PO Box 1389
Darlinghurst NSW 1300
Telephone 02 9319 5090
Mobile 0425 312 334
info@redroomcompany.org
ABN 35 103 464 446
MEDIA RELEASE
25 October 2009
SEA THINGS COMPASS POINTS NORTH
A duffle bag stuffed with newly minted poems from
commissioned poets and the general public are Brisbane-bound
on the next leg of a unique national literary project.
The “cargo” is aboard the Hoegh Transporter, which left Port Kembla on the NSW South Coast
today, having earlier voyaged from Hobart and Melbourne as part of the launch of the project
called Sea Things.
Sea Things involves a two month journey by vessels along both the East and West Coasts,
collecting poems that celebrate Australia’s historical maritime links and Australian’s love affair
with the oceans.
The Sea Corporation’s Kimberley Rose set sail for Darwin from Fremantle last Sunday with its
own duffle bag full of poems from school students and other members of the community.
The Hoegh Transporter is due to berth in Brisbane on Thursday 29 October, whereupon the
precious cargo will be taken ashore under lock and key to await the addition of further poetic
instalments.
On 4 November, Queensland-born poet Luke Beesley will perform original verse
commissioned for the project in honour of the duffle bag leaving port for Cairns on the
Alexander Spirit…expanded by poems by local writers Bronwyn Hope, Getano Bann and
students of Kelvin Grove State College.
Beesley’s poetry has been published and performed internationally and he has received awards
from The Australia Council, Arts Queensland, the Eleanor Dark Foundation, City of Melbourne
and the Asialink Foundation. He has collaborated with illustrator Johnathan Oxlade, fashion
designer Dani Klein, chamber music ensemble Collusion and visual artist Vicky Shukuroglou;
and has also been involved in a number of major public art projects. In 2007 his poems were
sandblasted into the walkway of the new Eleanor Schonell Bridge. Luke's first book, Lemon
Shark, was Highly Commended in the Anne Elder Award. His second book, Balance, is
forthcoming and includes poems from his recent Asialink residency to India.
“No stretch of the Australian coastline is more in tune with the sea – and more connected to the
nation’s maritime history– than Wollongong to Brisbane,” commented Johanna Featherstone,
the Artistic Director of The Red Room Company, the project organiser.
“Sea Things aims to build on Australia's maritime poetry tradition in a contemporary context,
imagining the nation’s sea history through new work that can be shared nationally and
internationally through print, audio, film and web forms.
“It’s a project that invites intrigue and adventure, danger and politics. Not just the sea itself but
also the coastline, harbours and beaches, what happens above and below the surface of the
sea.
PO Box 1389
Darlinghurst NSW 1300
Telephone 02 9319 5090
Mobile 0425 312 334
info@redroomcompany.org
ABN 35 103 464 446
“The east coast’s links to the oceans speak to rhythm,
sound, image and memory.
“At each of our stops, we want to collect material from
the community and by the time we disembark on
Thursday Island our duffle bags will be bursting, for they
will contain so many voices, songs, sounds and secrets
that people have shared with us.”
The project’s “Spiritual Skipper” is David Jordan, who spent
25 years in the Royal Australian Navy, including Captain of Patrol Boat
HMAS Bendigo and Frigate HMAS Warramunga, with deployments to the Pacific
Islands and Asia.
Dave has been a regular competitor in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, and Voyage Captain
of Young Endeavour. David was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 2002.
People can submit poems for placing in the bags in several ways:
1. Turn up to the live events that occur at either the arrival or departure of the duffle bags, on a
2. Email them to bonny@redroomcompany.org.
3. Post them, no later than Monday 9th November, to:
The Red Room Company, PO Box 1389, Darlinghurst, NSW 1300.
After Cairns, the duffle bag heads to Thursday Island for a special celebration involving
performances by the community and students at the Tagai State College.
The complete set of works will be flown from Thursday to Sydney in November for a public
performance on Sydney Harbour.
Media inquiries: Johanna Featherstone, Red Room Company, on 0425 312 334, or
Graham Cassidy, Cato Counsel, on 0419 202 317
The Red Room Company creates, promotes and publishes a spectrum of poetry by Australian writers, in
unusual ways. The company is not-for-profit and is supported by The Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation,
The Australia Council for the Arts, Arts NSW, The Ian Potter Foundation and The Keir Foundation.
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