted the shapes of the bodies using river Poetic Prompts clay and covered them with papier-mâché and then MINIATURE WAX COWS beeswax from wild hives. Tiny strands of calf hair were implanted into the softened wax in layers. » Imagine you are a sibling to Wilhelmina, and that you helped her make the cows. How were they created? What BY WILHELMINA JURD Shown in international exhibitions from 1879 to were the ingredients? Write a guide to cow crafting, or a journal entry about your process. 1893, these animal figures demonstrate the fine » Write a poem from the perspective of the cows. craftsmanship of Wilhelmina, who was inspired by her surroundings to create something meaningful. Extensions » Research folk art from various times and places. Choose one type of folk art and write an extended response about its materials, purpose and/or makers. » Pick an animal that is threatened, endangered or extinct. Using recycled materials, create a model of your animal (with accompanying text) to share its importance. » The MAAS Collection is made up of things that have been made by people, with various purposes for various reasons. What are the differences between folk art, fine art and/or inventions? Have a class discussion or Objects on Display debate comparing the values attributed to each Model cows made by Wilhelmina Jurd, New England area, NSW, The cows are on display at Powerhouse Museum by society. 1870s. Gifts of Mrs Lorraine (MAA S) in 2019. Special Poetry Object workshops Tilsed, 1984. Photography by Ryan Hernandez, MAAS. will be held at the museum June 27 & 28, includ ing inspiration from the cows. Book your school's spot. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 12 Cross-curriculum Priorities: Sustainability • General Capabilities: Personal and Social Capability Responding to literature: Year 3 (ACELT1596) • Year 4 (ACELT1603) • Year 5 (ACELT1609) • Year 6 (ACELT1614) • Year 7 (ACELT1620) • Year 8 (ACELT1627) • Year 9 (ACELT1771) • Year 10 (ACELT1640). Speaking and Listening; GUIDE TO CURIOUS OBJECTS Object on Display Writing and Representing Nirvana NATIONAL GALLERY Temple of hope: Door to exh ibition Discussion Questions is on display at NGA's onesia, » Use the Visible Thinking ‘See, Think, Contemporary Worlds: Ind Poetry Object OF AUSTRALIA Wonder’ routine to discuss this work: 21 Jun – 27 Oct. Special at the NGA on What do you see? What does it make you think of? workshops will be held piration from What does it make you wonder? Aug 9 & 12, including ins ool's spot. the work. Book your sch » Jot down a series of ideas you associate with the word TEMPLE OF HOPE: DOOR TO NIRVANA ‘temple’. How might the title of this artwork shape the way a visitor responds to or interprets it? BY ENTANG WIHARSO » The work references the wayang kulit or shadow puppet tradition. Research wayang kulit and compare its Background purposes to those of Temple of hope: Door to Nirvana. Indonesian artist Entang Wiharso’s Temple of hope: » Consider how light has been used within Entang’s When creating the work, Wiharso reached out Door to Nirvana is a meditation on the theme of peace work. How could light and shadow be used to his friends and family, asking them to consider and tolerance and his concern that intolerance towards metaphorically? how beliefs about tolerance and racism affect difference in an ever-increasing globalised world efforts toward peace. He then presented their threatens the possibility of a harmonious future. voices in unity within the text panels that are Poetic Prompt on the roof of the temple. Imagine the artist has asked you how the world The large-scale installation, resembling a could be more peaceful, harmonious and tolerant house-like structure, is made of laser-cut steel of difference. Write a poem that expresses your panels. The images found on the panels refer response to this question. to both historical and contemporary themes, with Indonesian traditional and mythical figures Extensions appearing alongside motifs drawn from popular » Combine shadow, images and text in your own poetic culture, everyday life and socio-political issues. installation. You might make use of a projector angled The temple is internally lit by an elaborate heart-like onto objects or even draw in black marker onto a glass chandelier with organic artery-like branches. The jar and place a small candle inside. Consider the use internal light casts shadows of the text and images of transparent materials and light sources to create onto visitors and the surrounding walls. This dramatic various effects and moods with shadow. visual effect is suggestive of wayang kulit shadow » Engage in a class discussion or debate about puppet theatre—a major artistic tradition in Java. ways to promote peace and tolerance. Entang Wiharso Temple of hope: Door to Nirvana 2018, stainless steel, aluminium, car paint, light bulbs, electric cable and lava » Write an extended response about stone, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Commissioned 2018, tolerance, racism and/or peace. Purchased 2019, © Entang Wiharso, Black Goat Studios © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 13 Cross-curricular Priorities: Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia • General Capabilities: Personal and Social Capability; Ethical Understanding. Responding to literature: Year 3 (ACELT1596) • Year 4 (ACELT1603) • Year 5 (ACELT1609) • Year 6 (ACELT1614) • Year 7 (ACELT1620) • Year 8 (ACELT1627) • Year 9 (ACELT1771) • Year 10 (ACELT1640). Speaking and Listening; Writing and Representing GUIDE TO CURIOUS OBJECTS Dame Mary Gilmore, Mitchell Library, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA State Library of NSW P1/632 MARY GILMORE’S TYPEWRITER Background Activist and writer Dame Mary Gilmore is shown in this photo from 1948 surrounded by piles of books. On top Manual typewr iter used by Mary Gilm ore, Photo: Lannon of the nearest stack, standing proudly as if perched on Nat ional Museum of Australia. Harley, her shoulder, is the reference manual What Bird Is That? Birds feature prominently in Gilmore’s prose and Discussion Questions reflections on her childhood growing up in the Riverina Object on Display district around Wagga Wagga. She witnessed her » Look closely at the typewriter. Can you see what lay at NMA Mar y Gilmore's typewriter is on disp pieces are missing? How could you make this century- father’s efforts to protect ancient avian sanctuaries kshops will be in 2019. Special Poetry Object wor old machine work again? in collaboration with the Wiradjuri people, as the ding inspiration held at the NMA on July 1 & 2, inclu » What is meant by the phrase 'the pen is mightier than spread of settlement and farming led to the decline and ol's spot. from the typewriter. Book your scho disappearance of much birdlife, along with far-reaching the sword'? Do you agree? Why / why not? changes to the lives of Indigenous Australians. Poetic Prompts As a young woman, Gilmore was active in literary » The lyrebird is a famed mimic, and has even been and political circles, writing in support of strikes She returned home with a bolder voice and known to reproduce the sound of a typewriter. Write a for workers’ rights in the 1890s. She was part of an continued writing, using this solid steel-framed poem that uses onomatopoeia to mimic the sounds of expedition of 200 people who travelled to Paraguay in typewriter. Mary Gilmore’s writing lives on today. a typewriter or the sounds around you. 1895 to establish a radical new community based on You might even have one of her poems in your the principles of equality. Despite the critics calling the pocket, embedded in the microprint of the ten-dollar » Read some of Gilmore's poetry and choose a topic experiment ‘feather-headed’ and a failure, her years note. Words were her freedom and power – when she wrote about. How has the dialogue around this there only strengthened her belief in social change. she first started, she wrote ‘I had wings.’ topic changed since her time? Write a poem as a contemporary response to Gilmore's work. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 14 General Capabilities: Personal and Social Capability. Experimentation and adaptation: Year 3 (ACELT1791) • Year 4 (ACELT1794) • Year 5 (ACELT1798) • Year 6 (ACELT1800) • Year 7 (ACELT1805) • Year 8 (ACELT1768) • Year 9 (ACELT1638) • Year 10 (ACELT1815) Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening STUART BARNES COMMISSIONED POEMS You’re Reflection (excerpt) after Sylvia Plath’s ‘You’re’ 'My object, a small light in the shape of a white whale, a cardinal wing tilting sideways for was a gift from close friend Benjamin Dodds and his a sodden-spined god on an airy desk. partner Carlo. After I’d torn away the wrapping paper Ben, Perturbed by Neptune, a centaur. acknowledging Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, laughed, ‘It’s only a whale, not a metaphor!’ I’ve stared at this cetacean, A volatile icy body pour whose habitat is a stack of influential poetry collections, -ing its hair up into picturesque churn. An unfeeling Antarctic core. each day for almost three years—performing this little ritual has occasioned many poems.' Foam cartwheeling the rafts of the Coeur d’Alene. A pilgrim bottle, grotesque Read Stuart’s full reflection. -embellished. The mortar and pestle of moon-lore. View the poem and listen to the audio recording online. STUART BARNES was born in Hobart and The portable barre, the Adagio floor, See activities inspired by Stuart’s poem on p.27. lived in Melbourne for seventeen years before the most fluid arabesque. moving to Rockhampton. His first poetry Snow crunching beyond the big war collection, Glasshouses (UQP), won the Thomas -drobe. Whetstone of fastest wild boar. Shapcott Prize, was commended for the Anne County Waterford’s Romanesque. Elder Award and shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award. Stuart was poetry editor of Pearl the albino raven’s caw. My lucky charm, an anointed rabbit paw. STUART'S OBJECT Verity La and Tincture Journal, served on the Apollo, miniature, Pythian, statuesque. IS A SMALL LAMP The white of my eye, my dropping jaw. advisory board of Bent Window Books and, since 2017, has been a program advisor for Only a whale, not a metaphor. IN THE SHAPE OF A Queensland Poetry Festival. He’s currently working on a novel and his second poetry WHITE WHALE collection, Form & Function. Poems are forthcoming in POETRY (Chicago), Rabbit and Southerly. More about Stuart. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 15 Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening ELEANOR COMMISSIONED POEMS JACKSON The Candle Reflection (excerpt) When done with dune-backed beaches, tourists flock 'Even though I do not think of myself as Catholic any to a Delaware museum that stocks candles, more, I still light candles for the people that I care allegedly perfumed with the aromatic yang of about and miss. Sometimes I will stay and watch the 47th United States Vice-President. the flames, meditating on the person or people I am thinking about. Other times, I let the candle burn Whether footsore travellers search for blood for a few hours, filling the house with their light and or blossom, bitter or neroli, this much we know: smell. If the person has recently died, I will put the Joe Biden does not – cannot – smell like oranges. Still, who are we to judge the ache for Amtrak Joe? candle in a safe container and leave it to burn down completely overnight. I like to think that the light Proust summoned his aunt with his teeth sunk symbolises my commitment to remembering the in a madeleine, the olfactory memory of all things person and keeping their spirit alive.' past and present in a girlish cake. My limbic lights with the wick-tip flare of tapers in the bye-altar, Read Eleanor’s full reflection. View the poem and listen to the audio and waits, with all my patience, until the extinguishing. recording online. The brief snuff of liquid wax, the rising of the final, lonely puff of soot, which smells just enough See activities inspired by Eleanor's poem on p.28. like my grandmother to keep me Catholic: Oil of Ulan before bed, ELEANOR JACKSON is a Filipino Australian poet, performer, arts producer and Anaïs Anaïs for special occasions, fresh laundry community radio broadcaster. She is the stiff from the February sun, the promise of ELEANOR'S OBJECT IS A CANDLE REMINISCENT author of A Leaving (Vagabond Press) and crumbed cutlets for dinner, Wheel of Fortune come five o’clock, her live album, One Night Wonders, is new-born love, raw memories, ashes, dust. produced by Going Down Swinging. OF HER GRANDMOTHER More about Eleanor. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 16 Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening BENJAMIN LAIRD COMMISSIONED POEMS Psychometric Researches Reflection (excerpt) small uneven towers of geological layers 'In writing the poem, I had to think of the three ways in in faint images as in limelight slides which it would be presented—as a print poem (the way an edition discovered among a collection it appears here), as an audio poem (the way it sounds) so far uncategorised for an audience view and as an electronic poem (the way it appears onscreen into topics for sale split into lectures and how a reader interacts with it). The fact that the like falling stones on Earth’s formation, poem appears in multiple versions adds another layer a synchronicity of history, of evolution, of meaning; it is symbolic of how we remember, of how an echo of a future now distantly realised memories are mere representations of events.' the smell of old books mould upon the pages Read Benjamin’s full reflection. released as they break away a vanilla scent View the poem and listen to the audio down on the shelves thin remembrances of recording online. dry wood, humidity, libraries and studies cut grass and fireflies waiting by the road See activities inspired by Benjamin’s poem on p.28. in a house of thoughts empty in its depths BENJAMIN LAIRD is a software developer while finding a way to every exit reversed and poet. His poems and essays have through each door a haunted conclusion BENJAMIN'S OBJECT IS A BOOK been published in various print and online journals. His electronic poetry includes The hold it up toward the light in the minds- night where inverted eye of white iris ABOUT THE SOULS OF OBJECTS. Durham Poems, a chapbook of biographical poems about William Denton; and ‘Core I, a history, a point peeling from a cover lashed by passage stained by memories THIS SPECIAL POEM IS ALSO AN Values’, a response to Dorothea Mackellar’s ‘My Country’, which was shortlisted for the of a previous century imprinted on objects INTERACTIVE DIGITAL WORK! 2018 Queensland Literary Awards QUT as moving between other places, lands, scenes from this and other silent worlds DISCOVER THE ELECTRONIC VERSION. Digital Literature Award. whispering the library of the still unseen More about Benjamin. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 17 Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening POLA FANOUS COMMISSIONED POEMS “MYINTERLUDE” Reflection (excerpt) I slip you between life pages 'The object I chose to write about is a bookmark my girlfriend made for me by hand. It incorporates pressed & you sit a graceful (swan) flowers she picked herself, from Italy and from Katoomba… your utility replaceable, it is not gold the white flower is really special to me for a reason I can’t say. I use this bookmark every time I read, moving it from your soul the lions of Daniel book to book, and so it made sense to write about it. This poem isn’t just about an object though, it’s about what and that did not harm the angel. You who the object represents.' starry like Salvador, Yin Read Pola’s full reflection. Yang, Warrior Queen. You View the poem and listen to the audio recording online. are life preserved forever – See activities inspired by Pola’s poem on p.27. photograph, poem 9 imperfect POLA FANOUS is a young poet and performing artist from Western Sydney. At age 20, this specks of God – eternal green. You Egyptian-born immigrant is a prominent figure guard knowledge, like Sphinx, fly in Sydney’s slam scene. In 2018 Pola competed in the Australian Poetry Slam National Final at in wind, you cannot be contained. POLA'S OBJECT the Sydney Opera House and was appointed Universes apart, your scent, my dream. IS A HAND-MADE NSW Slam Champion. He has recently released his debut collection of poetry, STRONGSOFT. Photograph. Poem. Mark. BOOKMARK More about Pola. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 18 Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening JACQUI MALINS COMMISSIONED POEMS To my tent Reflection Citadel of my temerity, I have 'The model name of my tent is ‘Citadel’; very grand for a tent you can’t stand up in! But it is light enough carried you on my back, you have for me to carry hiking on my own, and I love that freedom. I have just had ‘the Citadel’ patched so we sheltered me. Escape hatch from can keep travelling together. While writing, I adopted, urbanity. Portable hole, bird hide, and then abandoned, a structure of a regular number of syllables in each line – it helped me to tighten this sunrise sauna, refuge, forced crouch, poem, but eventually became unhelpful. I write mainly modesty screen, snail shell, budget hotel. for performance, so reading aloud is a big part of my editing process.' Through taut skin I hear marsupials chew, watch View the poem and listen to the audio leafy shadows swim like fish, encase me in recording online. animate light. Just-right capsule for a See activities inspired by Jacqui's poem on p.28. wild life. I dive headlong into world, JACQUI MALINS is a performance poet and artist based in Canberra. Jacqui has been bathysphere submerged in green awarded best 'walk-up' poet at the Woodford Folk Festival (2015), a finalist in both the submarine dawn. My chambered JACQUI'S OBJECT Australian Poetry Slam (2015) and Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup (2017), and nautilus, you let me be both IS HER GREEN a featured performer at the National Folk Festival (2018), Unspoken Words Festival voyager and always at home. CAMPING TENT (2018) and Woodford Folk Festival (2018). More about Jacqui. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 19 Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening ZECH SOAKAI COMMISSIONED POEMS A Streetcar Named Diaspora Reflection Poutasi silver, 'The taonga (treasure) that I chose to memorialise in verse red-and-rustic melted plastic was a rusty old toy car that my cousin Silafaga (who was and wheels with friction seven years old at the time) gave to me before I left Samoa the year was to return to Aotearoa, New Zealand. Objects are such two thousand and fifteen. interesting things and I feel when you take time to hold Cousin, them – in all their layers and physicality – they often gift Silafaga you with new insights and stories about yourself. This was thank you, definitely my experience with this particular treasure and for this car, this driver’s seat, I hope you enjoy reading this poem as much as I enjoyed this vehicle writing it!' — that zooms melting present into future, kissing View the poem and listen to the audio recording online. future’s cheek against the past’s lips. See activities inspired by Zech's poem on p.28. This car, this thing that race we’ve won. ZECH SOAKAI is a poet and spoken word artist from Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland, New Zealand. Of Samoan, Tongan, German, Your mana, I have carried, ZECH'S OBJECT Scottish and Irish descent, his writing this car — that taonga IS A SMALL TOY focuses on unpacking Pasifika youth identities within the New Zealand diaspora. Second hand object of joy I play, play, play CAR; A GIFT FROM A COUSIN. with this ta’avale He has won numerous slams within and remember: Auckland, and been mentored under What it’s like to be home Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh (NZ Poet Laureate), here, Grace Teuila Taylor and Luka Lesson. and there, and what it’s like to race between islands More about Zech. and know that I belong to all of them. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 20 * Poutasi = Village in Samoa that my mum’s side of my family come from * Mana = Māori for life force * taonga = Māori for treasure, inheritance, object of sacred value * Silafaga = the name of my Samoan cousin who gifted me his little metal car to remember him by * ta’avale = Samoan for car Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening CLAIRE G COMMISSIONED POEMS COLEMAN Forever, Flag Reflection For Harold Thomas – Designer of the Aboriginal Flag 'I am an Aboriginal woman; nobody whose opinion Forever in my blood, etched bleeding into my flesh matters to me is uncertain of that. However, a couple I remember when you wept red; the pain of years back I realised that my skin, what many Little more than an itch; people use to identify people, reads as white. People Wept, darker red than the scarlet of the ink who do not know me would think of me as a white person with a tan. A method to make it clear I am Without you, flag, my skin is slick, too pale People might not know who I am Aboriginal and proud of it was necessary. On a trip to Red, yellow, black celebrate my birthday I had the Aboriginal flag inked My skin forever, flag. into my skin. Now, for the rest of my life, I know my pride is permanently on display.' The yellow, the sun, is fading The red, the ground, the black, I View the poem and listen to the audio Still strong, the bloodlines. recording online. Someone once said, “wow, that’s committed”. See activities inspired by Claire’s poem on p.27. Someone once said, “you could pass as white”. A blackfella once said, “welcome to my Country sister” CLAIRE G. COLEMAN is a Wirlomin Noongar He saw my blackfella flag first woman whose ancestral country is in the South Coast of Western Australia. Her debut He saw my Noongar face after. I wear a flag CLAIRE'S OBJECT IS novel Terra Nullius, published in Australia and the USA, was written on a second-hand I have it needle-stuck and inked HER TATTOO OF THE iPad in a caravan. It has won the Norma K. Hemming Award and a Blak&Write fellowship Up in my skin My skin is a flag ABORIGINAL FLAG Without the ink and has been shortlisted for the Stella Prize Not flagged enough. and an Aurealis Award. Her second novel The Old Lie is due for release in August 2019. I say to them, “this flag is my identity” I say to them, “this ink forever”. More about Claire. I say to them, “I will die before I lay down my flag”. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 21 Reading and Viewing; Speaking and Listening ARIELLE COMMISSIONED POEMS COTTINGHAM Ode to a Wooden Spoon Reflection (excerpt) And did you know – well, perhaps not – when 'I have left home a number of times, going you were hewn by impersonal machine increasingly further each time, much to my parents’ from the rest of you, that your breaking dismay. Every time I have left home, my mother has would bind kin from something closer sent with me some useful kitchen item, and a wooden than blood or circumstance? spoon turned up once in between rolled-up jackets and jeans. I’ve used that wooden spoon to cook more And did you know, as you were pressed into my luggage communal meals than I can count at this point, eight with those whispered prayers all mothers memorise, that families or nine years since the first time I left home to travel. both born into and found would gather around food Families gather around food, and the wooden spoon flavoured at your touch? my mother gifted me has led me to new and old ones and helped me feed them all.' And did you know – well, perhaps you did – that the work of tempering seeds, turning onions in oil, tucking kidney beans Read Arielle’s full reflection. Texas-born Afro-Latina poet, performance into garlicked tomato, would magic you into conduit artist, and dancer ARIELLE COTTINGHAM is to home? View the poem and listen to the audio an internationally touring whirlwind. With a recording online. theatre degree, two books, and an Australian I know how much you have given by the scorchmarks See activities inspired by Arielle’s poem on p.27. Poetry Slam Championship under her belt, she perched elegantly on your handle – infatuations with pots explores the interplay between spoken word left too long – and the bloom of turmeric scarring and the body, merging elements of dance and your widest, gentlest parts, the myriad spices squeezed physical theatre with written poetry to create multidisciplinary short works that she has into the smallest spaces between your veins. ARIELLE'S OBJECT IS A toured through Texas, Australia, and Southeast Old friend, found cousin, measure of trust, tonight we stir a clan out of strangers. WOODEN SPOON GIFTED Asia. Her first collection, Black and Ropy, was released through Pitt Street Poetry in 2017. BY HER MOTHER More about Arielle. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 22 Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively; Responding and WRITING EXERCISES Composing Metaphor Creation Group Poem Imagined Objects Extend your original imagery and playful language Create a group poem inspired » Write an imagined history for your special object. by using metaphors to express the ideas and feelings by a special object in your Where was it ‘born’? Which land did it come from? associated your special object. classroom. Discover our guide How did it find you? to writing group poems. » What is the secret held within your special object? A metaphor is a poetic device that describes something Does it have a clandestine mission? by comparing it to something else (without the use of the words 'as' or 'like'). Ways of Seeing » What adventures does your object embark upon while Draw your object on the same page in as you sleep? In groups, look at the metaphor examples below (taken many different ways as you can, for example: » Describe your most memorable moment with your from commissioned poems). Share ideas to create new » Eyes closed special object. metaphors about the poets' objects. » Left-handed » Imagine your object can speak. What does it say to E.g. Stuart's lamp is the mortar and pestle of moon-lore. you? What does its voice sound like? » One continuous line without lifting Pola's bookmark is a lion of Daniel. pen from paper » How would you feel if your object was lost or broken? Jacqui's tent is her escape hatch from urbanity. » Imagine you are describing your object over the phone Drawing Inner Worlds or to someone without sight. Describe your object Stuart's lamp is ............................................................ Poetry Object 2019 judge Emilie Zoey using vivid imagery. ................................................................................... Baker talks about a student in one of ................................................................................... who brought in their grandfather’s saxophone case and talked about the Nurses in sapphire skirts conver sing, Pola's bookmark is ........................................................ jazz that has ‘slid back and forth through Revolving doors spinning like dan cers .................................................................................... the reed’. Does your object have an in resplendent dresses, inner world that can't be seen? What And the smell of coffee filling the .................................................................................... thoughts or emotions is it carrying? corridors. ~ From ‘VISIONS’ by Anne, Year 5 Jacqui's tent is ............................................................... see. Poetry Object 2018 .................................................................................... Draw what your eyes cannot .................................................................................... © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 23 Creating literary texts: Year 3 (ACELT1601) • Year 4 (ACELT1607) • Year 5 (ACELT1612) • Year 6 (ACELT1618) • Year 7 (ACELT1625) • Year 8 (ACELT1632) • Year 9 (ACELT1773) • Year 10 (ACELT1814) Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively; Responding and WRITING Composing EXERCISES Exploring Poetic Techniques Examples below are taken from commissioned poems. » Create a list of sensory similes that imagine what your » What does your object represent? Write three symbols object smells, feels, tastes, sounds and looks like. to express what your object means to you. E.g. E.g: Claire's flag tattoo wept red. Stuart's lamp represents an unfeeling Antarctic core. » What similarities does your object share with an » Use different styles of voice to evoke particular animal? Describe it. emotional responses in your reader. Experiment » Use metaphor to describe your object. E.g. Benjamin's with writing from the voice of someone who is angry, book is an echo of a future now distantly realised. excited or amazed. » Use onomatopoeia to describe your object. » Use personification to write three first-person ‘I’ E.g. Eleanor's candle extinguishes with a brief snuff. sentences from the perspective of your curious object. E.g. (As Zech's car) I melt present into future. » Use alliteration to describe your object. E.g. Pola's bookmark is starry like Salvador. » List five facts about your object. Use hyperbole to exaggerate these facts (this can add drama and » Research the origins of your object. Create a myth humour to your poem). E.g. Jacqui's tent lets her be about its making. You may use real facts or weave a both voyager and always at home. fictional tale. » Think of the name and the features of your object. » What are the most adorable or admirable things about Create at least three puns based on your wordplay. your object? Write an ode to your object. E.g. Arielle's Include these puns in your poem. poem is an ode to her wooden spoon. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 24 Experimentation and adaptation: Year 3 (ACELT1791) • Year 4 (ACELT1794) • Year 5 (ACELT1798) • Year 6 (ACELT1800) • Year 7 (ACELT1805) • Year 8 (ACELT1768) • Year 9 (ACELT1638) • Year 10 (ACELT1815) Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively; Responding and Composing Overcoming Cliché Discuss what is meant by a cliché. As a class, list some obvious images and reasons why clichés WRITING can weaken your writing. Complete the left-hand column with the cliché and the TIP: Explore the extensio activity on overcoming cli n ché EXERCISES t right-hand column with your own specific image to in our extra Poetry Objec create an original simile. (The examples are from 2019 learning resources here. judge Emilie Zoey Baker's tips on p.6.) A simile is a poetic device that compares two things with the use of the words 'as' or 'like'. Starter Clichés Original and Unusual Imagery E.g. As white as snow. E.g. As white as fish bones. As white as ceremonial smoke. As white as hospital sheets. As silent as As silent as As tender as As tender as As crunchy as As crunchy as As ancient as As ancient as As strange as As strange as © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 25 Experimentation and adaptation: Year 3 (ACELT1791) • Year 4 (ACELT1794) • Year 5 (ACELT1798) • Year 6 (ACELT1800) • Year 7 (ACELT1805) • Year 8 (ACELT1768) • Year 9 (ACELT1638) • Year 10 (ACELT1815) Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively; Responding and Composing WRITING Poem Lineation Lineation refers to the way poems are arranged and broken into lines (rather than sentences, like prose). EXERCISES Lineation is a tool that poets use to emphasise, change, or challenge meanings in their poems. Explore notable Poetry Object poems that utilise unconventional lineation: 'You're' by Stuart Barnes, 'Psychometric Researches' by Benjamin Laird, 'Rosary' Block-Out Poetry by Courtney Sina Meredith, 'Shivling' by Shastra Deo Write a micro-story about your object. When you and 'subsumed; June celebration' by Jeremy Balius. finish, choose words and phrases that stand out Read the poems aloud. How do the line breaks affect from the rest. With a marker, cross out the lines the way you read the poems? In groups, discuss the that surround your chosen words and phrases, role of lineation in these works. so that your page looks somewhat like these examples to the right. When drafting your poem, write out three versions Write out the circled words on a fresh page to with different lineation and line break choices in each. create your block-out poem. Rearrange the Decide on which version best expresses your poetic word order if you wish. voice and message. Extension Alternative Option Discover another lineation activity based on Insead of using your own words, create your Eileen Chong’s poem ‘Mid-Autumn Mooncakes’ block-out poem from found text (a page from a in our extra learning resources here. book, website, newspaper, or something else). Extension Review your block-out poem. Add words and phrases to further the piece; avoid using images originally in your micro-story or found text (you blocked them out for a reason!). © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 26 Experimentation and adaptation: Year 3 (ACELT1791) • Year 4 (ACELT1794) • Year 5 (ACELT1798) • Year 6 (ACELT1800) • Year 7 (ACELT1805) • Year 8 (ACELT1768) • Year 9 (ACELT1638) • Year 10 (ACELT1815) Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively; ACTIVITIES INSPIRED BY ALL COMMISSIONED POETS Responding and » Circle words or phrases whose meaning you » Which is your favourite? Why? In groups, » Choose a poem and circle or list all its Composing weren't sure of when first reading the poems. discuss your chosen pieces and describe the language devices. Write a short response Research the meaning; then write a piece of element/s that stand out to you. Extension: about each one: what does it convey and how poetry or prose that uses some of these new Write about why your poem resonates and effective is it? How does this relate to the expressions in your own way. what it's trying to say (mention techniques). poem's voice and tone? Activities inspired by Activities inspired by Activities inspired by Activities inspired by STUART BARNES CLAIRE G COLEMAN ARIELLE COTTINGHAM POLA FANOUS » 'You're' is an homage to a Sylvia Plath » Research the history and context of the » This poem uses sensory descriptions in » Pola's poem uses allusion to connect poem of the same name, and Stuart's Aboriginal flag. Write a reflection piece memories of shared meals. Write about his object to a special person. Write reflection references Moby-Dick (this is on its significance, connecting back to a meal you remember, using the senses. about an object of yours, alluding to the intertextuality). Write your own piece the meaning in Claire's poem. » Repetition is in the refrain 'Did you person who is connected to it. that uses homage or intertextuality. » This poem uses the symbol of the flag know'. Write a poem using repetition » The object is never revealed by name, » The stanzas use end-rhyme (in 'ABA' to express complex aspects of being. or refrain, and perform it aloud. Think creating a mysterious voice. Write pattern). Write your own poem using Write a poem about a symbol that about pacing, emphasis and gestures. about your object without naming it. a rhyme structure (like Stuart, you can expresses your own identity. » Research the poetic form of the ode and use unusual or inexact rhymes). write an ode about something special. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 27 Cross-curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures General Capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking Vocabulary: Year 3 (ACELA1484) • Year 4 (ACELA1498) • Year 5 (ACELA1512) • Year 6 (ACELA1525) • Year 7 (ACELA1537) • Year 8 (ACELA1547) • Year 9 (ACELA1561) • Year 10 (ACELA1571) Expressing preferences and evaluating texts: Year 3 (ACELT1598) • Year 4 (ACELT1604) • Year 5 (ACELT1795) • Year 6 (ACELT1615) • Year 7 (ACELT1803) • Year 8 (ACELT1807) • Year 9 (ACELT1635) • Year 10 (ACELT1812) Language devices in literary texts: Year 3 (ACELT1600) • Year 4 (ACELT1606) • Year 5 (ACELT1611) • Year 6 (ACELT1617) • Year 7 (ACELT1623) • Year 8 (ACELT1630) • Year 9 (ACELT1637) • Year 10 (ACELT1643) Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively; MORE POETRY OBJECT POEMS Responding and Want to read more poems about curious, special or talismanic objects? Composing Explore our collection of commissioned poems 2011 - present. Activities inspired by Activities inspired by Activities inspired by Activities inspired by ELEANOR JACKSON BENJAMIN LAIRD JACQUI MALINS ZECH SOAKAI » Eleanor uses assonance and consonance » Create an interactive or digital poem » Jacqui originally drafted the poem using » Explore the language words Zech has to evoke a candle's 'flare' (stanza 3). of your own, using technology (coding? a structure of 8-syllable lines. Research used (definitions in the footer). Write a Write about your object using these animation? multimedia?). more structures (villanelle, haiku, etc.) poem using some words from your own techniques. Extension: Make your words » In an experiment of structure, the poem and write a poem in your chosen style. ancestral language/s, or referring to a somehow 'sound' like your object by can be read either down or across the » Create a poem to be read aloud. myth or place from your family's past. using onomatopoeia. page. Write your own poem that can Consider sound techniques like tone » Write a poem for a friend, using sensory » Write your own poem in remembrance be read in several ways. You could cut of voice and pacing, as well as body language to evoke a special moment of something or someone now gone. out your lines and move them around language and your piece's purpose. you shared together. to play with structure (research Dada © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 28 techniques for ideas). General Capabilities: ICT Capability; Critical and Creative Thinking Vocabulary: Year 3 (ACELA1484) • Year 4 (ACELA1498) • Year 5 (ACELA1512) • Year 6 (ACELA1525) • Year 7 (ACELA1537) • Year 8 (ACELA1547) • Year 9 (ACELA1561) • Year 10 (ACELA1571) Expressing preferences and evaluating texts: Year 3 (ACELT1598) • Year 4 (ACELT1604) • Year 5 (ACELT1795) • Year 6 (ACELT1615) • Year 7 (ACELT1803) • Year 8 (ACELT1807) • Year 9 (ACELT1635) • Year 10 (ACELT1812) Language devices in literary texts: Year 3 (ACELT1600) • Year 4 (ACELT1606) • Year 5 (ACELT1611) • Year 6 (ACELT1617) • Year 7 (ACELT1623) • Year 8 (ACELT1630) • Year 9 (ACELT1637) • Year 10 (ACELT1643) Writing and Representing GUIDE TO EDITING POETRY Drafting your Poetry Object poem Editing your poem » The opening two or three lines set the tone. The tone Use your writing and notes from the exercises to Congratulations on writing the first draft of your Poetry is the emotion or attitude of the narrator. Make sure help compose your poem: Object poem! Before you submit your piece, be sure to your tone is consistent. edit and refine your work. Editing is a vital part of the » Consider your perspective. Is your poem in first, » Read over your writing and circle or highlight any second or third person? From the perspective of the writing process. This will enable you to have a critical images or words that stand out or appeal to you. look at what works and what doesn’t work in your poem. object, its maker, its owner, someone else? Play with » Circle any images or phrases that you feel are poetic Also remember: your poem should be 20 lines or less. perspective: write a draft from a new point of view. or poem-like. » Line breaks & shapes. How does your poem look on » Circle or highlight any words, phrases or images that Editing tips: the page? Where do new lines begin? Try breaking describe your object or explain why it is important. your lines in different places, playing with empty » Speak your poem aloud. Does anything sound out of » Circle any words or phrases that you feel might make a space on the page, and / or putting the words in a place or unclear? Reword if needed. Play with tempo, good title for your poem. ‘shape’ that reflects the object itself. pitch and rhythm when speaking aloud: research » Put a line through anything that is boring, out of place, performance poetry for ideas. » Think mystery! Write your poem without mentioning or unhelpful in the composition of your poem. the object by name; or write your poem as a riddle » Determine the most important line or idea in your » Copy out everything that is circled or highlighted onto where the audience has to guess what the object is. poem. Do the surrounding lines support this? If not, a new sheet of paper. Use this material as the starting you might want to change them. » Peer review. Ask for constructive feedback! Listen to point or stimulus for your poem. suggestions and revise. For a guide to peer reviewing, » Review the adverbs used in your piece. Instead of see our extra learning resources here. using adverbs, consider a more evocative verb. (e.g. instead of ‘run quickly’, use ‘sprint’ or ‘dash’). » When in doubt, speak your poem aloud again. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 29 General Capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking Creating literary texts: Year 3 (ACELT1601) • Year 4 (ACELT1607) • Year 5 (ACELT1612) • Year 6 (ACELT1618) • Year 7 (ACELT1625) • Year 8 (ACELT1632) • Year 9 (ACELT1773) • Year 10 (ACELT1814) Editing: Year 3 (ACELY1683) • Year 4 (ACELY1695) • Year 5 (ACELY1705) • Year 6 (ACELY1715) • Year 7 (ACELY1726) • Year 8 (ACELY1810) • Year 9 (ACELY1747) • Year 10 (ACELY1757) Writing and Representing; Name: Expressing Themselves YOUR SPECIAL Poem Title: 1. OBJECT POEM 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. To enter the Poetry Object 2019 competition, create an original poem inspired by your 8. special object. 9. Your poem should be up to 20 lines in length 10. and should meet some or all of our quality 11. criteria (pp.7-8). For extra information, see our 12. conditions of entry & FAQ. 13. After drafting your poem, remember to edit your 14. work individually or in groups. Don't forget to 15. check your spelling and remove clichés! 16. 17. 18. SUBMIT YOUR POEM HERE. 19. DEADLINE: Friday 27 September 20. 2019, 5pm AEST Extensions All poems submitted to Poetry Object » In groups or as a class, share your poems aloud. Give each other constructive feedback. will be published in our online library. » Create and deliver a presentation about your poem, using information / communication technologies. » In groups or as a class, create a poetry exhibition and submit to our multimedia installation prize category. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 30 General Capabilities: ICT Capability Creating texts: Year 3 (ACELY1682) • Year 4 (ACELY1694) • Year 5 (ACELY1704) • Year 6 (ACELY1714) • Year 7 (ACELY1725) • Year 8 (ACELY1736) • Year 9 (ACELY1746) • Year 10 (ACELY1756) Use of software: Year 3 (ACELY1685) • Year 4 (ACELY1697) • Year 5 (ACELY1707) • Year 6 (ACELY1717) • Year 7 (ACELY1728) • Year 8 (ACELY1738) • Year 9 (ACELY1748) • Year 10 (ACELY1776) Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively MULTIMEDIA INSTALLATIONS Extend on your ideas: create an exhibition or installation inspired by your group's poetry. INSPIRING INSTALLATIONS The Poetry Object Multimedia Installation category Working with Wire allows you to collaborate with your peers while by Albuera Street Primary School, Year 4, 2015 extending conceptual and visual thinking. 'We considered how we could transfer the perception Creating an installation allows you to explore of our talismanic object to wire: we were not merely a range of ways to present your poems and to replicating its appearance, but more intuitively discover broader potential audiences for your work. thinking of what impression it has made on us. The Consider perspectives through visual arts, music, viewer may hold the piece and simultaneously delve the humanities, STEM and more. What's the best into the words written in the box.' location: the classroom, the library, the garden, ~ Albuera Street Primary School the school hall? Think soundscapes, postmodern pastiches, and environmental or scientific thematics. 'The experience of working with wire mirrors View more inspiration. the poets’ experience of working on a poem: bringing together words and objects, facts and representations, the look of things but also the feel SUBM IT YOUR WOR K FOR THE of things. The wire can itself serve as an image of MUL TIME DIA INSTALLA TION PRIZ E how syntax can work in poetry, turned and worked together to make something new.' CATE GORY: Send a title, some images ~ Lisa Gorton, Poetry Object Judge 2015 and a short description or reflection to poetryobject@redroomcompany.org. © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 31 General Capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking; Personal and Social Capability; ICT Capability. Creating texts: Year 3 (ACELY1682) • Year 4 (ACELY1694) • Year 5 (ACELY1704) • Year 6 (ACELY1714) • Year 7 (ACELY1725) • Year 8 (ACELY1736) • Year 9 (ACELY1746) • Year 10 (ACELY1756) Use of software: Year 3 (ACELY1685) • Year 4 (ACELY1697) • Year 5 (ACELY1707) • Year 6 (ACELY1717) • Year 7 (ACELY1728) • Year 8 (ACELY1738) • Year 9 (ACELY1748) • Year 10 (ACELY1776) Best of luck with your poetry! Submissions close 27 September. Some quick links for further inspiration: Poems to Share II » Explore past winning poems by Poems to Share II is a new learning resource students and teachers created by Red Room Poetry in partnership » Read more poems by with the Australian Association for the Teaching professional poets of English (AATE). This boxed set features 40 poems and activity cards to spark imagination » Browse the library of over 15,000 and creative writing, and a digital trove of Poetry Object submissions curriculum-linked learning sequences. » Watch our short animations of Poetry Inspired by original poems from Poetry Object, Object winners in 2017 and 2018! this interactive resource is designed to enliven poetic learning through language, Get in touch literature and literacy. We’d love to receive your feedback on this learning resource and to hear your GET YOUR COPY teaching stories. Poetry Object Producer: Emma Rose Smith ISBN 978-0-909955-02-1 RRP $32.95 P o ems Office: (02) 9319 5090 Email: poetryobject@redroomcompany.org to Sh a r e II © RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT 2019 32
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