’Hiam’, a novel by South Australian writer Eva Sallis, is an unusual novel.

My immediate reaction is that it is more lyrical than prosaic. The poetic devices used by Sallis dominate the narrative. Many passage could be quoted to back up this opinion. The story telling elements near the end of the novel are pure poetry, particularly the gazelle story.

I was in awe as I read the many beautiful passages in the writing. Sentences like this one are most memorable: The Aunties are all creeping on tiptoe around their hearts. Other images are simply haunting. The road was the protagonist’s straitjacket, the car her prison, or her skull; herself the thread of life.

Initially I felt great anticipation as I read of the place names in the early pages. They were all recognisable places here in South Australia giving me an instant identification with the story. Not too far on, however, the novelist took me as the reader into a strange and very unfamiliar world. The psychotic world of a very confused and hurting main character is very disturbing. I couldn’t put my finger on the cause of this disturbance in my reaction until late in the novel when the main character Hiam plainly states that her husband had killed himself. All the evidence was there from the beginning, of course - I had merely not fully understood.

Hiam’s sense of isolation in Australia is clearly drawn by the author throughout the novel. This was her first encounter with rural and inland Australia. Everything seemed strange to her and she encounters many things which are alien to her from her cultural understandings. There are some constant elements in Hiam’s journey of discovery. Thoughts, memories and dreams of her husband, her daughter and her religion help her through her desolation.

Reference:

• Hiam by Eva Sallis, published by Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1998. It was the winner of the Australian/Vogel Literary Award.

Several weeks ago my wife and I did something we hadn’t done in a long time; we went to see a play. This was at the encouragement of our daughter who gets concession tickets to various play productions through her work as an English teacher.

The play we saw was called Attempts on her Life by the British playwright Martin Crimp. Our immediate reaction was that we had forgotten how immediate and in your face live theatre can be. The theatre was The Space in the Adelaide Festival Centre. This theatre is relatively intimate, seating several hundred at most. The actors are only a few metres away which adds to the dramatic effect.

There were six very talented actors, each involved in a range of roles. I can’t tell you their names as I didn’t buy a programme guide.(I sneaked a look at my daughter’s programme.) Each of the actors gave very professional and compelling portrayals of their characters.

The most interesting aspect of the play was that the main character does not make an appearance throughout the play. All the other characters talk about their relationship with the main character. In all there are 17 vignettes of the main characters life as seen through the eyes of her friends and family.

The language of the early sections was beautifully lyrical and musical. Other sections were crude, coarse and shocking. Overall it was like looking through the eyes of someone else at the life of a totally dysfunctional person.

It was a fascinating experience.

I think we might be hooked on live theatre.

One of the units I am currently studying for my Master of Arts in Creative Writing is on writing poetry. One of the expectations is that we write at least one poem each week in preparation for the tutorial after each lecture.

The poem each week is usually in a different format. We are expected to print off enough copies for each of the students in the tutorial group. We then take it in turns to read out our poem and it is then workshopped - that is, the other students and the lecturer critique the poem or poems.

While this was a little threatening at first, as I have progressed through the course I have come to appreciate how useful such a process is in developing my poetic skills.

Last week we looked at several sonnets by such classical poets as Gerard Manley Hopkins. We then had to write our own sonnet using one of the traditional forms of sonnet, such as that used by Shakespeare for example.

For readers who are not familiar with the sonnet form I’m not going to explain it here. There are many more qualified people than me who have explained the various forms of sonnet on their websites or in books on poetry. All I will say is that I attempted to write a 14 line sonnet, all in iambic pentameter with the following rhyming pattern: abab cdcd efef gg.

I realised early in the week that this is one form of poetry I had never attempted before. It was going to be a challenge.  I am pleased that I managed to rise to the occasion and produce a poem that my lecturer suggested I send immediately to our major daily newspaper. The theme was very topical. So far it has not appeared, but the lecturer has also suggested I submit it to the college annual anthology for consideration.

I was so taken with my little piece of success that I immediately wrote another sonnet.

I think I’m in love with the form!

Good writing.

Do you count the words you write?

One technique I’ve used successfully with my writing is to keep a reasonably accurate count of the words I write each day. In some cases this is just an estimate. In most cases the count is quite accurate. I keep a record chart of the number of words I write each day, month and year. This process is a part of my goal setting with my writing. It helps to keep me on track and accountable to myself - no-one else is going to keep me on task.

It is my goal to write a thousand words a day. I am quite a bit shy of that goal this year because of my studies. I am part way through my Master of Arts in Creative writing. This course requires a large amount of reading which takes me away from actually writing words. I am willing to put up with this distraction while I am studying because all the reading is related to writing in some way. It is all part of improving my skills as a writer.

Do you count the words you write?

I would strongly recommend that you do. It is a good indicator of how you are going. It will tell you if you are making progress. Perhaps a thousand words a day is too ambitious for you, especially if you are studying (like me) or working full time or looking after a family of young children. Set a realistic goal. This may be only 100 or 200 words per day. Whatever your goal is - stick to it. By achieving this simple goal day after day that story, article, book or novel will get written. As you progress, make bigger goals. Stretch yourself as you develop as a writer.

Do you write words that count?

No - I am not talking in riddles here. Do not just count your words - make your words count. By that I mean - be ruthless when editing your writing. Cut out all unnecessary words. Keep your writing tight. Make every word count.

Good writing.

This semester at university I am doing a unit called Themes in Australian Literature. This unit is actually an English unit but I need to complete two units of English as a part of my Master of Arts in Creative Writing. Like the unit on English literature I studied last semester I am finding this unit very stimulating. It has been many years since I formally studied any Australian literature. Some of the texts and writers are completely new to me; I have heard of them but have not read any of their work. This is about to change.

The first topic we are looking at include the ballads. We looked at particular at the writing of early colonial writers like Henry Lawson and AB ‘Banjo’ Paterson. When refreshing my memory this week of the well known ballads of Paterson like The Man from Ironbark and The Man from Snowy River I just had to read them aloud. There is something special about these wonderful ballads that demands being read aloud.

One day I may even try writing a ballad.

Good writing.