This July we are joyfully doubling up on the offerings. Poet and teacher Laura Jan Shore will be flying in from the US to feature at Poetica Petit on July 4. She will also be teaching a workshop the night before on July 3. Laura writes and teaches poetry in the Byron shire and will be in Sydney for this short stint to read from her fourth collection of poetry, The Generosity of Birds. We are also delighted to have ukulele player Carol Ruff join us to open the night with music and song. And of course we have the grand old open mic PLUS wine and cheese and kombucha. Join us for one or both nights of poetry. The workshop will be in Randwick and Poetica Petit will be downstairs in the Cultural Hub. Limited seats so best get booking!

Workshop bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/mining-for-odes-a-practice-of-awe-writing-workshop-w-laura-jan-shore

Poetica Petit bookings: https://www.woollahragallery.com.au/Whats-On/Events/Poetica-Petit-2024#

Laura Jan Shore writes and teaches poetry in the Byron shire. Her poetry collections include Breathworks (Dangerously Poetic Press, 2002), Water over Stone (Interactive Press, 2011), Afterglow (Interactive Press, 2020). Her latest, The Generosity of Birds won the 2023 Louis Award, Concrete Wolf Press, Oregon, USA, 2024. Her work has appeared in anthologies and literary journals on four continents including The Griffith Review, Magma and The Best Australian Poems 2013. Her readings have included Poetica, on Radio National, The Brett Whitely reading series, the Hudson Valley Writer’s Centre in NY, Perth Poetry Club, Byron Writers Festival, and Queensland Poetry Festival among many others. In 2019, she received her MFA in Poetry from Pacific University in Oregon.

Carol Ruff aka Coral Reef is a singer/songwriter and ukulele player. She writes songs about love, art and war with warmth and humour, and jazz, folk and swing influences. She has been playing ukulele since the mid 70s when she received her first lessons from Mic Conway of the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band. She was working in children’s theatre and the ukulele proved to be a perfect instrument. Carol lives in Clovelly where she runs Gallery East. She is well known in the ukulele world as the curator of the Hula Dreams hand painted ukulele exhibitions and ukulele concerts. She teaches ukulele at Gallery East where she has inspired many musicians. Ruff is also a prolific artist who spends a great deal of time painting in Central Australia, and she brings her artist’s eye to her lyrics. She released a CD, Java Nights, in 2016.