Vessels of Love 2024: Love in Transmission

Presented by Poetry Sydney over the week of Valentine’s Day, Vessels of Love 2024: Live in Transmission presents the voices and visions of 7 poets from Sydney and regional NSW, to celebrate poetry’s enduring role to overcome love’s distance and disconnection. This year’s iteration of VOL features Albert Lin, Ali Whitelock, Gillian Swain, Luke Patterson, Magdalena Ball, Paris Rosemont and Richard James Allen.

“Love travels via lines in transmission, in threads and thoughts, in communication. Across wires and waves between thumbs on keypads and satellites in the stars. Our loves are written in lines, often conveyed by electricity, silicon and precious metals.” Kelly Wallwork

Find out about our virtual program of love poetry.

Curated by The Salons, and inspired by Wallwork’s vision of love in transmission, we lean into the longing to harness the poetics of love, and tune into the possibilities of ready-at-hand modes of transmission. Thinking airwaves and waterways, we draw from the magical simplicity and accessibility of the letter, the photograph, the telephone, the radio, and the internet, channelling each as love’s instrument for poetic confession, connection and preservation.

Our bespoke program will activate both the real and virtual worlds: visit Gleebooks bookstores to discover our hidden poem phone and poetry art cards; enjoy short poetry films each day online; and hear performance poets and spoken word artists on indie radio stations. Vessels of Love 2024 also invites the broader online poetry and arts community to partake in our tides of love experiment, where shorelines will be transformed with sand-writings and eco-sculptures.