Poetry may not be her official profession, but eccentric Australian songstress Bertie Blackman is stoked to be a part of the Queensland Poetry Festival’s opening night.
“I’m a musician at heart … but I have always loved writing stories, and songwriting is a form of poetry. My experience of falling in love with poetry was through song.”
Being approached by the QPF organisers was not something that Bertie Blackman expected, but it’s not something she rejected, either.
“It’s kind of out of the blue … being a songwriter I dabble in a bit of poetry … [but] I've never played a poetry festival before so I am actually really looking forward to it.”
Bertie may not have been traditionally trained in poetry, but in her opinion, poetry is about a “singular voice expressing a moment or an emotion that is a part of you”.
Bertie was raised in a very creative and artistic environment, so poetry is not a strange world to her – her grandmother, Jane de Couvreur, was a self-published poet; and her father is the well-known Australian artist, Charles Blackman. So it goes without saying that “communication and being expressive was a huge part of [her] childhood”.
A lot of people believe poetry as an artform is decaying. But Bertie is not one of those people. Rather, she argues that the internet is keeping poetry alive.
“The fact that you can self-publish … and post up different forms of expression [on the internet] has opened up bigger doors for the traditional poet ... I think it is an artform that has been around for a long time and isn't in any danger of disappearing any time soon.”
She might not be a traditional or professional poet, but her last record, ‘Pope Innocent X’, begs to differ. “‘Pope Innocent X’ is quite a cinematic record, it’s really about the words.”
The album, written far away from home in Chicago, explores the intimate stories of her childhood. “I'm really excited to play this record at the [Queensland] Poetry Festival,” Bertie exclaims.
Bertie Blackman Performs at The Queensland Poetry Festival opening night at The Judith Wright August 23.
