That Poetry Thing at Smith’s
Brenda Goggs and Kathleen Bleakley
$10 / $5 ENTRY
That Poetry Thing presents Brenda Goggs (ACT) and Kathleen Bleakely (NSW) + open mic.
Brenda Goggs has a foot in two worlds as a practising Visual Artist and former teacher of English. Exhibiting woven tapestry over the past 25 years, she has focused on Australian identity and the landscape as an ‘object’ in an imperial cabinet of curiosities. She is excited by connections between things, where art and literature collide and where everyday moments reveal the sublime, just for a moment. She insists that the world continues to be a place of wonder, even in the suburbs, and even when things go wrong. These ambiguities provided the inspiration for her first published poetry collection Cracks in the Path, (Ginninderra Press, 2025), about living in the national capital surrounded by the public monuments which frame suburban life. As a visual artist, Brenda has interrogated literature and interpreted work by Gerald Murnane, Patrick White and David Malouf, and collaborated with poets Geoff Page and Alan Gould.
Kathleen Miriam Bleakley (kmb) was born in Morocco; and has lived and travelled in diverse places — OS and Oz. She spent over half her life in Canberra; and has lived in Wollongong for over a decade. kmb writes poetry and prose including hybrid forms. Her ekphrastic writing (responding to other art forms) and artistic collaborations reflect her creative arts background. The heart of kmb’s collaborations have been with her adored, late partner in life and art — ’pling — renowned and remembered by Canberrans for his performance photography and deep engagement in arts / cultural life. kmb and ’pling published three collaborative books with companion exhibitions. 'Toupie' is kmb’s seventh collection and a homage to ’pling.
Sign up for open mic on the night - three minutes per poet.