Octagon Poetry Collective – the story so far

I have done no research on this but it’s possible that every third person is a poetry lover. Even in the ice-box depths of a Dunedin winter, good crowds turn out for poetry readings, and for organisers, there is a choice of potential guest readers that is wide and deep. 

It’s been that way for a long time. A few years ago, I was asked by Caroline Davies, editor of the on-line magazine Down in Edin, to write something about the Octagon Collective. I was on the collective organising committee at the time. For this, I did do research. I approached every poet I knew, and asked: what do you remember? What is the story of live poetry in Dunedin? 

The response was generous and detailed. Some older poets had vague memories of readings in the Captain Cook Hotel, but specific stories began with John Gibb’s recollections of poetry in the Lager Bar of the City Hotel on the corner of Moray Place and Princes Street in the early 1980’s. The City Hotel is no more, but the poetry lingers. John could even remember lines from one of Sue Heap’s poems:

 ‘…the pain that gets me through the Spring has holes of joy that will not mend…’ 

The list of names of poets who read in the Lager Bar is impressive. As well as John and Sue, readers included Brian Turner, Chris Moisa, Bill Sewell, Marion Jones, Jeanne Bernhardt, Rob Allen, Joanna Paul, John Dickson, Kai Jensen, and from Auckland, David Mitchell. 

In the 1990’s, Richard Reeve launched the literary journal, Glottis: New Writing with Nick Ascroft and Corrin Black. So began the Glottis readings. At first, these were in the Robbie Burns Hotel in George Street, and over the years moved to the Fuel Café in Frederick Street, then to the Arc café in Rattray Street, and when the Arc closed, to the Crown Hotel. Many still active in today’s live poetry scene have fond memories of these readings. Kay McKenzie Cooke says that she met Martha Morseth at the Fuel. As older poets in a young crowd, Kay and Martha gave each other moral support, but Kay is grateful for the unconditional welcome she was given by Richard and Nick. Peter Olds and Jenny Powell read here, as did Emma Neale, freshly returned to NZ from London. Emma was glad to find there was such vibrant live poetry here, and describes the addictiveness of ‘the energy and sense of community at these events.’ She was also drawn in by the ‘crazy, bohemian mystique.’

The sense of community and the support are themes that recur when poets reminisce about these days. But at some point, this went awry. Several of the women mention a change due to a small number of men, who were openly misogynistic. The women describe ‘walking a gauntlet’ just to get up to the microphone. Their solution was to establish a women-only series of readings. ‘Upfront’ was begun in 2004 by Martha Morseth, Jenny Powell, Kay McKenzie Cooke, Claire Beynon and Sue Wootton. We met upstairs in the Cobb and Co (now the Wig and Gown) Hotel in lower Stuart Street. Men were welcome as audience, and there was one night later on, when male poets were invited as guest readers. Women gained considerable strength from these events, many new poets emerged, and I’m grateful that I was one of them. I often wonder whether I would have ever had the confidence to write poetry and read it in public, if not for the warmth and acceptance I found at Upfront. 

In 2006, Richard Reeve, Jacob Edmond and Donelle Karagedikli, with others, formed the Octagon Poetry Collective, with monthly readings in the Circadian Rhythm Café in St Andrews Street. Richard says that the plan was to build on Upfront’s supportive and inclusive approach, but to bring the men back in. This was hugely successful. (I should mention that I have no idea who those misogynists were, but I’ve never smelled a trace of anything similar since 2004, when my own involvement with Dunedin poetry began. Good riddance.) 

The Octagon Collective readings continued at Circadian Rhythm until the café closed in 2015, and since then have found a home in the Dog With Two Tails Café and Bar in Moray Place. The aim is to be as open and inclusive as possible. There is an organising committee of volunteers to spread the work load. The committee invites guest readers, usually two for each event, and calls for volunteers to be MC. Open mic is truly open. The only restriction is a request to read only one poem per person, so that there can be time for everyone. As far as I’m aware, no one who has wanted to read, has ever not been given their time at the mic. So the variety is huge, and the poets who read range from poets laureate to first-timers. Novices are especially welcome and given extra applause. Sometimes performers add music, or dance, or use languages other than English. An effort is made to grab visiting poets, from elsewhere in NZ, or from foreign parts, and invite them to read. It is always vital, always surprising. The public is welcome. An appreciative audience helps poetry to flourish. 

The Collective is everyone who participates and helps make it work. But special thanks are always due to the volunteers on the organising committee. There can be quite a lot of work involved. At the moment, the committee is Linley Edmeades, Genevieve Scanlan, Ian Loughran, Jacob Edmond, Richard Reeve, Diane Brown and Nicola Thorstensen Blaikie. Readings are on the second last Wednesday of every month, at the Dog With Two Tails, beginning at 8pm. Please come. Come early to be sure of a seat. 

(Special thanks to Caroline Davies, for permission to use the longer article, from which this material is taken. To read the full piece, complete with poems, see issue 4, downinedinmagazine).