Your Guide to QPF

We're kicking off the festival season this Friday with Queensland Poetry Festival - a free, two-day celebration of poets and poetry held at the (rather lovely) Judith Wright Centre. It's always pretty great, but I figured I'd knock in some of my highlights below to give you an idea of the diversity, the titles and maybe nudge you in a few directions.

FRIDAY
The Official Opening from 6pm followed by Set Fire to the Air. Shane Rhodes! Eleanor Jackson! QPF has pretty consistently featured a brilliant singer-songwriter - last year having opened their festival with a set by the (rather tremendous) Holly Throsby. This year, Bertie Blackman will be taking the stage so you know it's going to be an awesome launch.

SATURDAY
First Thunder Spoke, 10:30 - 11:30. The combination of Ynes Sanz, Zenobia Frost, Sachiko Murakami and Aden Rolfe is pretty close to a perfect modern poetry line-up

Alchemy and Praise, 2:45 - 3:45. Tao Lin! 'Nuff said. Or, if you'd prefer. Breathe the Shadow, on at the same time. Betsy Turcot and Jennifer Compton are both pretty amazing after all.

Dancing in Abstract, 4 - 5pm. I'd honestly recommend anything with Nathan Shepherdson, but as he's launching his newest collection here, the day the artists stood still, consider it doubly recommended.

SUNDAY
UQP Launch, 10:30 - 11:30. I've long been a fan of Rachael Briggs, so her winning the Thomas Shapcott Prize this year for an unpublished poetry manuscript is kind of wonderful. The launch of the winning collection, Free Logic, is a great way to start your Sunday.

Language of Light, 11 - 12pm. This session has an excellent line-up, including the awesome Vuong Pham and Sachiko Murakami. Definitely one to check out.

Sharp Accelerations, 5 - 6pm. The QPF Filmmakers Challenge is always an interesting mix of vivid imagery and languid words. The showcase for this years finalists is sure to be great.

And, of course, how can you miss the festival close? Especially with a name like Kissing the Dawn, the end of the festival will stage some of the best and most compelling voices of the festival and say farewell to the rest in style.

You can check out the full program over at the website.