Foreword The Launceston Longpoem project had its genesis September 22 2001 and as result of an incidental brainstorm. As the Tasmanian Poetry Festival was looming (05/09/01), and the horizon was already somewhat behind it, there was a need to make some very quick decisions VQD.
Most importantly, if the idea was to go somewhere and be something more than yet another one of those ideas left in the dust for the sake of bit time invested in it, then someone had do something now. So they did!
Wallless7250 and the Tasmanian Poetry Festival picked up the ball and it's in play.
But "RULES" everyone shouts, what are they? "We are just playing" and "who needs rules" was the stern reply! "They do!" "We do!" That was the cry from out there in the ether.
So it was decided that the rules could be made up as we went along. And we did! And, that seemed appropriate on the last weekend in September when the Australian Prime Minister's agenda was filled up with football Grand Finals and SBS was broadcasting Gaelic Football too for some reason yet to be adequately explained.
Clearly rules are variable, subjective, a moveable feast, and if football could be played so variously, and everyone was having a good time, then why not 'rule-makeon-the-run'.
Anyway, the only reason you have rules is because you need some to break. Politicians do it, bureaucrats do it, people crossing roads do it, footballers even do it, so why not let poets do it?
\And anyway, if John Howard could suspend reality for a weekend with the world in crisis, and an election looming, then we thought we could do that too!
Rules of Engagement: Launceston Longpoem #1
The Launceston Longpoem is a cultural resource for the City of Launceston and it is expected that the poem will incorporate the widest possible range of styles, themes, languages and poetic forms.
Given this, the following rules will apply and they will be continuously reviewed during the course of the project.
1. Ownership:
a) All intellectual property in the Launceston Longpoem will be understood as being:
I. the collective cultural property of the Citizens of Launceston and Launcestonians wherever they are;
II. held in trust for by Launceston City Council (LCC) on their behalf;
III. with all benefits being reinvested by LCC in cultural production by Launcestonians in consultation with a Panel of Trustees (3 members) appointed by the Tasmanian Poetry Festival and Wallless7250 and the Panel holding the right of veto.
b) Moral rights in the Launceston Longpoem will be understood as being:
- The concern of the Launceston arts community;
- protected by Council on behalf of the community;
- with all assertions of those rights by LCC being made in consultation the Panel of Trustees with the Panel holding the right of veto.
I. Launcestonian's contributors' offerings will be understood as being a cultural investment in the City; .
II. with 'elsewhere' contributors' contributions being treated as a gift to the City. .
d) All contributions to the LauncestonLongpoem will:
I. be acknowledged as anonymous wherever the work is published; and .
II. be acknowledged separately, and for each contribution a contributor makes, at the end of the project as either: ... anonymous; ... a nom de plume; ... a pseudonym; or ... the contributors' own name as directed by the contributor - ie. John Smith makes 47 contributions (and there are 5 John Smiths) over the year, he will be acknowledged as John Smith #1 47; and
III. All users of the material contained in the Launceston Longpoem will:
- acknowledge the Launceston Longpoem;
- acknowledge its collective community ownership.
f) People from elsewhere will be required to:
I. pay a fee for the right to use any part of the Launceston Longpoem and one that is commensurate with the intended use;
II. pay a fee set by LCC in consultation with the Panel of Trustees;
III. observe the City's intellectual and moral rights as if it were that of an individual artist or author; and
IV. all intellectual property and moral rights issues will be resolved by:
- the Panel of Trustees in the first instance: and
- by an appointee of The Arts Law Centre of Australia if that process breaks down for any reason.
2. Management and Administration The Launceston Longpoem (# 1) will:
a) Operate between 2001 & 2002:
I. starting on the first Friday in October 2001; and
II. finishing on the Sunday following the first Friday in October 2002.
b) Grow by means of people making contributions:
I. that are their own original work;
II. that are delivered to the Launceston Longpoem via the Internet or in a digital format;
III. in incremental blocks of a 100 lines;
IV. that are made as often as contributors like but at the rate of one contribution per day; and .
V. typically in a text based format.
c) Added to by all poets contributing to the 2001 & 2002 Tasmanian Poetry Festivals programs with each poet:
I. contributing 4 A4 lines; and
II. to do with Launceston. thinking about Launceston, coming to Launceston, etc.
III. before the first Monday in September 2002.
d) Be translatable and publishable in various formats such as:
I. an edition of volumes in a book form plus in a CDROM/DVD format; and
II. a series of performances, exhibitions, installations, events, etc.;
e) Be representative of the widest possible range of styles, themes, languages and poetic forms that find expression in the Launceston community.
f) Be archived, ultimately, in a digital format and if possible in a hardcopy format as well so
3. Control The Launceston Longpoem (# 1) will be:
a) Edited by a nominee of the Tasmanian Poetry Festival and Wallless7250 and their determinations will be absolutely final and no correspondence will be entertained;
b) Curated by a nominee of the Tasmanian Poetry Festival and Wallless7250 in consultation with its Directorate and advisers it appoints from time-to-time;
c) Coordinated by a nominee of the Tasmanian Poetry Festival and Wallless7250;
d) Funded by sponsors the Tasmanian Poetry Festival and Wallless7250 can enlist in support of the project and who will be acknowledged during the course of the project in an agreed way(s).
4. Rule Changes The rules applying to the Launceston Longpoem (# 1) will:
a) Be changed at any time the editor and coordinator they see fit;
b) Be changed without any notice at all;
c) Be changed to fit available funding;
d) Be changed to fit sponsorship demands;
e) Be changed for any reason the Panel of Trustees believes is appropriate.
Until further notice: .
People wishing to make a contribution to the Launceston Longpoem can do so by emailing it to longpoem@CodeRED.7250.net [NO LONGER ACTIVE].
People wishing to join the Launceston Longpoem can e-discussion group at can do so by emailing longpoem_subscribe@yahoogroups.com [NO LONGER ACTIVE]
People wishing to monitor the progress of the poem may do so on http://wallless.CodeRED.7250.net .[NO LONGER ACTIVE].
It should be noted that Wallless7250 expect that the URL for the Website will change sometime in the next months but that URL will redirect them to the new site.
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