THE POETRY COMPANY
The Poetry Company will perform a special poetry reading.
The Poetry Company is Australia's leading organisation for commissioning, creating, publishing and promoting poetry in meaningful ways. They have a reputation for excellence and invention, delivering projects that are unparalleled in their quality, scale, professional payment of poets, cultural impact, amplification and engagement of poets, students and audiences of all ages.
Reflecting the diversity of Australian voices, The Poetry Company commissions and publishes poetry of all styles and stages — page, performance, spoken word, experimental, digital, musical and visual. They develop creative and critical contexts where poetry is explored across languages, landscapes and mediums in and beyond literary communities to make Australian poetry and creative expression widely accessible.
As well as appearing at our Free Concert on 28 November 2026, you can take part in a workshop during the day with Nicole Smede and Luke Patterson - Writing Local: Experiments in Poetry and Place.
NICOLE SMEDE
Nicole Smede is a Warrimay and cross-cultural multidisciplinary artist based on Wadi Wadi Dharawal Country. Working across sound, voice, poetry and installation, her practice explores the interrelationship between land, language and memory, guided by ancestral knowledge. She has received numerous fellowships, residencies and commissions, including the First Nations Residency Fellowship at Bundanon and the Ngarra-Burria First Peoples Composers Program. Her works include Nyiirun Yiiga (We Are Here), a large-scale choral work in Gathang language, and Bagandha yanggamba-ngga (Country Sings in Me), a video and sound installation. Her poetry appears in national anthologies, and her voice features on award-winning film soundtracks.
LUKE PATTERSON
Luke Patterson is a Gamilaroi poet, musician and educator living on Gadigal Country. His debut poetry collection, A Savage Turn (Magabala Books, 2025), was shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award, ALS Gold Medal, Judith Wright Calanthe Award, UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing and Australian Book Industry Awards, and highly commended at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Luke is a Wheeler Centre Next Chapter Fellow and has served as a judge for numerous literary prizes. His research and creative practice are grounded in extensive work with First Nations and other community-based organisations across Australia, including schools and correctional centres.