An Open Poem to Australian Poetry, from Australian Slam Poetry

Show Us Where You're Publishing was first published on this blog here in 2009, and also featured in Miscellaneous Voices, Australian Blog Writing #1 (Miscellaneous Press, 2010). Now seems an opportune time to revisit it.


the thing is / i have been writing some
& if so inclined cd mic those thoughts
across / & blow your mind
i wrote a poem just last night
& not just anything
bt one-a those damn-i-just-gotta
read-this-to-somebody-it
just-might-be-genius pieces:
yoko ono wz always gonna be a problem
it’s called

see / i cn tell yd dig it
just from watching you
digest the title

i wd like to broadcast it
bt here’s the thing:

the centre’s been looking
for poets to tour again
where r you publishing
show us where you’re publishing
they're asking

packing bars / & radio waves
doesn't seem to mean a thing
they just want to see the paper
where r you publishing your poems

as if all that matters is print destination
& not that almost a hundred people
wd brave horizontal rain to get to
somewhere you’re doing your thing
on stage

i wanna give you a poem / bt
i’m broke & it’s that time of year
again / when every god forsaken writer
in this place / comes
shaking the tin & fillin those
applications / i wd like
to be able to give you
a poem / bt my children
are hungry
& once again those folk
are saying
without saying it:
that thing you do
nah / you serious
don’t even come knocking