In February and March Andrew ran poetry workshops at two venues and read poetry at a third.

On 25th February he read a poem and discussed his book Two Poets (with Kevin Gillam) at the Perth Writers Festival breakfast organised by Fremantle Press and held at the Western Australian University.

On 10th March he ran an Advanced Poetry Workshop on “Alternative Poetic Forms” at the Peter Cowan Writers Centre.

On 23rd - 25th March he ran three workshops and participated in a discussion panel on “Poetry and Music” at the 2012 Storylines Festival of Children’s and Young Adults’ Literature at All Saints College.

The National Library of Australia has published two of Andrew’s poems - “At the Close of Summers to Come” and “Caterpillars” - in an anthology titled Little Book of Butterflies (ISBN 9780642277404).

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As stated in the blurb on the back cover, “Little Book of Butterflies, is a delightful blending of images of Australian butterflies, from the Librarys collections, with Australian poetry. In the hands of artists such as Ellis Rowan, Harriet and Helena Scott, John Lewin and Charles McCubbin, the transience and beauty of these delicate creatures enliven the words of inspiration, hope and reflection by well-known poets including Judith Wright, Andrew Lansdown, Dorothy Shaw, Diane Fahey and Mudrooroo. A gorgeous showcase of butterfly illustrations and poetry, Little Book of Butterflies will appeal to all those searching for a perfect gift or a beautiful publication to savour for themselves.”

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The National Library of Australia has published poems by Andrew in two other anthologies: The Little Book of Trees and The Little Book of Cats, and has requested permission to use another of his poems in the forthcoming anthology, Little Book of Banksias.

Six of Andrew’s poems have been included in the new 1108 page anthology, Australian Poetry Since 1788, edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Rober Gray and published by the University of New South Wales Press.

The rationale for the antholgy is stated on the inside jacket:

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“A good poem is one that the world can’t forget or is delighted to rediscover. This landmark anthology of Australian poetry, edited by two of Australia’s foremost poets, Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray, contains such poems. It is the first of its kind for Australia and promises to become a classic.

“Included here are Australia’s major poets, and lesser-known but equally affecting ones, and all manifestations of Australian poetry since 1788, from concrete poems to prose poems, from the cerebral to the naïve, from the humorous to the confessional, and from formal to free verse. Translations of some striking Aboriginal song poems are one of the high points.

“Containing over 1000 poems from 170 Australian poets, as well as short critical biographies, this careful reevaluation of Australian poetry makes this a superb book that can be read and enjoyed over a lifetime.”

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The poems the editors selected from Andrew’s body of work are: “Four Men”; “The Grasshopper Heart”; “A Good Night”; “The Muff Bees”; “Warrior-Monk”; and “Lighting a Match”.

Retailing for $69.95, Australian Poetry Since 1788 can be purchased from bookshops, or from the publisher at: http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/isbn/9781742232638.htm

Several reviews of Australian Poetry Since 1788 can be found here:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/10348507/book-review-australian-poetry-since-1788ForceRecrawl/

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/poetic-justice/story-e6frg8n6-1226145770823

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/australian-poetry-since-1788-shows-were-not-averse-to-a-lot-of-verse/story-e6frg8nf-1226143450027

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/1788-and-all-that-verse-20110930-1l0×4.html

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Calabrian artist Krisztina Szabo wrote to Andrew this week stating, “Recently I have found a beautiful poem of yours that inspired me to paint a picture. Actually I would like to post your poem on my blog”.

The poem Krisztina referred to is “Almond Blossom Haiku”. Read Andrew’s poem and view Krisztina’s paintings at: http://arteonweb.blogspot.com/2011/05/mandorlo.html

Paintings (above and below) - ALMOND BLOSSOM / MANDORLO (1 & 2) by Krisztina Szabo

The winner of the 2011 Fremantle Press Online Tanka Competition has been announced today.

Andrew was one of the judges. Wendy Jenkins was the other.

Andrew wrote the final Judges’ Report on behalf of both judges. The Report, which has been posted on the Fremantle Press blogsite (here), is reproduced below:

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Judges’ Report - Fremantle Press Online Tanka Competition

Dr_Irina Webster recently interviewed Andrew for her Inspiring Author TV website. The 14 minute interview has now been posted on that website and on the YouTube website.

View the interview on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONZu8v85ut0&feature=player_embedded

View the interview on the Inspiring Author TV website here: http://www.inspiringauthortv.com/watch.php?id=ONZu8v85ut0

Australian Poetry Ltd has produced a second edition of Dear Dad, which includes a poem, “In from the Garden”, by Andrew.

Celebrating dads, this anthology makes an attractive alternative to the average Father’s Day card. It includes fine poems about dads from poets across the country. This is the second and final edition of Dear Dad.

The second edition features a new original cover design by Melbourne artists Gracia & Louise.

Order copies of Dear Dad from the Australian Poetry website here.

The Fremantle Press launch Two Poets was a great success.

The book contains Andrew’s latest collection, The Colour of Life, which consists of 97 poems, most of them previously uncollected. The other collection in the book is Songs Sul G by Kevin Gillam.

View photographs of the launching on the Fremantle Press website here.

Read sample poems from Two Poets here and here.

Fremantle Press has posted media information about Two Poets here.

Purchase Two Poets throught the Fremantle Press website here.

The West Australian newspaper has a pre-launching article about Two Poets on its website here.

Photograph (above) courtesy Fremantle Press:

Fremantle Press has invited Andrew to co-judge its tanka competition. The other judge is Wendy Jenkins. Read the competition details on the Fremantle Press blogsite here: http://www.fremantlepress.blogspot.com/

To assist entrants, Fremantle Press asked Andrew to write an overview of the tanka, its history and formal requirements. Andrew’s short essay has been posted on the Fremantle Press blogsite and is reproduced here:

Talking about Tanka

by Andrew Lansdown

The tanka is a poetic form with a long and rich history. It originated in Japan in the sixth or seventh century and quickly became that nation’s dominant poetic from. The first national poetry anthology, Man’yoshu, compiled in the eighth century, contains 4,500 poems, of which 4,200 are tanka. The 21 imperial anthologies compiled between 905 and 1439 contain over 33,600 tanka.

The Japanese word “tanka” means “short poem” or “short song”. True to its name, a tanka is a short poem consisting of five lines and 31 syllables. The lines are measured by syllables and form a pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables respectively.

Arrangement of lines by syllables is a key feature of the tanka and this feature can be reproduced as effectively in the English language as in the Japanese. The 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure guides the phrasing of the poem and lends balance to not only the individual lines but also the poem itself. … [READ MORE - http://andrewlansdown.com/poetry/poetry-collections/consolations/]

The Books Editor of the West Australian newspaper, William Yeoman, interviewed Andrew and three other poets whose books will be released by Fremantle Press this week.

Excerpts of the interviews appeared in an article titled “Collections of verse sung in a human key” in the West Australian on Tuesday, 5 July (”Today” section, page 7).

Read the full article here: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/arts/9786754/collections-of-verse-in-a-human-key/

Photograph (by Simon Santi for the West Australian) from left to right: Andrew Lansdown, Kevin Gillam & Michael Heald

The June issue of Quadrant contains Andrew’s poem “Being Bamboo”. You can read it on the Quadrant website: https://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2011/6/being-bamboo

Andrew has been invited to read at the Perth Poetry Club on Saturday, 9 July. Come and hear him read poems from his latest collection, The Colour of Life in Two Poets (Fremantle Press, 2011).

The Perth Poetry Club meets at the Moon Cafe in William Street, Northbridge, on Saturdays between 2.00 - 4.00 pm.