‘Playing with poetry allows us to take risks in our writing. And that often leads to quirky, original writing that embraces our innermost truths. In doing so, we also tap into universal truths. By letting loose and having fun, we remove the polite gloves of societally imposed civility.’

‘This is what a sense of disquietude can contribute to an author’s writing: your work can become a ghost in a reader’s mind long after they’ve turned the last page.’

‘What’s special about poetry is that because it’s such an unrestricted form, with so many permutations, every word and every line can be an opportunity for surprise.’

‘So much of writing happens entirely alone and entirely inside our own brains… it can be very easy to lose perspective. Collaboration and community are so important because of that: they keep me sane, and often stop me from despairing. I also find collaborative projects to be really energising and sparky, and that excitement almost always bleeds into the rest of my work too.’

‘Every footstep taken on this continent connects each of us to an impossibly vast story, and for me poetry can often be the best way to comprehend that relationship to place and time.’

‘It’s a strange magic of poetry that the more specific you are, the more widely your poem will be understood.’

‘The interplay between the desire for brevity and longer forms has always been something poets have been able to play with…poetry is infinitely flexible, it gives us so many ways to reach out to the reader.’

‘I really believe there’s a lot of ancestral knowledge that pertains to the power of storytelling. It’s not only a way to bridge cultural gaps but also a way to teach, critique systems, and build community.’

Anne-Marie Te Whiu joined First Friday to speak about her background as a writer, editor and festival director, the state of poetry publication in Australia, and how to make a career as a poet in Australia.