Poetry winner reflects on life
THE Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize 2021 has been awarded to a reflection of life amid pandemic lockdown, delving into how technology has both helped and hindered human connection.
Screen by professor Paul Hetherington received top honours in the national poetry competition, announced by the University of Southern Queensland.
The piece was selected from more than 1000 entries submitted by poets across the country.
“The poem’s title literally refers to the computer screen through which so many of us have been engaging in meetings via Zoom or related technologies,” professor Hetherington said.
“It is also a metaphor for the way we have increasingly been relating to each other from behind actual and technological barriers.
“The poem reflects on the kind of fragmentations and discontinuities that have occurred, not least the way in which our connections to others have so often been turned into weirdly discordant or outof-focus encounters.
“I suppose my poem is partly a plea for all of us to remember the value of truly humane and compassionate relationships that reach widely and generously, along with the importance of the imagination and imaginative travel.”
Paul Hetherington is a University of Canberra writing professor and distinguished
author of 15 poetry collections, a verse novel, and eleven chapbooks.
He said he was delighted to be awarded such a significant prize that had previously been won by various fine Australian poets.
“I’m especially pleased to have my name associated with someone as eminent as Bruce Dawe, whose poetry I’ve been reading for many decades,” he said.
“Dawe provides an excellent example of how poets may speak for what they believe in – as well as for their emotions and personal insights – which is increasingly important during a period when we need as much complex and nuanced expression as possible.”
Acting chair of this year’s prize and University of Southern Queensland writing lecturer Dr Kate Cantrell said the contest attracted many “pandemic poems”: musings on loneliness and loss, our warped sense of time or temporal orientation, and the traps of social isolation.
“Certainly, this year’s winners touch on the pulse of the times,” Dr Cantrell said.
“Screen takes its cues from its layout: the poem itself is shaped as a cracked screen, a comment on the snags and glitches of our new virtual reality, and in the words of the poem, an intimation of ‘how we disappear so quickly into this weird notion of ourselves’.”
THE September school holidays have been an exciting time for children involved in the Toowoomba Catholic Kindergartens and Care Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services across the diocese.
The theme for vacation care these holidays has been “Spring in the Park” and it was the first time the Toowoomba services experienced their excursion as a group.
More than 100 students from Mary MacKillop Catholic College, St Thomas More’s Primary School, St Saviour’s Primary School, Sacred Heart Primary School, Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, and Holy Name Primary School OSHC services joined together for visits to the parks around Toowoomba.
Visits to Laurel Bank Park and the Japanese Gardens were followed up by trips to Newtown Park, Peacehaven Gardens and Picnic Point.
“It’s great to see the children having so much fun outdoors, while they enjoy the parks and gardens at their finest, they also enjoy the simple pleasures of kicking a ball with their friends, the play equipment or just chilling with a couple of friends,” Donna Stahlhut senior manager: kindergartens and care said.
“We also have organised games and scavenger hunts for the children to explore the parks with.
Kids love to have fun, if you participate in their games, you will be surprised just how much fun you have.”
When they are not enjoying an excursion, they have a full schedule of activities that include movies, visits from entertainers such as balloon artists and puppeteers, loads of different craft, cooking, and technology education.
Students also do a lot of outdoor activities; group bike and scooter adventures, kite making,
sport and some are even building their own catapults and enjoying a jumping castle for a day. The diversity and variety of activities is endless.
“Our educators work with all children to create fun and recreational experiences so that a child’s wellbeing, learning, and personal development are a priority,” Ms Stahlhut said.