Multicultural poetry event for Margaret River Library

Residents interested in creating their own poetry, especially as a way to capture their own unique experience, have the chance to rub shoulders with some of the State’s most recognised multicultural poets later this month. The Margaret River Library will host a special evening of multicultural poetry on Thursday, June 22, and Indian-Australian poet Lakshmi Kanchi will guide participants through a hands-on workshop the following morning. The events also included local poet and librarian Ana Brawls as well as Vuma Phiri and Jerome Masamaka, alongside Kanchi. Library operations co-ordinator of Kerry Darnell said each writer’s work came “from a place of deep reflection, to honour their ancestors and assert their identities”. “Guests to this event will feel inspired and moved by the poetry presented, which explores joy, pain, loss, happiness, and many other human experiences” Ms Darnell said. “We are extremely fortunate these WA poets are happy to share their talents with the Margaret River community and for us to be able to support those who choose writing as a career.” Kanchi told the Times she was looking forward to making the trip down south from her usual base as the poet in residence at Cockburn’s The Wetlands Centre. Published in numerous journals and magazines, Kanchi said she couldn’t recall a time in her life when she wasn’t writing poetry. “In that sense, I was always a poet,” she said. “In recent years, I have taken the opportunity to stand up and participate, attend events and open mics, and really get hands-on. And so, I have ‘become’ more of a poet than I ever was.” Kanchi saw sharing stories through poetry as a “fundamental building block” of strong communities. “Poetry is such a powerful, fluid, and cathartic medium to talk about some hard-hitting and personal subjects that are the basis of some of my stories,” she said. Multicultural poetry was “about breaking the viewpoint into prisms of perspectives”. “We all see the world differently, and bringing unique perspectives into mainstream dialogue and giving diverse voices an opportunity to be heard and acknowledged is valuable,” Kanchi said. “Especially as the most isolated State in the world, our culture should be one of sharing and learning from one another.” Brawls, who lives in Margaret River, said she started writing poetry as a cathartic process after the death of her father 15 years ago, and had since continued themes of family and personal history interwoven with her experiences since moving to WA more than a decade ago. “It is something that is always inspiring what I do, in a way – family and heritage,” she said. “My writing became more comfortable once I let that in.” Writing in English as well as Portuguese, Brawls said her choice depended on the story she wanted to tell. She was looking forward to presenting alongside her peers and said it was a “gift” for Margaret River to get exposure to the multicultural poets, with Western Australia fortunate to have such a strong poetry scene. While the upcoming events were free, registrations were essential via amrlibrary@amrshire.wa.gov.au or the listing on Eventbrite.