LARSEN | KEYS – Page 8 – writer | rabble-rouser

National reading symposium wrap-up

Australia is a nation of readers, with reading the second most popular way we engage with art, culture and creativity (after listening to recorded music). Yet 44% of us have low or very low literacy, 25% haven’t read a book in the last year, and recent research shows a 7% drop in the number of young people reading for pleasure.

Nearly double the number of Australians engage in reading every week than playing or watching sport, but sport takes place in the public realm and is so is seen as more integral to and defining of the Australian identity – including receiving significantly more investment.

And another thing: less is (still) necessary

On the one-year anniversary of my #LessIsNecessary campaign, my latest instalment of ‘and another thing’ is about our ongoing workforce crisis and the regressive nonsense of employers wanting to punish workers for standing up for their rights.

WritingWA reviews Public.Open.Space.

Huge thanks to Jess Checkland, whose review of Public. Open. Space. was published by Writing WA this week.

Poetry lesson plans

Poetry is EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE can read, write and enjoy it.

To coincide with the launch of Public. Open. Space., I released four short videos for teachers, librarians and workshop leaders on how to incorporate poetry and technology activities into your workshops and lesson plans.

And another thing: Zoom fatigue and our hybrid future

When Zoom has Zoom fatigue, what hope is there for the rest of us? This month’s ‘and another thing’ vlog talks about the depressing trend of employers ditching digital ways of working and the importance of fighting for a more hybrid future.

ArtsHub reviews Public.Open.Space.

Huge thanks to Esther Anatolitis, whose speech from this week’s Public. Open. Space. launch in Naarm/Melbourne has now been published by ArtsHub.

Doing it differently: fit-for-purpose governance models

I enjoyed rabble-rousing about how we could (and should) be doing governance differently with Cecilia Anthony and Diversity Arts Australia’s Lena Nahlous for Creative Australia’s Governance Conversations webinar series in July 2023.

And another thing: let’s all take Mondays off

t’s time for us to reject the idea that too-much-work-for-too-little-pay is a problem our sector can’t solve. This month’s ‘and another thing’ vlog talks about why and how we could make it happen).

Public. Open. Space. on The Garret podcast

“I think it’s important for writers to bump up against our level of comfort and to question the assumptions and the privilege that we carry with us. That’s not always a comfortable process.”

I had a lovely chat with Astrid from The Garret pocast about poetry, arts funding and The Relationship is the Project following the launch of Public. Open. Space. in June.

Don’t give up your day job: why poetry has bad PR (and why you read more of it than you think)

When I signed my publishing contract with Fremantle Press last year, my partner immediately started joking about resigning from work – to wave celebratory pompoms at my book events and writers’ fests, soothe my perpetually poetically-furrowed brow, and make sure my favourite brand of poetry-inspiring beverage is always close to hand.