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

Stu Hatton - Poet Series

 

Stu Hatton is an editor, writer and reader, currently based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2006 he was awarded a mentorship through the Australian Society of Authors, which he completed with the late Dorothy Porter.

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

I’ve always been drawn to language that is strange, unsettling, magical, impossible. And for as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed playing with language, exploring its possibilities and flaws. This love of language-play began before I could write. As a child I tended to create stories and songs as opposed to poems, and I loved Lego. Perhaps in a way poetry took the place of Lego. The latter probably left its mark on me in various ways: a kind of faith that anything can be constructed from anything, the possibilities of construction and collage, combining fragments in unlikely ways. So poetry is a form of play for me, which doesn’t mean it isn’t vital, political, spiritual … it can be all of these things.

Tell me about the first poem you had published.

I had a satirical poem about the film Jurrassic Park published in the school magazine in year 10. It had a line in it about ‘converting to Spielbergism’ or something. I have to laugh at my 15-year-old self there.

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

Yeah I pretty much write every day. I tend to do most of my reading in the morning, and writing often sparks off from what I’m reading. I carry a pen and notebook most of the time, or else I type notes into my phone. I’m always collecting words or phrases to use later.

What advice would you give a would-be poet?

To experiment with different practices of reading, writing, thinking, questioning. Try anything once. Break habits, be flexible and try to cultivate open-mindedness.

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

I self-published my first book How to be Hungry through the print-on-demand service Lulu. I’d recommend self-publishing if you’re prepared to be a hardworking ambassador for your work.

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

I’ve performed my poetry publicly many times, though not so much recently. I guess I’ve tended to see myself as writing for the page more than the stage. Sometimes I’ll adapt a poem slightly for performance, perhaps if there are visual aspects, puns or other elements that might not be conveyed by voice alone. One thing that can irk me as an audience member at poetry gigs is that if you miss part of a poem, that’s it: it’s gone. The mind wanders, there are distractions, sometimes you can’t hear every word due to the poet’s delivery or other sounds intruding. Listening to readings takes a certain kind of discipline. Not to take away from the possibilities of mishearing, or only hearing fragments: these are interesting possiblities if you’re open to them. But generally I prefer to be able to sit with a poem, consider it, put it aside and come back to it. Or in the case of recordings, to be able to play it again, hear it again if I want to. So I’m interested in forms of performance that go beyond simply reading a poem. Performance poetry goes beyond ‘simply reading’, but I guess I’m mostly interested in multimedia performance, video poetry, etc, where oral and visual text can be combined.

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

I’ve given this some thought, but it’s very hard to pick just one! I’m inspired and influenced by countless poets. In my late teens it was Eliot, Yeats and Cummings. Then I discovered the Beats, then as an undergrad I gravitated towards the New York School and Language Poetry. I guess I’ve tended towards the experimental/avant-garde end of the spectrum in terms of finding models for my practice. John Cage is definitely an inspiration to me, as is Gary Snyder – both, in their own way, pull down the fence that’s sometimes erected between art and life.

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

Once again I find this almost impossible to answer! I have too many favourites I guess. In terms of contemporary Australian poets I’m drawn to, and who are maybe operating in similar ballparks to me, here’s a list (though I’m probably forgetting a few people): Patrick Jones, Pam Brown, Michael Farrell, Jill Jones, Laurie Duggan, Ted Nielsen, Tim Wright, Ken Bolton, Emma Lew, Astrid Lorange, Derek Motion, Peter Minter, John Tranter, Ania Walwicz, Lionel Fogarty, Joanne Burns, Martin Harrison, Paul Hardacre, Keri Glastonbury, Neil Paech.  

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

Okay, for this one I’d have to say William Blake. Poet, painter, printmaker, prophet. His legacy is fascinating, illuminated, sort of infinite. Perhaps more so than any poet who has written in English, he broke free of the ‘mind-forged manacles’ of his time. That is something to aspire to.

Could you please send me a favourite poem of your own to be published on the blog?

 

coastal

‘too hot to get busy anyway’

unused sky bestowing confidence

we’ll take the coastal road

Aussie flags hoisted on roofs, in sandy gardens

‘fuck off we’re full’ sticker

           on a ute’s rear panel

letting the sunset beach do the tender talking

the brewery will do the rest

the sea:
            yet more fields to be farmed

parasails sweep, flip
                          as tankers ride the horizon

Why is it your favourite?

I think a lot of things I’m trying to do in my poems cohere in this one: it’s kind of a constellation of fragments, but there are narratives rubbing shoulders; it’s satirical, kind of comic, yet serious. It was also one of the first poems where I managed to turn my eye towards the troublesome beast of Australian culture/identity. This is something I’m still exploring – I’m currently working on a poem/essay/ethnographic piece regarding Australia Day.

Where was it first published?

It first appeared on my blog in late 2009, then in my book How to be Hungry the following year.

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

It was written while I was travelling along the coastal road towards Fremantle, WA. It was a series of snapshots, thoughts, impressions over the course of a few hours. I was entranced by the beautiful coastline but also by the nationalist symbolism and the forms of commerce and recreation that were taking place. There was plenty to take in and think about.

How to be Hungry, published 2010, available through Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/stuhatton

Audio poem ‘power ballad’ on SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/wordy/power-ballad

Twitter: @StuHatton

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stu.hatton

Web: http://www.stuhatton.net

Kevin Gillam - Poet Series

 

Kevin Gillam: is a West Australian poet with three books of poetry published,  "Other Gravities"(2003) and "Permitted to Fall"(2007) with Sunline Press, and "Songs sul G" in 'Two Poets' with Fremantle Press (2011). He has also had two chapbooks published with Picaro Press, "shouting, drowning" (2006) and "closer to now"(2009). He works as Director of Music at Christ Church Grammar School.

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

My first poems were written while studying creative writing at Curtin University (Post Grad Diploma) and I enjoyed the succinctness of the form and the fact that it could be left open to a variety of interpretations.

Tell me about the first poem you had published.

The first poem I had published was an extract from a short story that I had sent to Grok, the Curtin Uni newspaper. They had taken a portion of the story and printed it in the poetry section. So I thought that if they liked the excerpt as a poem, then I should concentrate on this type of writing.

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

Yes, I write every day, and my routine is to collect lines/thoughts and then talk them through in my head on long walks. Upon returning from a walk, I immediately write down the lines concocted, and then later deduce a form.

What advice would you give a would-be poet?

Write down all your thoughts as they come to you….you won’t remember them later. Read lots of contemporary poetry. Join a writing group or association and write/share ideas. Send out poems to journals. Subscribe to as many poetry journals as possible. Try reviewing some recent poetry and send reviews to appropriate journals.

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

I’m not against self-publishing, but I wouldn’t recommend it to any aspiring poet. Better to get your work published in some reputable journals and enter some poetry competitions. Then you have an established and creditable body of acknowledged work to send to a publisher.

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

Yes I do perform my poetry, sometimes with ‘cello music spliced between the lines. Performed poetry needs to be immediately accessible to the listener (no chance of re-reading or re-hearing!), and needs to embrace the mood and emotions of the performance and surrounds as much as rely purely upon the text.

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

One of my favourite poets is Sylvia Plath. I love the way the poems live on the edge of literal meaning and symbolism, and the use of diction is superb. I try to emulate this in my own work, leaving a poem open to a number of readings.

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

I don’t have a favourite Australian poet, but I read a fair amount of Australian fiction including work by Richard Flanagan, Tim Winton, Gail Jones and Peter Carey.

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

I would have to include Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Porter and Seamus Heaney. All three use language and form to intensify to poetic intent.

Could you please send me a favourite poem of your own to be published on the blog?

the unwritten blue was first published by Fremantle Press in 2011. The poem tracks some thoughts/ideas/images from a holiday in Nannup, and was an attempt of mine to embrace a more ‘prose-like’ feel in the poetry. It was awarded 1^st Prize in the Reason-Brisbane Poetry Award in 2010.

 

                              the unwritten blue

remember, in that bruised light – we had dozed in

          the loft of the A-frame, woken

then walked – the tuarts browning skyward, warblers

          and wagtails flitting – you were talking about that book

‘Life of Pi’- then the river, fat, white froth,

          moving left to right as if having been read.

I don’t remember who noticed the dead bird first,

          one wing pointing skyward, the unglazed eye.

a bush parrot, burnt red and khaki plumage

          already being reclaimed by bracken. you went to touch it,

saw an ant, pulled away. we were silent then,

          hushed by fate and its casual cruelty,

late afternoon painting in charcoal around us.

          re-tracing our steps, a symphony of drips

and burps from rain and frogs, you on about

          slivered moons and life and fiction and

narrative’s tidal pull. it was then,

          in that falter in your voice,

that staccato within legato, that you hinted

          at some loss deeper than sense.

that night, in the warm cusp of the A-frame –

          the tropical triangle we called it,

pot-belly below having been going all day –

          you told me about your twin sister that

died at birth, how some days you saw her

          as a bird, flying above and ahead, calls of

kinship or warning, other days as the sky,

          how you’d noticed, out walking and looking up,

that while the gates and letterboxes and gardens stayed still,

          the clouds and unwritten blue moved with you

Other Gravities Sunline Press 2003

shouting, drowning (chapbook) Picaro Press 2006

Permitted to Fall Sunline Press 2007

closer to now (chapbook) Picaro Press 2008

songs sul G in ‘Two Poets’ Fremantle Press 2011

(Last two books available from The Lane Bookshop and Planet Books)

Katherine Howell - Author Interview Series

Katherine Howell worked as a paramedic for fifteen years and uses that experience in her bestselling crime novels. Her fifth novel Silent Fear was released earlier this month.

What authors/books did you read as a child? When did you first discover your love of books?

I read everything I could get my hands on. Stand-outs were the Milly Molly Mandy series, the Little House books, various Enid Blytons and Norah of Billabong books, and then the Trixie Belden series. (Not so much Nancy Drew : she seemed a bit prissy.) I don't remember ever NOT loving books. They were everywhere in our house and my parents were big readers, and used to take me and my brother and sister to the librery every week. We are still all voracious readers.

When did you first realise you were a writer? What do you hope your readers will take away with them from reading your books?

I first dreamed of being a writer as a teen, and started writing short stories from that time, but I didn’t actually believe I was a writer until my first book Frantic was published in 2007. Even then it didn’t feel real!

I hope my readers have a great time while reading , feel completely absorbed in the story and can’t wait to find out what happens, and they take away the feeling that their time was well spent.

Do you find it difficult to read purely for pleasure? Does everything you read come under your ‘writer’ microscope?

Yes, absolutely. I find it's impossible now to turn off that microscope: I'm always lifting the blanket of the story to peer at the scaffolding the writer has built underneath, and thinking about their choices in everything from words to chapter beginnings and endings to plot. It can be exhausting and I miss being absorbed in the story but I figure it's a side-effect of the wonderful job I get to do now, so I'm okay with it. 

Do you have to avoid reading certain types of fiction while writing your own? Does what you read while writing have an effect on what you write? In what way?

I always keep reading while I write, and often find it helpful, especially if it’s really good crime fiction. It reminds me of the power of words on a page, and makes me feel hopeful and inspired. 

Name five authors or books that have influenced or inspired your own writing in some way.

Tess Gerritsen, for her medical detail and pacy stories; James Lee Burke, for his descriptive powers and his characters; Michael Robotham, for his suspense, his characters, and sheer story-telling inventiveness; George Pelecanos, for his incredible characterisation; and Leigh Redhead, for her humour and the way she blends it with her exciting stories.

If you were travelling and were told you could only take one book with you, what book would it be and why?

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. I’ve read this multiple times and would be more than happy to read it again.

What makes a book ‘too good to put down’?

When the characters feel real, the story has me gripped, and I can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen.

What makes you put down a book without finishing it?

Clunky writing, especially in the dialogue; boring characters; a story that doesn’t grip me. If a book has one of these but not the others I will sometimes persist, but it depends what I have lined up to read next.

 Do you have a favourite author? Who is it and what is it about their writing that draws you to them?

I love the work of James Lee Burke. He writes crime novels set in the US – one series in Louisiana, one in Montana, one in Texas. I love his characters, his stories, his descriptions, and his writing style. I’ve read all his books more than once and sometimes when I’m having a rough day writing I’ll grab one off the shelf and read a couple of pages and immediately feel inspired by the possibilities of what are, when you get down to it, just words on a page.

If you had to list them, what would be your ‘top ten’ reads of all time (excluding the classics) and why?

Tough question! This list is subject to change ...

James Lee Burke – The Tin Roof Blowdown. Much of Burke’s work is set around New Orleans  and in this novel starring his regular character Dave Robicheaux he also shows the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. It’s challenging because it’s so real, but it’s wonderful.

Michael Robotham – The Wreckage. See below, in ‘best read for 2011’.

Robotham again – Shatter. An extraordinary and chilling crime novel.

Peter Temple – The Broken Shore. I love Temple’s pared back style.

Kim Wilkins – The Resurrectionists. I don’t read a lot of speculative fic/fantasy but I adore this one. The characters leap off the page and the story gets me in every time.

E Annie Proulx – The Shipping News. I love the descriptions of the Newfoundland setting, and the quirky characters.

Leigh Redhead – Thrill City. Redhead has this finely-tuned sense of humour and timing, and can write scenes that make you laugh out loud then fill you with suspense. Each book gets better and better.

Kate Grenville – Dark Places. The story of an awful man but told with such wonderful dramatic irony. I’ve read this countless times and will read it countless more.

Neil Cross – Luther: The Calling. Great character, story, and such spare writing.

Russell Banks – Affliction. The main character, Wade Whitehouse, has ideas of fixing his life but nothing goes right. Beautifully told.

What was your 2011 ‘best read’? What was it that made it number one?

‘The Wreckage’ by Michael Robotham. Robotham’s stories are always intriguing and his characters so real. I loved this book for its settings (it takes place partly in London and partly in Baghdad), the story, and those characters again. 

What do you think of the non-traditional publishing methods – eBooks etc? Do you think the new technology will encourage more people to read? Do you think there’s a future for print books?

I think there’s room for both e-books and print books. Some people will take up the e-books and that’ll be all they ever read; some will read both, some will stick to print. I’ve used an e-reader but prefer print books. The ease of getting a book at any hour and wherever you are is an attraction, but I don’t know that e-readers will necessarily encourage more people to read. It will be interesting to see!

Katherine Howell's work has won awards and is published in multiple countries and languages, and in print, e-book, and audio form.

You can find out more about Katherine here.