THE HINTERLAND POETRY TRAIL STORY
From Dream to almost Reality
The Pente Poets are a group of poets from the Sunshine Coast hinterland and coast, who have been meeting and writing together for nearly ten years. The group has published three anthologies – Fridays at Flaxton, Some Other Landscape and Hinterland to Headland: A Poetry Trail for the Sunshine Coast. From diverse writing backgrounds and possessing very different poetic styles, the Pente Poets are serious about their craft.
The Poetry Trail Poets
Three members of the Pente Poets – Judith Bandidt, Deanne Lister and Lyn Browne – have a vision of bringing poetry to people. Their mission is to enrich the cultural experiences of people who reside in, or visit, the Sunshine Coast – particularly those who have not seen poetry as part of their lives or indeed, the world around them. To this end they have been involved with poetry readings, sharing their poetry at private functions, public speaking engagements and literary festivals, and publishing their work in private collections and anthologies.
For some time, their vision has included establishing a poetry trail for the Sunshine Coast, linking a number of poetry pathways or individual sites across the region. At each site, poems would be embedded in the landscape in a manner that would enable a natural synergy to be created between the arts and the environment.
Throughout 2015 members of the Pente Poets traversed the Sunshine Coast hinterland and coast, immersing themselves in a range of different environments. Their third anthology Hinterland to Headland is an outcome of this research.
During this time the three poetry trail poets began working with the Sunshine Coast Council Public Art officer to develop the poetry trail concept and made contact with arts and community groups, connecting and interacting with sculptural artists in particular, to expand their understanding of the possibilities and potential for a poetry trail. The tangible outcome of their efforts is the collaboration that has become the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Poetry Trail project.
In January 2016, the poets presented their hinterland poetry at the Hinterland to Headland poetry event at four iconic Sunshine Coast locations, sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Environment Council, and supported by Creative Alliance and YADCA.
Project coordinator Judith Bandidt explains the purpose of poetry trails.
'Poetry trails are based on the principle of arts-based place-making, providing creative spaces that help to build public awareness of the links between poetry, art, people and place. By their very nature they can create a better understanding of the power of poetry to appeal to the imagination, to inspire, to entertain and to move – for people of all ages,' she said.
During 2016, the poetry trail poets narrowed their focus to three very different sites in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. These are popular public spaces that appeal to a wide demographic – families, local community, Sunshine Coast residents, visitors to the region.
1. Little Yabba Creek Fig Tree Walk, Kenilworth
2. Russell Family Park, Montville
3. Heritage Walking Trail, Maleny Precinct, Maleny
Here the poets talked to historians and community members, found inspiration and wrote and recorded their poetry trail poems. A sculptural approach was decided upon to link these sites in a hinterland poetry trail. In designing the poetry trail the poets kept the original mission to the forefront of their thinking – the poetry trail would help to make poetry accessible and relevant, and have a strong connection to people and place.
Sunshine Coast sculptural artists were identified through an EOI and selection process, and three finalist artists with wide international and Australian experience in their fields were selected by a panel including community representatives. The artists now set to work designing place-making public art for the three sites, with poetry written by the poetry trail poets for and about the hinterland featuring as integral elements of the designs. Inspiration for both poems and designs was drawn from the heritage and unique environments of the localities involved.
The Poetry Trail sites, poetry, artists and sculptures
Site images may be viewed at: www.pentepoets.com/poetry trail
LITTLE YABBA CREEK, KENILWORTH
For this poetry trail site on the banks of Little Yabba Creek near the Fig-Tree Walk, artist Barry Smith has designed an eye-catching sculpture featuring a large buttressed root, inspired by the rainforest nearby, to be fabricated from brushed aluminium, with poetry excerpts inscribed on the buttress sides. Poetry written for this site relates to the river and the forest, and how this precious environment was preserved for future generations to enjoy. The work of forester Charlie Moreland is recognised.
'stop and listen ... not a sound
stillness surrounds
forest giants dreaming in the sun
this is where we dare
to lose ourselves
in the silence ...'
– Judith Bandidt
The Little Yabba site is popular with visitors seeking a rainforest experience, bushwalkers on the way to the Conondale Ranges, campers, local families, travellers. Who could resist the impulse to investigate the buttress root sculpture, find out why it's there, complete the Fig-Tree Walk and relate their own experience to the trail poets' poems – children and 'big kids' alike.
RUSSELL FAMILY PARK, MONTVILLE
Here a poetry pathway is planned with three separate panels to be placed in garden beds beside walkways bordering the lagoons. Artist Wayne Smith will use a range of media in an innovative way, with images and poetry themed around the indigenous heritage of the area, the bunya feasts and gatherings, Montville’s early farming era, reflections on changing times and the special character of the park itself.
'Here, the bustle stops.
Here, the rush of ocean
is a whisper on the wind
far far below ...'
– Deanne Lister
Nestling behind Montville's main street, Russell Family Park is a gem of the hinterland, a public space of calming ambience, popular with locals and visitors and families using its picnic shelters and playgrounds. The poetry panels are designed to encourage visitors to engage with the art pieces, read, listen and reflect.
MALENY HERITAGE PRECINCT
Sculptor Wayne Markwort has designed three relief sculptures, to be carved from Helidon sandstone boulders placed alongside a section of the Maleny Heritage Trail leading from the trailhead near historic Pattemore House. The designs were inspired by the wide sweeping hills and open skies of this extraordinary place, set high on the range. Here the poetry trail poets found inspiration in the history of Fairview, the original farm on this land.
'Take all the lives lived in the curve of this land.
Each journey we take is a way to find home ....'
– Lyn Browne
Easily accessed from the Golf Club carpark, the Maleny poetry pathway will appeal to anyone walking the heritage trail – those who enjoy the outdoors, fitness seekers, locals walking dogs, visitors. Viewed from the Golf Course, it will intrigue. Those who pass by the stones and listen to the recordings will be able to reflect on how time has wrought change upon the land. Further poetry about Fairview may be found at Pattemore House.
As well as excerpts on the sculptures, the complete poems read by the poets themselves will be available in audio format at sites with internet access. At the Little Yabba Creek site a poetry post will display poems written for this site. A book of hinterland poetry written specifically for the project by the three poetry trail poets will be available at Information Centres, museums, local businesses and facilities close to each site.
Poetry Trail Project Stage III
This is a three-year staged project, managed by the poetry trail poets, auspiced by Hinterland Business Centre with consultancy advice provided by Art4 Place. The project has strong support from local communities and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Two discrete stages have now been completed.
STAGE I – Concept development, research, poetry writing (funded by RADF, completed 2015)
STAGE II – Proof of concept 'Hinterland to Headland' poetry performance event in January 2016 at four Sunshine Coast venues – Yandina, Maroochy Botanic Gardens, Mary Cairncross reserve, Alexandra Headlands (sponsored by SCEC, Pente Poets, YADCA and Creative Alliance)
Community consultation and continuing liaison
Artists expression of interest and concept drawings (funded by RADF)
Poetry writing, recording and review
Artists design development (funded by Mayoral and Councillor McKay discretionary funds, completed October 2016)
The Poetry Trail project committee is pleased to announce that through the Public Art assessment panel, Council has approved the Hinterland Poetry Trail Project to move to STAGE III – art creation, installation, promotion and launch, anticipated to take place during 2017.
Sourcing funding for this final stage of the hinterland poetry trail is now the main focus for the poetry trail committee. A range of options is being explored, including grants for the arts sector, community sponsorship and donations through the Australian Cultural Fund.
The poetry trail is a community arts project, led by the poets concerned, for the benefit of community, both local and extended. Funding for Stage III is required for art creation work by the artists, installation of the sculptures at the three sites, promotional expenses and launch of the poetry trail. Public support is a vital component of the funding plan to see the project through to completion.
For information on how to support the hinterland poetry trail project through Australian Cultural Fund tax deductible donations, or to request a sponsorship package, contact the project coordinator Judith Bandidt through this website contact page.
Project progress can be followed on the Poetry Trail page at www.pentepoets.com.
'We invite you to join with us, and the poetry trail artists, in celebrating the rich diversity, natural beauty and heritage significance of the Sunshine Coast hinterland through supporting this grass-roots initiative.'
The Poetry Trail Poets
Judith, Lyn and Dee
A dream becomes a reality in 4 stages: dreaming, wanting, planning, and doing. Courage is the glue …… (anon)
Judith Bandidt 15.10.2016
Hinterland Poetry Trail Project Manager
www.pentepoets.com/poetry trail
From Dream to almost Reality
The Pente Poets are a group of poets from the Sunshine Coast hinterland and coast, who have been meeting and writing together for nearly ten years. The group has published three anthologies – Fridays at Flaxton, Some Other Landscape and Hinterland to Headland: A Poetry Trail for the Sunshine Coast. From diverse writing backgrounds and possessing very different poetic styles, the Pente Poets are serious about their craft.
The Poetry Trail Poets
Three members of the Pente Poets – Judith Bandidt, Deanne Lister and Lyn Browne – have a vision of bringing poetry to people. Their mission is to enrich the cultural experiences of people who reside in, or visit, the Sunshine Coast – particularly those who have not seen poetry as part of their lives or indeed, the world around them. To this end they have been involved with poetry readings, sharing their poetry at private functions, public speaking engagements and literary festivals, and publishing their work in private collections and anthologies.
For some time, their vision has included establishing a poetry trail for the Sunshine Coast, linking a number of poetry pathways or individual sites across the region. At each site, poems would be embedded in the landscape in a manner that would enable a natural synergy to be created between the arts and the environment.
Throughout 2015 members of the Pente Poets traversed the Sunshine Coast hinterland and coast, immersing themselves in a range of different environments. Their third anthology Hinterland to Headland is an outcome of this research.
During this time the three poetry trail poets began working with the Sunshine Coast Council Public Art officer to develop the poetry trail concept and made contact with arts and community groups, connecting and interacting with sculptural artists in particular, to expand their understanding of the possibilities and potential for a poetry trail. The tangible outcome of their efforts is the collaboration that has become the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Poetry Trail project.
In January 2016, the poets presented their hinterland poetry at the Hinterland to Headland poetry event at four iconic Sunshine Coast locations, sponsored by the Sunshine Coast Environment Council, and supported by Creative Alliance and YADCA.
Project coordinator Judith Bandidt explains the purpose of poetry trails.
'Poetry trails are based on the principle of arts-based place-making, providing creative spaces that help to build public awareness of the links between poetry, art, people and place. By their very nature they can create a better understanding of the power of poetry to appeal to the imagination, to inspire, to entertain and to move – for people of all ages,' she said.
During 2016, the poetry trail poets narrowed their focus to three very different sites in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. These are popular public spaces that appeal to a wide demographic – families, local community, Sunshine Coast residents, visitors to the region.
1. Little Yabba Creek Fig Tree Walk, Kenilworth
2. Russell Family Park, Montville
3. Heritage Walking Trail, Maleny Precinct, Maleny
Here the poets talked to historians and community members, found inspiration and wrote and recorded their poetry trail poems. A sculptural approach was decided upon to link these sites in a hinterland poetry trail. In designing the poetry trail the poets kept the original mission to the forefront of their thinking – the poetry trail would help to make poetry accessible and relevant, and have a strong connection to people and place.
Sunshine Coast sculptural artists were identified through an EOI and selection process, and three finalist artists with wide international and Australian experience in their fields were selected by a panel including community representatives. The artists now set to work designing place-making public art for the three sites, with poetry written by the poetry trail poets for and about the hinterland featuring as integral elements of the designs. Inspiration for both poems and designs was drawn from the heritage and unique environments of the localities involved.
The Poetry Trail sites, poetry, artists and sculptures
Site images may be viewed at: www.pentepoets.com/poetry trail
LITTLE YABBA CREEK, KENILWORTH
For this poetry trail site on the banks of Little Yabba Creek near the Fig-Tree Walk, artist Barry Smith has designed an eye-catching sculpture featuring a large buttressed root, inspired by the rainforest nearby, to be fabricated from brushed aluminium, with poetry excerpts inscribed on the buttress sides. Poetry written for this site relates to the river and the forest, and how this precious environment was preserved for future generations to enjoy. The work of forester Charlie Moreland is recognised.
'stop and listen ... not a sound
stillness surrounds
forest giants dreaming in the sun
this is where we dare
to lose ourselves
in the silence ...'
– Judith Bandidt
The Little Yabba site is popular with visitors seeking a rainforest experience, bushwalkers on the way to the Conondale Ranges, campers, local families, travellers. Who could resist the impulse to investigate the buttress root sculpture, find out why it's there, complete the Fig-Tree Walk and relate their own experience to the trail poets' poems – children and 'big kids' alike.
RUSSELL FAMILY PARK, MONTVILLE
Here a poetry pathway is planned with three separate panels to be placed in garden beds beside walkways bordering the lagoons. Artist Wayne Smith will use a range of media in an innovative way, with images and poetry themed around the indigenous heritage of the area, the bunya feasts and gatherings, Montville’s early farming era, reflections on changing times and the special character of the park itself.
'Here, the bustle stops.
Here, the rush of ocean
is a whisper on the wind
far far below ...'
– Deanne Lister
Nestling behind Montville's main street, Russell Family Park is a gem of the hinterland, a public space of calming ambience, popular with locals and visitors and families using its picnic shelters and playgrounds. The poetry panels are designed to encourage visitors to engage with the art pieces, read, listen and reflect.
MALENY HERITAGE PRECINCT
Sculptor Wayne Markwort has designed three relief sculptures, to be carved from Helidon sandstone boulders placed alongside a section of the Maleny Heritage Trail leading from the trailhead near historic Pattemore House. The designs were inspired by the wide sweeping hills and open skies of this extraordinary place, set high on the range. Here the poetry trail poets found inspiration in the history of Fairview, the original farm on this land.
'Take all the lives lived in the curve of this land.
Each journey we take is a way to find home ....'
– Lyn Browne
Easily accessed from the Golf Club carpark, the Maleny poetry pathway will appeal to anyone walking the heritage trail – those who enjoy the outdoors, fitness seekers, locals walking dogs, visitors. Viewed from the Golf Course, it will intrigue. Those who pass by the stones and listen to the recordings will be able to reflect on how time has wrought change upon the land. Further poetry about Fairview may be found at Pattemore House.
As well as excerpts on the sculptures, the complete poems read by the poets themselves will be available in audio format at sites with internet access. At the Little Yabba Creek site a poetry post will display poems written for this site. A book of hinterland poetry written specifically for the project by the three poetry trail poets will be available at Information Centres, museums, local businesses and facilities close to each site.
Poetry Trail Project Stage III
This is a three-year staged project, managed by the poetry trail poets, auspiced by Hinterland Business Centre with consultancy advice provided by Art4 Place. The project has strong support from local communities and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Two discrete stages have now been completed.
STAGE I – Concept development, research, poetry writing (funded by RADF, completed 2015)
STAGE II – Proof of concept 'Hinterland to Headland' poetry performance event in January 2016 at four Sunshine Coast venues – Yandina, Maroochy Botanic Gardens, Mary Cairncross reserve, Alexandra Headlands (sponsored by SCEC, Pente Poets, YADCA and Creative Alliance)
Community consultation and continuing liaison
Artists expression of interest and concept drawings (funded by RADF)
Poetry writing, recording and review
Artists design development (funded by Mayoral and Councillor McKay discretionary funds, completed October 2016)
The Poetry Trail project committee is pleased to announce that through the Public Art assessment panel, Council has approved the Hinterland Poetry Trail Project to move to STAGE III – art creation, installation, promotion and launch, anticipated to take place during 2017.
Sourcing funding for this final stage of the hinterland poetry trail is now the main focus for the poetry trail committee. A range of options is being explored, including grants for the arts sector, community sponsorship and donations through the Australian Cultural Fund.
The poetry trail is a community arts project, led by the poets concerned, for the benefit of community, both local and extended. Funding for Stage III is required for art creation work by the artists, installation of the sculptures at the three sites, promotional expenses and launch of the poetry trail. Public support is a vital component of the funding plan to see the project through to completion.
For information on how to support the hinterland poetry trail project through Australian Cultural Fund tax deductible donations, or to request a sponsorship package, contact the project coordinator Judith Bandidt through this website contact page.
Project progress can be followed on the Poetry Trail page at www.pentepoets.com.
'We invite you to join with us, and the poetry trail artists, in celebrating the rich diversity, natural beauty and heritage significance of the Sunshine Coast hinterland through supporting this grass-roots initiative.'
The Poetry Trail Poets
Judith, Lyn and Dee
A dream becomes a reality in 4 stages: dreaming, wanting, planning, and doing. Courage is the glue …… (anon)
Judith Bandidt 15.10.2016
Hinterland Poetry Trail Project Manager
www.pentepoets.com/poetry trail