Along the wall of The Drunken Poet in North Melbourne hang portraits of various drunken poets, past and present, local and international, ranging from Seamus Heaney and Leonard Cohen to Spencer Jones and Van Walker.
“My favourite drunken poet is probably Brendan Bean – he’s probably the epitome of The Drunken Poet,” says Siobhan Dooley, owner and founder of The Drunken Poet. “And now there are some local artists up there as well, who probably don’t want to be referred to as drunken poets.”
Dooley started The Drunken Poet 11 years ago, a few years after she arrived in Australia. Born in Ireland, Dooley was perplexed why the so-called Irish pubs she observed in Melbourne seemed so contrived. “I knew that an Irish bar could be done outside of Ireland because I’d lived in the States, and I’d seen good Irish pubs in the States,” Dooley says. Dooley found a Goth bar on Peel Street opposite the Queen Victoria Market and set about transforming it into the type of bar that an ordinary punter might wander into in Ireland. “We’re not screaming ‘We’re Irish’, we’re just Irish,” Dooley says. “We’re not trying to be an Irish Pub, it just is Irish”.
There’s certainly nothing confected about The Drunken Poet. “It’s really just about people sitting around at a bar,” Dooley says. “It’s for everybody. It’s not a pub that’s geared toward any particular group. It’s a community.”
Critical to The Drunken Poet’s reputation and longevity is its role as a live music venue. Dooley, a fan of both music and poetry, has a long-held affection for literary-minded musicians. “Generally, we tend to have a lot of folk musicians, with a big emphasis on lyrics, which fits in with the drunken poet thing,” Dooley says. “A lot of original stories through music.”
One of The Drunken Poet’s regulars, both at the bar and on stage, is local folk balladeer (and sometime powerhouse rock’n’roller) Van Walker. Walker has a special affection for The Drunken Poet, having played there regularly, including each of the venue’s birthday celebrations. “I’ve got many memories of The Drunken Poet, all somewhat blurry,” Walker laughs.
Walker recalls watching Spencer P Jones “hump his firebird on the floor between the punters a la some kind of demented Hendrix,” and a number after hour-long singalongs with punters. “But Siobhan would say my best performance was once I was so blind I kept playing the same Jimmy Reed boogie ad nauseam. But I maintain I was actually playing different songs, they just all sound the same,” Walker says.
Like Walker, Dooley has an almost endless supply of great memories over the venue’s 11-year history. But she chooses to focus on a more recent event, the Tuesday night tribute shows. “Liam Gerner was here doing a tribute to Bobby Charles, and he had Lucky Oceans with him,” Dooley says. “It was just like guests getting up one after the other. It was magic. There were brilliant musicians, it was an unbelievable session.”
While it can get rowdy at The Drunken Poet, Dooley’s cool and commanding presence ensures things never get out of control. Walker recalls getting physical with a particular over-excited punter at one of his shows, only to witness Dooley turf the guy out before any trouble eventuated. “Siobhan had him out the door and down the street before he knew what hit him. And I never missed a beat,” Walker says. “But everyone in that pub knows each other by name and there’s never any fisticuffs. No one would dare on Siobhan’s watch.” Dooley concedes there were some wild times early in the venue’s tenure. But now everybody knows the rules. “The Poet attracts a fairly eclectic crowd. And that’s really what makes it. But it’s not quite as crazy as it used to be.”
This weekend marks The Drunken Poet’s 11th birthday. Dooley is celebrating the event by putting on an afternoon and evening of Drunken Poet favourites, including Mr Alford, The Twoks, Miss Whiskey, the Moreland City Soul Review and, of course, Van Walker. For Dooley, it’s a time for both celebration and positive reflection on another year of music, drinking and conversation. For Walker, it’s opportunity to celebrate one of his favourite venues and its erstwhile publican. “Siobhan loves music and poetry, she always keeps your glass full and she doesn’t take shit from anyone. Words simply couldn’t do her work ethic justice,” Walker says.
