Two of the stars of Gloucester Rotary’s annual Bush Poetry in the Saleyards event will combine their talents on stage together for the first time this Saturday night.

“All four of us, Gabby, myself, Wyatt Hall and Greg North, will be performing at least one poem together,” Claire said.

“It’s something we haven’t done before but the audience is sure to love it.”

Both ladies revel in the atmosphere of the saleyards and they freely admit the receptive audience is what keeps them coming back year after year.

“It’s the best venue I’ve performed in,” Gabby said.

Claire was just six years old when she recited her first poem in public and Gabby was 10 when she started taking a real interest in poetry.

The ladies have become seasoned poetry performers, demonstrating their considerable abilities on stages across the region and the State and have supported the Bush Poetry in the Saleyards since its inception. 

“When you’ve been doing this as long as Claire and I have you soon learn what works and what doesn’t, and this certainly works,” Gabby said.

Claire said good bush poetry still had strong appeal.

“It’s really the only form of poetry that can be recited for entertainment,” she said.

“I love it because it has more than a grain of truth about who we are, why we are the way we are and it’s something that you don’t find in the history books.”

Both women write their own poems, but also enjoy learning those poems written by others. Gabby said plenty of preparation went into a live poetry performance.

“A lot of people think because you know a poem it’s easy to stand up and recite it,” she said.

“But you do have to brush up regularly to stay in practice. When you’re on stage and forget a line it’s the most awful feeling in the world, but it happens to everyone.”