Paul Kooperman Australian Poetry Interview

Paul Kooperman Australian Poetry Interview

Australian Poetry, a new organisation launched in January 2011, is already making waves in the broader community, establishing a new model for arts organisations in Australia. In less than three months, it has launched the following innovative initiatives turning poetry on its head, finding new exciting opportunities for Australian poets and establishing a sustainable model for the organisation, heralding a new era for the art form in Australia.

Interview with Paul Kooperman

Question: Can you talk about the intension of the Australian Poetry organisation?

Paul Kooperman: Australian Poetry aims to promote excellence in the art form, build new audiences for Australian poets and poetry, be sustainable as an organisation and completely inclusive. We run events programs, develop opportunities for touring, publication, and professional development as well as partner with non-literary organisations such as the Sebel Pier One Sydney, L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and Relationships Australia to build audiences and integrate poetry into all aspects of Australian life. We are especially keen to develop exciting innovative initiatives such as an Australian Poetry iPhone app and the Cafe Poet Program, which sees poets as residents in cafes all over the country, receiving free tea and coffee while they write.


Question: Are you surprised at how fast the organisation has taken off in Australia?

Paul Kooperman: I am a little surprised, but we had a good 'running start', as AP is the merger of the Poets Union in NSW and the Australian Poetry Centre based in Melbourne, which were already starting to develop ideas to raise the profile of poetry in Australia. The organisation, Australian Poetry Ltd, and the projects we've very quickly got off the ground, have sprouted from many years of experience, thought and development.


Question: How does Australian Poetry organisation find new exciting opportunities for poets?

Paul Kooperman: Mainly by partnering with a range of organisations, not just other literary or arts organisations. We are interested in our leading poets developing their craft and receiving opportunities to tour, be published and read at prominent festivals, but we also want to see poetry at the football, in fashion, in the home, for babies, on airplanes and on major landmarks and buildings. This is the future of poetry and we're excited things are moving this way.


Question: Can you talk a little bit about what the Café Poet Program entails?

Paul Kooperman: The Cafe Poet Program places poets in cafes as 'poets in residence' for a six month period. The poet is given space to write (maybe two or three times a week - in consultation with the cafe) as well as complimentary tea and/or coffee and in return the cafe gets to be part of this community, promotion and the opportunity to plan events with the poet enriching the cultural life of the cafe (and hopefully the number of patrons). The program began at AP in February 2009 and has been a huge success, placing more than twenty poets in cafes all over the country and receiving extensive media coverage.


Question: What is on the Australian Poetry iPhone app?

Paul Kooperman: Our iPhone app, called Australian Poetry, is a list of Australia's leading poets, poetry organisations, publishers of poetry, literary festivals and writers' centres. It helps poets, and people interested, find out about competitions, prizes and venues to read, or hear poetry, at convenient locations.

Question: Can you talk about the opportunities surrounding Poems on Pillows?

Paul Kooperman: Poems on Pillows is a competition where the winners get to have their poems placed on every pillow in every room at the Sebel Pier One Sydney for the duration of the Sydney Writers' Festival. On the surface, it's an opportunity for poets to be acknowledged by a wider audience than just their families or peers, but the bigger picture is audience and partner development. This is an early step in building long term partners to genuinely raise people's awareness of Australian poets and poetry. A partnership like this, hopefully leads to a slightly bigger partnership, increases in audience, further media attention and, before too long, Australian poetry is seen on planes, buildings, on grand final day and in mainstream media.


Question: What is the Australian Poetry website?

Paul Kooperman: www.AustralianPoetry.org

The site is a facility for poets and poetry organisations (and interested parties) from around the country to upload their events, find out about events, resources and opportunities. It's a platform to announce exciting projects, share information and build the brand of Australian Poetry.


Question: Could you talk about your writing career?

Paul Kooperman: I began in the nineties writing plays on a semiprofessional basis, until I moved to Sydney to write for the TV show, Home and Away. From there I worked on other TV shows for a few years before writing a feature film which was funded and produced but died at the box office. It led me to Stacey Testro (Executive Producer of the SAW horror film series), who put me on staff to write feature films for her production company. I have since gone 'freelance' and continue to write TV, film and theatre on a project by project basis.


Interview by Brooke Hunter