“Jon Stanhope (then Chief Minister) supported the idea and has been a great supporter of the arts,” Mr Grant says.

“Now we will have three great poets represented in Garema Place and they’ll be a standing reminder – a place where people can go and express themselves.”

Poets’ Corner celebrates the lives and achievements of AD Hope, David Campbell and Judith Wright, significant Australian poets who have a strong connection to Canberra and the region.

This new public art installation in Garema Place consists of three busts cast in bronze depicting the poets and mounted on stone plinths. “Private Poetry” by artist and poet Richard Tipping is located nearby as a contemporary addition to the traditional figurative sculpture.
Poets’ Corner was established in response to Mr Grant’s public lobbying for the project, mostly on ABC radio’s talkback program with the Chief Minister.

“I’m glad it’s occurring and I would hope it could be emulated in other capital cities across Australia and it would create some competition,” Mr Grant says.

“I’ve loved poetry since I was a child. I think you can express more in poetry in one line than you can with prose.

“I’ve written about 1000 poems and I have them all around the house about a whole range of topics from politics, war, peace and humorous ones. Recently, I have been writing them for friends and relatives though.”