Poem of the month. Here is a nonsense poem just for a bit humour and to get you thinking about making up your own words. It is Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll and published in From Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1872). Enjoy!

Jabberwocky By Lewis Carroll

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought --

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

He chortled in his joy.

Just in case you are wondering what a poetry slam actually is - here is the lowdown:

•A poetry competition with a live audience. •The contestant has two minutes to impress the judges with their own original word artistry – using spoken-word, poetry, hip-hop, monologue and even story, contestants can choose to speak, sing, scream, rap, howl or whisper their words. •Poetry Slam heats are limited to 20 contestants. •Five judges are picked randomly by the host who throws gifts into the audience. Whoever catches the gift is a judge. •Five judges hold up score cards and give performers marks out of 10. Only the middle three scores for each performance are calculated. •The judges decision is final. •The performer with the highest score wins. •Two winners only from each heat will compete in a state final, to be hosted from State and territory libraries. •If contestants tie for a place, there will be a "slam –off" to decide the winner. •Heat winners secure a place in the State Final at the State Library of NSW on 13 November, 2009. •The grand final will be held in Sydney on 3 December, 2009 at the Sydney Opera House. Poetry Slams have had popular appeal in the US for over 20 years. The interest in the dynamic art form has increased in Australia in the past four years. The Australian Poetry Slam 09 is an initiative of the State Library of NSW, and is supported by state, territory and public libraries and festivals across the country. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding & advisory body. For more information about the event please contact Cowra Library on 6340 2180 or Central West Libraries Reading and Writing Coordinator Jasmine Vidler on 6393 8125.

Cowra Library is one of 8 regional centres selected to host an Australian Poetry Slam Heat. It is fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to showcase their performing talents and be part of this exciting event. It is most like theatre sports. Performers sign up on the night and have two minutes to impress the judges with their rap, rhyme, story or spoken word performance. Cowra will host the Australian Poetry Slam Regional Heat on Friday 3 July at Cowra Library from 5.30pm. People who want to perform can sign up from 5pm. Five judges are selected randomly from the audience and the middle scores averaged out for each performance. So it is a fair competition and anyone can win on the night. We need people to get up and have a go and they could go on to win the State or even National titles and of course, we need an audience. They will have a great time. Also see talented word artist Miles Merrill perform. It is brought to you by the State Library of NSW.

Submissions of short stories up to 5000 words are now invited for the second annual Perilous Adventures Short Story Competition. Entries close August 28. Stories may be in any genre: from the weird to the wacky, the sassy to the sublime. Speculative, serious, criminal or romantic, realist or reactionary, we look forward to reading a wide range of stories. They are looking for stories that combine a riveting story with clear but eloquent prose. Stories that surprise, stories that move. Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of $10.00, payable by cheque, money order or direct deposit. You may enter as many times as you wish, as long as each entry is better than the one before. The winning story and three shortlisted stories will be published in the Perilous Adventures magazine. All four finalists will win a free weekend retreat at Olvar Wood Writers Retreat 16-18 October, 2009. Queries can be sent by email to:subs@perilousadventures.net

Congratulations to all the winners in the 2009 Banjo Paterson Writing Awards. The judges had a difficult time with the high standard of entries in all sections this year. The judges' comment for the Prose/Short Story section was that "as a collective they encapsulate the richness and diversity of Australian life, exploring characters as diverse as rodeo cowboys, sponge cake judges and reflecting on timeless themes of love, friendship and betrayal." The Awards recognise Orange's literary history and further encouraged writers to develop their craft. The winners are: Prose/Short Story: Peter W. Bishop, of Scone, NSW for "Lukey"; Panagiotis Papathanasiou, of Hackett, ACT, for "The Lure"; Sarah Michell from Lithgow, NSW for "Going Without".

Open Poetry: Judy Johnson, Cardiff, NSW for "The Bushranger's Bible"; Mark Miller, of Shoalhaven Heads, NSW for "Small-Town Journal"; Jo Mills, of Darlington, WA for "Ledge Beach".

Bush Poetry: Ron Stevens, of Dubbo for "The Shame of Staying Put"; Ellis Campbell, of Dubbo, NSW, for "Eulogy of Crows"; Kristen Martin, of West Beach SA, for "Memories by the Murray".

Children's Writing Awards: Isaac Bath, of Duramana NSW for his poem "Bushfire"; Samuel Bath, of Duramana, NSW for his poem "Ducks of the Wild"; Rebekah Ritchie, of Forest Reefs, NSW for her story "The Climbing Experts".

The Yvonne Zola Encouragement Award goes to Lachlan Fenemor, Orange for his story "Doggie Adventure".

With this chilly and bleak weather it may be just the time to think about beaches. Meuse Press is publishing an e-anthology of poetry tentatively titled Guide to Sydney Beaches. It will explore the essential qualities of Sydney's various beaches and will be placed on the internet in such a way as to draw readership that may not normally read the poetry art form. The anthology will not appear on paper and there will be no money in, so no payment out to contributors. You are invited to submit up to 3 poems. Submissions should be in the body of the e-mail, single spaced Times New Roman 12p, and be accompanied by a three line bio. Your e-mail should indicate which beach each poem concerns. Prior publication is no problem but you should include acknowledgement. There will be a broad definition of Sydney beaches, from Terrigal to Thirroul. Send contributions to Les Wicks. Email leswicks@hotmail.com Closing 20 June. And just to let you know Les is leading a poetry workshop in Orange on Sunday 30 August. Cost $20. All enquiries to Central West Writers' Cente phone 6393 8125 or email: writing@orange.nsw.gov.au

The NSW Writers' Centre and the Blake Society will award a prize of $5000 to the poem or suite of poems of up to 200 lines that best explores the religious and spiritual in poetry. The Blake Poetry Prize is non-sectarian but does expect poems entered will have a recognisable religious or spiritual integrity. For Entry forms and details go to nswwc@nswwriterscentre.org.au, info@blakeprize.com.au or call (02) 9555 9757. Entry is$20 per poem and closing date is 12 June 2009.

Meet Don Tate, author of The War Within – regarded as one of the most extraordinary memoirs ever published in Australia. You will also see colour film of his infantry experiences in Vietnam during 1969 now valued at $100,000.

Don was permanently disabled when his platoon was ambushed by a Viet Cong company entrenched in bunkers in July 1969. He subsequently spent more than two years in military and repatriation hospitals. Don recounts his remarkable life story in The War Within.

He has appeared on: RPA, A Current Affair, Today, Susie and the 7.30 Report. Meet Don at: Orange City Library, Byng Street, Orange on Wednesday 3 June 12 noon – 1.30pm, please RSVP by calling 6393 8132 or

Come to Cowra Visitor Information Centre Olympic Park, Mid Western Highway, Cowra on Wednesday 3 June 5.30pm – 7pm, please RSVP by calling 6342 4333.

The Write around the Murray Festival, based at Albury, will be held from Wednesday 5 August to Sunday 6 August 2009 and leading up to the festival there are some great opportunities for writers including the AlburyCity Short Story Competition and Masterclass with Debra Adelaide. For the Short Story Competition the theme is open and length for the Open category is up to 3000 words, Secondary (Years 7 – 12) up to 2000 words and Primary (up to and including Grade 6) up to 1000 words. There is a registration fee of $10 and cash prizes to be won. Entires close on Friday 26 June. And applications close on Friday 29 May for the Masterclass with author Debra Adelaide. The program is designed for experienced writers who already have a substantial work in progress, fiction or non-fiction, and keen to explore ways to develop or complete their work. Cost of the program is $400 which includes the Masterclass and two night's accommodation at Month in the Country, breakfast and lunch Saturday and Sunday and a ticket to the festival dinner at 7pm on Saturday evening. Places are limited to six. Applicants are required to send a draft portion of their work with the application. This should be a chapter or an extract (3,000 – 5,000 words) accompanied by a half-page synopsis of the entire work. They would also need to bring a chapter or extract on the first day to circulate amongst participants. Please email writing@orange.nsw.gov.au if you would like a short story registration form or Masterclass Application Form or contact Festival Coordinator Robyne Young directly via email: ryoung@alburycity.nsw.gov.au. The full program of events is scheduled to be released on Wednesday 17 June, 2009 so visit the website http://www.writearoundthemurray.org.au/ then for event details.

Okay, it's new, it's different - it is here to stay. The Poem of the Month aims to enrich your life with imagery and words and our first is by Central West writer Kim Core who launches her first book of poetry titled in the NAKED FLAME at Cowra Library on Saturday 23 May 2pm - 4pm. Kim has been inspired by many of Australia's foremost poets and she names several - Rosemary Dobson, Ron Stevens, Grant Caldwell and Les Murray as whom she most admires. In the NAKED FLAME is a collection of poems inspired by Kim's reading of Shakespeare's Sonnets. You are invited to meet this passionate poet and help her successfully launch in the NAKED FLAME. She will be assisted by the Cowra Music and Dramatic Society and Friends of the Cowra Library. Special guests include poets Geoffrey Lehmann and Jacqueline Buswell. Everyone is welcome to attend.

***Makes My Heart Sing*** by Kim Core

we live in such a world

of hurry

and it's not that I

would like to slow it down

forever

however

I would like to prolong

some special

movements/sounds

like

the mouse's zigzagging dart

the kookaburra's laugh

the look in an eagle's eye

as it catches mine

before it goes in

for the kill

I would like

to be able

to transmit a message

that redirects his flight path

lets another wild thing

live

I like to hear the wind

breathe

its sigh of relief