Big yay for my dear friend Toby Davidson coming on down to Melbourne from the NSW Central Coast. Toby is in town to launch his new poetry collection (Readings Carlton w/ Mal Mckimmie also launching a new book). Launches give you a fine taste of the poet's work, but we've got him for two whole sets at Cherry! Plus open mic of course. Sign up from 1.30, gig starts at 2pm.

Bio

Toby Davidson is a West Australian who has spent half his life on the East Coast. What does that make him? A poet. His first collection Beast Language (Five Island Press, 2012) was followed by Four Oceans (Puncher and Wattman, 2020) and now The Grand Reopening (Puncher and Wattman, 2025). Toby lives on Darkinjung Country on the NSW Central Coast and teaches and researches Australian poetry at Macquarie University. As a scholar, he is best known as editor of Francis Webb's Collected Poems and he is currently curating a series of publications, podcasts and events to celebrate 100 years since the birth of this legendary postwar poet, one of the first to write openly about mental illness and to challenge colonial myths. Toby's own poetry has been highly commended in the Michael Wesley Wright Award and published widely, most recently in Westerly, Cordite, Island and Antipodes. Toby hates long bios and now feels a tad embarrassed, but he's always up for answering the call and cause of poetry.

COST: Free

ACCESSIBILITY: Step up to access to venue. Staff can assist with entry for wheelchair users. Toilets may be too narrow for wheelchair access.