state library of queensland

Last night I won the Mackay heat of the Australian Poetry Slam 2012. It was the first time the competition was hosted in Mackay. It my first time competing in slam. I had memorized my piece titled “Of course” and used a lot of hand/arm gestures, which were largely spontaneous. I was very thankful for the hugs and high fives from my lovely friends who came out to cheer me on.

Earlier in the day I attended a slam workshop hosted by Ghostboy who truly inspired and invigorated me. He MCed the slam, which made for a hilarious evening. I was the fourth poet of the night of nine total competitors. The second place poet and I will be competing in the State final on 7 September in Brisbane. The top two from the State final win entry into the National final in Sydney. Winners of the National slam go on a literary tour of China.

I’m looking forward to attending the workshop hosted by a.rawlings this afternoon. It’s going to be a bit of a starstruck moment for me. I studied her work in multiple CanLit classes during my undergrad in English at UBC. Her book Wide slumber for lepidopterists changed my conception of contemporary poetry.

Since we’ve been in Mackay, I’ve been missing Brisbane. The coffee shops, the restaurants, the city gardens, and especially the libraries. The State Library of Queensland is one of the best places in the city to work, to socialize, and to get inspired. Here are few of the notable features of the SLQ.

There are yellow privacy tents that hang from the ceiling.

There are rich colours and textures used through-out the library.

There are informal reading areas that double as performance spaces, like ‘The Red Room’ pictured above.

There are multiple nooks, each with a unique display such as these paper leaves hanging from the ceiling.

There’s the Asia Pacific Design Library where I could spend days perusing the texts.

There’s even Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan. I felt right at home.