September 25, 2015
Nanango is known as the home for musicians in the South Burnett … and with the town’s strong Irish ancestry, it may become the home for poets as well.
On Thursday night, in a departure from its usual informal music jam sessions, The Shed in Nanango hosted its first-ever poetry reading.
Poet Luke Kingsley Green took to the stage to give selected readings from his three books (Junk Male, Addictionary and The Users Manual) while a small but attentive crowd of about 25 guests thoughtfully sipped on wine and bit into cheeses and crackers.
Luke has been a practising poet since 2010.
His style and subject matter owe more to the Beat Poetry movement of the 1950s than they do to William Wordsworth or John Keats, so the audience was warned in advance the night was strictly an 18-plus event.
But the crowd appeared to enjoy Luke’s thoughts on life and love, and his readings were frequently peppered with applause.
Afterwards, guests were free to chat with the author and – if they wished – purchase autographed copies of his books.
The idea for the evening came from The Shed’s founder Jane Erkens, who has been running the venue for more than a year.
Every Friday night, local musicians (and anyone who wants to listen) get together at the tin shed at the Little Drayton Street end of the Scott Car Park for an informal jam session that runs from 7:30pm until late.
Jane plays a bodhran (Irish frame drum) herself; has performed at a number of venues around the South Burnett and overseas; and is a regular visitor at the Maidenwell Folk Festival.
She said she wanted to create a venue where South Burnett musicians could kick back and have fun without the pressure of needing to please an audience.
In July, the venue was used to launch local musician Chrissy Lauder’s first CD, and this week’s poetry night was another tweak to the basic concept.
Next year, Jane hopes The Shed will begin holding live music nights featuring local bands on Saturday nights.
The concept will be given a trial run on a monthly basis.
Anyone interested in finding out more is welcome to phone Jane on (07) 4163-1677.
- Related article: Chrissy Was Inspired To Create
