2016 - My Year of Reading

In a year when many have been 'coloring' books, I've been reading them. (Not that there's anything wrong with a little art-therapy. I'm all for it!)

At the closing of 2015, I decided to set myself a reading challenge for 2016. I read around fifty books each year anyway, so I challenged myself on Goodreads to read seventy books. Initially, I thought I would struggle; after all, there are still only 365 days in a year and 24 hours in a day, where was I to find the time to read an extra twenty books? Turns out I should always back myself. I surpassed my challenge by reading over eighty books. I'm going to recommend some of my favourites below. Perhaps you could put them on your to-read list for 2017.

As usual, my reading was varied. I have tasted almost everything on the menu this year. Poetry. Essay. Memoir. YA. Anthology. Self-help. Art. Home decorating. Organisation. Fiction. Sewing. Psychology. Short Story. Reference.

Jandy Nelson is a new favourite of mine. Get your hands on her award-winning books, The Sky is Everywhere and I'll Give you the Sun. Yes, that's right, only two books. This is the only problem with falling in love with the work of a new author - waiting for the next book. Her books are classified as YA fiction but don't let that turn you away. As The Daily Beast said - "Those who think young-adult books can't be as literary, rich, and mature as their adult counterparts will be disabused of that notion after reading The Sky is Everywhere".

I read two more books by Claire Zorn, already a favourite from the time I read and reviewed her debut, The Sky So Heavy here. I can't rate The Protected as highly as her debut, but here's what I wrote on goodreads - "Claire Zorn knows how to write. She is especially good at portraying teenagers on the page. Teenagers in peril or in pain...I had to add it to my 'made me cry' list..." The other title, One Would Think the Deep, was amazing and heartbreaking, with many twists and turns.

Another favourite author I kept up with this year. A.S. King. Her novels I Crawl Through It and Reality Boy were a wonderful addition to my year of reading. Reality Boy joined Zorn's The Protected on my 'made me cry' list. King is a favourite of mine because she writes like a magician and explores serious themes in a no-holds-barred way.

The poetry books I gave five stars to were, Eating My Grandmother by Krissy Kneen and Night Writing by Kathryn Lomer. In all I read twenty-three books of poetry. I love contemporary poetry, especially by Australian poets. If you haven't read poetry since school I suggest you give some of the new poets a try.

I'm a big fan of short fiction. Like poetry, I suggest you give it a try if you haven't read any for a while. The collections I gave five stars to are, The Best Australian Stories 2014, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King and Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. Short stories fit nicely into those small spaces we all have in our lives. If you feel you don't have the time or energy or focus to commit to a novel, try the short form. Short doesn't mean dull or superficial. Good short fiction packs a punch.


Nothing worse than an overly-long blog post, right? Well, even so, I can't leave without mentioning my five star non-fiction reads this year. Speaking Out: A 21st-Century Handbook for Women and Girls by Tara Moss and Use Your Words: A Myth-Busting, No-Fear Approach to Writing by Catherine Deveny.

Well, it's been a strange and challenging year for many different reasons and I'm happy to say goodbye to it. Let's hope 2017 is a great new beginning for everyone. Keep reading!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Review - Undertow

Even though poetry is something I’ve not attempted to review in the past, I read it regularly and know what I like, and what I don’t like. I found there was much to like in the poems in Susan Austin’s Undertow.

Austin’s poetry is frank, honest and accessible. Perhaps I’m a lazy reader, but I’ve never been a fan of the vague, the intellectual; the type of poetry that must be read and reread, and read yet again in the hopes of discerning just an inking of what the poet is writing about; the kind of poetry that leaves me with a headache and the uncomfortable feeling that I am more than a little stupid.

Austin’s poetry is anything but the brain-bending kind, and yet that doesn’t mean it is all too obvious and boring. In fact there is much subtlety here. The subject and content of the poems varies, but all are created from the details – big and small – of everyday life; of love and loss and sadness; universal themes that we can all relate to as emotional human beings. Poetry’s power lies in its ability to get under our skin, to touch something deep within us, to remind us that we are all connected through our experiences.

Anyone who has suffered from depression or debilitating inertia would feel an immediate connection with Austin’s poem Couched (pg7).

I am testing my body-to-couch solubility / I join those
with schizophrenia and others on soporific drugs / scores
of thoughts about what I could do / should do / oscillate in
my dizzy head / only my internal systems move / slowly /
clogged with toxins / lethargy / negatives /

I could do that / should do that / not doing that / an hour
has passed / still not doing that / with effort I put the
washing on / but not out / the machine guards its sodden
inmates / the clock watches me / I don’t have the energy to
take the batteries out or turn it to the wall / damn clock /

If, like me, you prefer poetry to be a warm and welcoming embrace, rather than something that keeps you at arms length, then you could do a lot worse than to pick up a copy of Susan Austin’s Undertow.

These poems don’t wear gaudy colours or shout from the rooftops to be noticed. Nor do they attempt to confuse, or baffle. These poems hold the door wide and welcome you in. There is something for everyone in this collection.

POETRIX - The Final Issue!

After 20 years, Poetrix poetry magazine is about to publish its 40th and final issue!

Poetrix began in 1992 when the Western Women Writers group decided to start a poetry magazine just for women. This was at a time when the NSW Poets' Union had just completed a survey showing that women were still not being published as much as men. There was evidence that some male editors were being discriminatory in their selections, with one quoted as saying he wasn't interested in publishing "domestic suburban vignettes".

After being published in my TAFE magazine a couple of times, Poetrix was my first outside publication. What a joy it was to receive that first acceptance letter! 

harmful purpose

i cut myself, and

bleed

memories

of hopelessness

recurring dreams

nightmares

of repetition

darkness and shadows

a storm

in my mind

thoughts

like razor blades

slash me, with

sharp edges and

harmful purpose

first published in Poetrix 28, May 2007

Submissions are by mail only and close on 28th February.

• send no more than 6 poems at a time
• do not forget to include a self addressed, stamped envelope for reply
• poems should be typed, and if longer than one page this should be clearly indicated
• if poems are in a language other than English, please supply a translation
• a short bio note would be appreciated.

Send your poems to:

POETRIX
PO Box 532
Altona North
VIC 3025

I'll certainly be submitting to this final issue of this very special magazine - why don't you?

What have you got to lose?

Tiggy Johnson - Poet Series

Tiggy Johnson is a Melbourne-turned-Brisbane writer and editor whose stories and poems have appeared in various literary magazines and on Melbourne trains. Her short story collection 'Svetlana or otherwise' was published in 2008 and her poetry collection 'First taste' in 2010.

When did you first start writing poetry? What do you enjoy most about it?

Excluding limericks about my high school teachers and classmates, I started writing poetry about six or seven years ago, when a friend from my writing group, where I only ever took fiction, pushed me into it. Writing poetry helps me deal with difficult times, particularly the passing of my grandmother and later my father, while at the same time helping me keep those moments and memories alive. At the other extreme, I like it for the same reason, that it helps me hold on to the special moments that come with being a parent, like watching my baby daughter discover for the first time that she was controlling her hand movements. I also like that I can fit poetry writing into my busy life, compared to needing to schedule time in for writing fiction.

Tell me about the first poem you had published.

The first poem I had published (I think) is called ‘Minutes’. It was originally published in Tamba 38: Winter 2006 and has been republished online here. It’s about that difficult time in life otherwise known as the first year of being a stay-at-home mum. I wrote it initially as prose, but it didn’t work, and soon after trying poetry, I had another go at it. The hope at the end was added at the very last rewrite, perhaps to make it (more) appealing, though also because I felt a little apprehensive of putting it out there otherwise.

What is your usual writing routine? Do you write every day?

I don’t have a usual writing routine, except that I like to take a month or two off writing every year, partly so I can feel that itch to get back to it again. I like paying attention to my process though, and once I notice something that works, I run with for a while and then look for something new to try.

What advice would you give a would-be poet?

Accept that not everyone will like your style, which doesn’t mean it isn’t good enough. It just means you need a different audience. There are so many different styles of poetry, that everyone’s will appeal to someone. I’ve seen too many poets lack confidence because they think their style isn’t good enough, often because it’s not ‘academic’ (whatever that means) or what I like to call ‘arty-farty’. If you have something to say, say it. Then edit it (that’s probably two things, hey).

What’s your opinion of self publishing? Would you recommend it?

I think self-publishing poetry is very much accepted these days, and I say go for it. I do think it is a good idea to first accumulate a decent number of publications and to include both some of those and some unpublished pieces in the collection.

Do you perform your poetry? What are the differences between writing for the page and writing for the stage?

I do perform my poetry, though I sometimes prefer to think of it as ‘reading’ rather than ‘performing’. The way you communicate with a listening audience is different to when the reader has the time to ponder your words. You can often get away with a less polished version ‘on the stage’ and I sometimes use the opportunity of reading at an open mic to ‘test’ how I feel about a particular poem: it’s a great way to get instant feedback, mostly my own. I’d think twice about ‘performing’ a dense poem that could be too difficult for an audience to pick up on one listen, though I’m not sure I consider whether I’m writing for page or stage during the writing process: it’s something I think about later.

Have you been inspired or influenced by a particular poet’s work? How did it affect your own work?

Of course, and I’ll limit this to two poets (even though you imply one). First: Emilie Zoey Baker. I think she’s amazing for many reasons, but specifically she inspired me to have a go at writing what might be termed ‘feminist poetry’ though I wouldn’t call it that. Like her, I wanted to try this without the angst, ‘poor bugger me’ or other stereotypical attitudes that often come with ‘feminism’. I haven’t done a lot (nor any for quite some time) but it’s something I’d like to come back to. The second poet is Rosanna Licari, or particularly her book ‘An Absence of Saints’. For years I considered that writing poetry was my way of expressing myself and I pretty much only wrote about my own experiences and observations. Last year I took up family research, and I’m super keen to present much of my findings in poetic form, and this book is showing me how it can be done. It’s also great poetry.

If you had to choose a favourite contemporary poet who would it be and what makes them your favourite?

This question is too hard. I like many contemporary poets, for different reasons. As well as those mentioned above, I love that Sean M Whelan can write about love in ways that make it sound fresh and new, I love the way Ross Donlon can evoke emotions with strong images and more recently, I’ve discovered Michelle Dicinoski, who writes about ordinary people and events in extraordinary ways.

What about the masters? Who would you choose and why?

I would choose a contemporary poet over a master 49 out of 50 times, though I have been known to spend time with Sylvia Plath, as well as recently hooking up with a handful of haiku masters. 

Please include a favourite poem of your own to be published with your interview and tell me what inspired the piece.

Family secret #8

She’s on the lounge room floor, an eighteen

year old foetus, clutching her own through

layers of blouse and skin, her undies stained

with thick blood. Her cries are heard by

neighbours, though nobody comes.

Her mother is in the kitchen, pouring

gin into three glasses, the ice chinking

while she laughs with friends.

After four nights in a clinical bed, she

returns home to her own, continues

to rest. When she comes to breakfast

her mother makes tea and toast and says

you don’t have to marry him now.

She stares into her tea, whispers

but I love him, I want to get married

and so she did

                        for a while.

As part of the ‘genealogy’ poems I’m working on, there are a series of family secret poems. I’m titling these ‘Family secret #n’ where n is a semi-random number. I’ve written about ten so far, though my favourite of these is definitely ‘Family Secret #8’. It was published in Vine Leaves in February 2012. I can’t say too much about the inspiration (as it’s a secret) but it is one of the stories I uncovered in my family research that really affected me and made me rethink some of the things I already knew about some of my ancestors. 

‘First taste’ was published in 2010 and is available via Tiggy’s website. It will also be available sometime during 2012 as an ebook. 

Web : tiggyjohnson.com

Twitter : tiggyjohnson

'Daddy's Girl'

'Discovery'

'Acid Wash'

 

 

Ashley Capes - Poet Series

Ashley teaches Media and English in Victoria, Australia. His first collection of poetry pollen and the storm was published with the assistance of Small Change Press in 2008, and his second collection Stepping Over Seasons was released by Interactive Press in 2009. A haiku chapbook Orion Tips the Saucepan was released by Picaro Press in 2010.

When did you first start writing poetry? What do you enjoy most about it?

During high school, I think I was about fourteen. They were a mixture of awful teenage poems and hopeless recreations of The Beats, and I think I was relying on the natural world a lot too. Probably the best thing about them was the simple fact that they could be finished in a reasonable amount of time. Not like a novel, and I liked that.

Tell me about the first poem you had published.

The first poem published was by the dubious folk known as, variously, ‘The International Library of Poetry’ the ‘International Society of Poets’ and the ‘International Poetry Hall of Fame.’ It was exciting for a kid, but after being given an ‘offer’ to pay a lot of money to travel overseas for their award ceremony, the shine was of course tarnished. It was about animals in a forest or a jungle (it seems to change a lot when I look at it now) and was heavy on imagery. And bad.

What is your usual writing routine? Do you write every day?

I do write every day, but it’s difficult. The time I have to write varies of course, and what qualifies as ‘writing’ does too. It might be part of a story, haiku, verse poetry, a lesson plan or something for uni. Like most of us, with obligations all over the place, that time gets eaten away – especially in daylight hours. I usually end up writing late into the night. It’s quieter and my mind seems to work better then, though in the morning I’m usually not impressed with myself for it.

What advice would you give a would-be poet?

Read widely, because in some ways that is your preparation – but just as importantly, don’t forget to actually write. Don’t think or talk about it, don’t plan to do it, just write. That one sounds obvious but sometimes it isn’t I guess, sometimes (in all fields) we can become obsessed with preparing.

I’d also suggest one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given – that is to switch mediums. If you hit a wall with writing, paint for a while. Or turn to music, or something else artistic – or even something not artistic at all. Just get some distance, recharge with that other art form then come back to poetry and you should have some more ammunition.

What’s your opinion of self-publishing? Would you recommend it?

I am a fan of self-publishing if you have two things: a good instinct (or editor-friend) for quality control and a base in a metropolitan area. Make that three things, if you’re personable. If not, I think it’d be hard to sell your books. When you self publish you’re afforded control of your work, from layout to cover art to content, which is awesome. It’s tough however, when you get to things like distribution – which is why I mentioned that second point. If you live in or near a city at least, you’ll have easy (and cheap) access to events and markets and you should thus be better able to sell your work.

Do you perform your poetry? What are the differences between writing for the page and writing for the stage?

I do, though not as much as I’d like. The difference for me is in the audience – because, of course, it’s live. It’s immediate. I imagine it’s a bit like acting or standup vs a film. In a film, the reaction to what you’re doing or have done, it delayed (or absent). On stage, you hear the audience, see the audience, and get an immediate sense of what your material is like. It’s very nice – it can certainly be daunting, but it’s something you get at no other time as a writer.

Have you been inspired or influenced by a particular poet’s work? How did it affect your own work?

In the beginning it was the Beats, and rock and folk lyricists, but perhaps the most important influence would be from haiku poets. I think whatever imagistic elements are present in my work are due to influence of the haiku masters like Basho and Issa. What they did, I believe, is demonstrate beyond a doubt (among other things), that narration can be achieved indirectly, through images created by just a few words. I’ve since then continued to struggle to achieve that ‘economy of words,’ and to prune back my natural tendency to overwrite!

If you had to choose a favourite contemporary poet who would it be and what makes them your favourite? 

Graham Nunn. For his ability to floor you as a reader – whether it’s through his imagery, his tenderness or his insight, but for his commitment to the art form and to those around him too. (I thought I should mention that I added that last bit to my answer not to detract from his poetry, or as an attempt to bolster it, but rather as a very serious and equally important aspect to Graham as a poet. I don’t feel the worth of poet should be just the measure of their (published) output, and so I’d like to suggest that Graham’s skill as an editor, promoter, organiser, motivator and supporter is just as powerful and valuable to the community as his written work.)

What about the masters? Who would you choose and why?

Here I can combine a few things together – this one is a haiku that Graham reminded me of when I interviewed him last year.

on Starvation Ridge

little sticks

are trying to grow

and it’s by Jack Kerouac, so there’s an Australian poet, haiku and The Beats all in one answer! What I enjoy about this most is probably the verb ‘trying’ or perhaps the simple, effective contrast between ‘Starvation’ and ‘grow.’ It’s also a great demonstration of why the 5-7-5 syllable count isn’t needed in English language haiku. This doesn’t adhere to those limits but it is undeniably a haiku, and it evokes a story through the image.

Please include a favourite poem of your own to be published with your interview.

other objects

my wedding ring is a plain silver

barrel band. same as dad’s, very modest

and very hard to keep smooth,

with scratches I can’t keep track of and

don’t want to hide. it’s no good pretending

the marriage is perfect, no use

hanging all our memories and every

step of the future on just one symbol. other

objects speak of love, too. the weeping

maple we’ve shifted to every house, the

cup we fill with knives and forks

or the handwritten address you gave me

the night we met, walking the city

and flinging orange peel into hedges, things

that endure, things that have lines

and marks to prove them.

Why is it your favourite?

Other Objects is probably my favourite because it’s hopeful without being treacly, and I usually find those poems really difficult to write. I think it paints a realistic picture of marriage, and it was through this poem that I was able to recognise a habit I’ve picked up, of writing about objects and the store of emotion we seem to place within them.

Where was it first published?

July 2009, in Island – a journal I’m very happy to have appeared in, it’s always beautifully presented and has such great material, cover to cover.

What was the inspiration for, or story behind, the piece?

I suppose it addresses my belief and concern, perhaps, that my marriage not become snagged on a single symbol, and that the wear and tear of the marriage is ultimately just as important as any other aspect. It runs through a few other objects that have memories attached to them, triggering for me, the night I met my wonderful wife. 

Find out more about Ashley here.

Nathan Curnow - Poet Series

 

Nathan Curnow is an Australian writer and spoken word performer. In 2007 he stayed overnight at ten haunted sites around the country and wrote a book about his experiences, The Ghost Poetry Project.

When did you first start writing poetry? What do you enjoy most about it?

Like most people I mucked about with poetry as a teenager and wrote some terrible rhyming stuff full of archaic language, but I truly began when I was first introduced to contemporary poetry in university and realised that it was more than I thought.  

I enjoy the challenge and complexity of poetry, although it leads to what Les Murray calls the ‘painless headache’.  You end up agonising over every little thing, teasing out the worth and power of every word.  Poetry is short but expansive, powerful but frail, hard work but also play at the same time, so I guess I enjoy the mystery and contradictions of it.   

Tell me about the first poem you had published. What was it about etc?

It was published in Swyntax No.4 in 2001 and is called She Swings Content in Sleepy Mood.  It’s about a girl swinging on an old tyre amid a sunny afternoon.  I was really proud of it at the time of course.  It was a big deal for me.  But on occasions like this when I fish it out of the box and look at it again I cringe.

What is your usual writing routine? Do you write every day?

I work in fits and starts around the demands of my family, and have done ever since I began.  But even when I don’t write for a day or two I still have my head in the project/s I’m working on.  Things have to stew for a while in the Crock Pot of my mind and that’s just as important to the process as banging on the keyboard. 

What advice would you give a would-be poet?

Read and write.  Do your homework on the journals and editors that you’re submitting poems to.  Know that grit, fire and dedication always pay off in time.  The path comes with significants costs and it’s easy to get bitter about them (but that’s the same with anything), there are many privileges along the way too.

What’s your opinion of self publishing? Would you recommend it?

Generally I would say that if you’re going to self-publish then wait until you’ve had a number of poems in journals or have a few awards under your belt, but things are changing so quickly these days, along with the stigma of self-publishing.  When I was starting out I self-published a novel as a bit of an experiment and although it didn’t get very far it was an important step (albeit a little misguided) towards considering myself a writer. So would I recommend it?  Sure.  If it doesn’t take off then it won’t be the end of the world, and you always have to back yourself.  Take risks. 

Do you perform your poetry? What are the differences between writing for the page and writing for the stage?

I have been performing for about as long as I’ve been writing, which has led to some good, some bad and some very strange gigs.

The page and stage are two very different spaces and filling them successfully demands different skills, but they’re also related, just as the line and the breath are related.  The blank page can be unforgiving and expose the weaknesses of a poem whereas the stage can throw up so many variables on the night that you have to be on your toes.  And yet whether you work on the page or the stage you still have to address similar questions ie.  What is my poem about?  What is its core/tone?  What’s the best way to convey it?  Where do I want to take the audience? etc.

Have you been inspired or influenced by a particular poet’s work? How did it affect your own work?

Kevin Brophy’s work has been a huge inspiration and I learn something every time I read it.  His poems showed me how to write about the things I knew, such as my religious upbringing, parenting/fathering and the domestic life.  I encounter play, depth, risk and passion in his work, plus an attention to the twists of language.  His work asks questions of poetry itself, and with such deceptive, disarming simplicity.   

What about the masters? Who would you choose and why?

I don’t have any hard and fast loyalties regarding the masters. Perhaps I can answer the question with poems instead.  Here are a few (among so many) which I will always love:

Kubla Khan (Samule Taylor Coleridge), Ulysses (Lord Alfie Tennyson), Beach Burial (Kenneth Slessor), The Secret (Denise Levertov), I’m Explaining a Few Things (Pablo Neruda), St Petersburg (Keith Eisner), Burro (Cate Kennedy), What the Light Teaches (Anne Michaels), Free Union (Andre Breton), Inside a Tree (Doris Brett), Stalingrad Briefing, 1943 (Ian McBryde), The Hand (Sharon Olds).

Please include a favourite poem of your own to be published with your interview and tell us a little about it.

Whaling Song (Norfolk Island)

each tier of a pine tree is a curved whale boat

launched into the sea at dawn, lost at dusk

beacons are lit, soft language upon the horizon 

a glowing ship marks the earth’s turned side

steering on mutineers’ blood, history is towed

like the Lord’s Whale, boiled down, into song

enjambed, the living upon these stones broke

stones to anchor old dreams, from the work

of hands the shore is made—rowing forward

heaving back, rowing forward—Come Ye Blessed

memory like shadow is best stored upon itself

though darkness refuses to pass without trade

claim the red earth turned for good, climb

like a seed, spread even on the wind, silhouette

upon the dawn, beneath the freshest star you are

here, departed, sing with us yourselves back home

I chose this one because it comes from an amazing experience I had on Norfolk Island, and was written as a kind of thankyou for the hospitality I received.   It was also translated into the Norfolk language by Archie Bigg, so I’m very fond of it.

I became fascinated with the history of the Pitcairners following their relocation to the prison-island—how they traded for what they needed from passing ships and taught themselves the skill of whaling.  If a whaling party failed to return by nightfall beacons would be lit upon the cliff-tops to guide them back home.  Norfolk Island is so small that if the men steered on the wrong course, were out by even the slightest fraction, then they ran the risk of missing the island altogether and becoming lost in the Pacific.  (The ‘Lord’s Whale’ is the name given to the biggest whale they ever caught).

It was first published in Island 119 (2009) and then in my collection The Ghost Poetry Project (Puncher and Wattmann). 

The Ghost Poetry Project - Published by Puncher and Wattmann 2009.  Available at Readings, Gleebooks or any good independent bookstore. ISBN: 978-1-92145018--1

No Other Life But This - Published by Five Islands Press 2006.  Out of print, but available from the author.

Author website
http://nathancurnow.weebly.com/

Interview at Verity La

http://verityla.com/2011/02/13/the-haze-and-hard-burn-of-nathan-curnow/

Interview at The View from Here:

http://www.viewfromheremagazine.com/2009/11/ghost-poetry-project-interview-with.html

Indiefeed audio Made from the Matter of Stars: http://castroller.com/podcasts/IndiefeedPerformance/1101410