Author Talk: Robert Parr

Next date: Wednesday, 18 November 2026 | 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Robert's writing draws on lived experience to examine life’s challenges, relationships, the weight we carry and the moments that matter. He writes from an Australia that contains far more than the familiar bush portrait.

His poems travel through cattle, country, construction work, family kitchens and hospital wards, asking what strength means when a person is grieving, ill, in love or simply trying to get through the day. The rural humour of All Hat and the quiet delight of Summers Day sit beside poems that examine depression and death without surrendering their interest in life.

Parr’s plain-spoken style gives difficult subjects a way into conversation. He uses rhyme for momentum, repetition for pressure and abrupt changes of tone to make a listener pay attention.

His speakers are not always versions of himself, lived experience, observation and imagination all contribute to the work.

At his best, he gives a complicated feeling a memorable form, the fairy wren in Restless Night, the unanswered 'why' in Ambulance, or the two families held together by loss and hope in Transplant Family.

The journey behind these poems matters, but it does not define their limits. Parr’s work invites us to consider an Australian story in which resilience includes doubt, tenderness, humour and the courage to speak plainly about what carrying on can cost.

Today Robert shares his passion for poetry and the creative act through The Untamed Mind Project where he facilitates resilience workshops for schools, workplaces and communities.

Through public speaking, poetry and workshops, Robert opens lines of communication and builds connection. His work creates opportunities to discuss what matters in our society and how creativity can help us express ourselves, connect with others and build resilience.

Bookings are required and open 4 November 2026.

When

Location

Bundaberg Library, 49 Woondooma Street, Bundaberg Central, 4670, View Map