Kindred Trees asks Canberra poets to write in response to a local tree. It started in early 2019 and will develop over the next decade, growing slowly, with poems being added each year. Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello, who was one of the first poets commissioned, wrote the poem Kindred, and gave permission for her title to inspire the name of this project. Kindred Trees also sprouted from associations with Tree Week, and That Poetry Thing That is on at Smith’s Every Monday, and Smith’s Alternative (which provides a supportive venue for live poetry in Canberra).

Kindred Trees wants to encourage love of trees through poetry. The website is a living document which will change in time as more poems, poets, and trees are added. Many trees represented here are on the ACT Tree register, some are trees that have just captured their poet’s heart and may sometimes be across the border, but we can imagine the trees talking to each other. There are some trees of elsewhere – of travels, memory, or the past.