Upcoming Events
Stephen Stockwell is Calanthe Poetry’s guest poet at the Zamia Theatre on Friday 15 May 2026.
Stephen is Professor Emeritus in Journalism and Communication at Griffith University. Previously he worked as a journalist at 4ZZZ, JJJ and Four Corners and as a press secretary. He plays sings and plays keyboards as a percussive instrument for Brisbane punk band, The Black Assassins. He was on the editorial collective of the Cane Toad Times 1983-91 and participates in its recent return. He wrote Political Campaign Strategy (2005) and co-edited The Secret History of Democracy (2010). Since retiring he has been exploring politics with poetry and produced The Voyage and the Vision (2021), The Phoenician Sonnets (2023) and 1975: The Ballads of the Whitlam Dismissal (2025). He lives at Burleigh Heads on the land of the Kombumerri clan of the Yugambeh people.
The next Calanthe Poetry POEMS ON THE PAGE poetry appreciation and discussion group will be on:
Saturday 9 May at 2pm
Creative Arts Centre, Wongawallan Rd, Tamborine Mountain.
This is a poetry appreciation and discussion group where we meet for around 2 hours to share and discuss as many published poems as time allows in a friendly and respectful manner.
Bring along a published poem or two (not your own, as this is not a writing or work-in-progress workshop) for general discussion, an enquiring mind, and a general love of poetry. Light refreshments will be provided.
For more information, or to RSVP, contact Poems on the Page convener Wendy Morgan via email: wendyrmorgan@outlook.com
Poets@Yuulong (Maddy Dale)
6:00pm arrival for 6:30pm start
Private home, outdoors, Tamborine Mountain
Address supplied upon booking
Wet weather alternative will be notified (if appropriate)
Entry by donation at gate
Bookings essential, book at calanthecollective@gmail.com (enquiries Geoff Cartwright, 0416 217 005)
BYO drinks, glasses and snacks (no catering available)
Ideally, bring a folding chair or a picnic rug
Maddy’s feeling for the natural world is palpable in every word she writes, which hit their target so well. Moving, surprising and very accessible, her poetry is both haunting and everyday in its themes and style. Now Brisbane-based, Maddy spent her formative years on Tamborine Mountain. She holds First Class Honors and a Masters of Philosophy from the University of Queensland, where she also tutors in creative writing. Her poetry manuscript Eleven Portraits of Drowning has been shortlisted from the Dorothy Hewett Award and the Thomas Shapcott Award.
Poets' Morning (Alice MacKinnon)
Where: Centre for Regenerative Arts, 6-8 Knoll Rd, Tamborine Mountain
Price: Entry by donation at door
Bookings essential, book at: https://events.humanitix.com/poets-morning (enquiries Geoff Cartwright, 0416 217 005)
BYO coffee and brunch (no catering facilities available)
Compere: Margy Rose
Music: Bella Acapella and others
A surfer, diver and bushwalker, Beechmont resident Alice Iona MacKinnon (aka Sally MacKinnon) has been crafting poetry that tells stories: of landscape, the body, tragedy, trauma, hope. As Guest Poet she’ll take us on a journey through her recent work. Blackboard poets are encouraged to choose poems loosely relating to Alice’s overall themes.
Part of a weekend-long event ‘In Consideration of Trees’, showcasing the visual artwork of Bronwyn Davies.