Friendly Street Poets



Friendly Street Poets is a poetry reading group and publisher in Adelaide, South Australia. It has some claim to be "Australia's longest running community open-poetry reading venue."

History
Friendly Street Poets was inaugurated as a fortnightly poetry reading on 11 November 1975, organised by Andrew Taylor, Richard Tipping and Ian Reid. It soon became a monthly event and after a couple of changes of venue is still running. In 1977 a selection of the best poets from that year's readings was published as the Friendly Street Reader, and a similar volume has been produced annually since then.

In the 80s Friendly Street began publishing volumes by individual poets and in 1995 the series Friendly Street: New Poets was begun. This consists of first volumes by three poets. Publication is in conjunction with Wakefield Press and Writers' Week at the Adelaide Festival. The group has prospered despite the 1988 disappearance of $13,000 of funding. Among the more well known poets to have read at the venue are John Bray, Jenny Boult, Louise Crisp, Steve Evans, Peter Goldsworthy, Jeff Guess, Rory Harris, Jeri Kroll, Mike Ladd, Kate Llewellyn, Jan Owen and Graham Rowlands.

Today
Friendly Street Poets meet every first Tuesday of the month (except January) at the SAWC East Rundle St. It costs A$5 /A$4 to come as a member with free wine and juices inside. Poets have 4 minutes time at a free microphone with no censorship. A Board of Management headed by a Convenor is elected each year and oversees all activities of the organization. The current Convenor is Maggie Emmett; Secretary : Jacque Clarke and Treasurer: Andrew Ellery.

An annual Reader is produced by two editors from all the poems read at the meeting. The editors of the thirty fourth Reader were Janine Baker and Alice Sladden. A New Poets volume is also produced each year. Previously unpublished poets are asked to sumit a 26 page manuscript and three are selected anonymously by an outside appointed judge. In 2008, Judge Ken Bolton selected three poets for publication : Tom Sullivan, Rob Hardy & Thames Valley (aka M.L. Emmett).On 13 March 2009, Chloe Fox MP representing the premier & Arts Minister th Hon. Mike Rann, launched Friendly Street Poets' 14th collection of New Poets. On alternate years a similar competition is run for the Single Poet volume where an 86 page manuscript is required.