Archive for the 'Poetry' Category

What I am reading: Seamus Heaney

4 Comments »29th November, 2009; Category: Authors, Books, Poetry, Reading

I always seem to have half a dozen books on the go at the one time.

This has been particularly so over the last year or so during my Master of Arts course. I’ve dipped into many reference books in the course of doing background reading or research for the units of study. Then there are the books delved into while writing essays, or books needing to be read in preparation for lectures or tutorials. At present I’m still doing background research on my novel set in Nepal. Even though I have written the novel – I’m up to the 6th draft – there still seems to be more research I could be doing.

Then I have the books I’m currently reading for relaxation. These books are very important for a balance in my life. I need to be daily reading books for recreation as well as study or those directly used as research for my novel.

I’m currently reading – and rereading – two slim volumes of poetry written by Irish poet Seamus Heaney, the Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1995. I’m sorry to say that I’ve not read much of his work previously and so I’ve come to his works with great anticipation.

The reason I’m reading his works now goes back several months. A few months ago my daughter led a group of her high school students on a trip to Ireland. Just before leaving she asked me if I wanted her to buy anything while she was there. Without thinking too much I asked her to look out for a good book of Irish poetry. She overwhelmed me with not one, but two books of the poetry of Heaney. I’ve been slowly savouring them ever since she returned home.

Books:

Heaney, Seamus, 2006, Death of a naturalist, Faber and Faber, London
Heaney, Seamus, 1979, Field work, Faber and Faber, London.

Sending of manuscripts to publishers

No Comments »23rd September, 2009; Category: Fiction, Master of Arts course, Poetry, Short Stories, The Writer's Life

Yesterday I finished the first draft of my novel for children. I have been working hard on this over the last two months and finished it over a week ahead of the schedule I had set for myself. I love setting goals – and then achieving them. Now my creative brain needs a little break for a few days. Time to attend to a few other matters before launching into the rewriting phase.

Today I had a totally different writing task which took most of my attention. The whole point of writing, in my opinion, is to be published. Sure, there are people who write just for themselves and are totally happy with an audience of one. I guess my private journal writing comes into that category. Such writing is not aimed at a broader audience. Unless, of course, I become obscenely rich or infamously notorious as a result of my writing. Some people might want to read my private grumblings. But I doubt it.

Today I prepared some submissions for a publisher. I’m nearing the end of my Master of Arts course, and every year the humanities department calls for submissions from staff and students involved in the programme. The deadline is Friday, so I knew I had to get organised. Successful poems and stories are published in the annual anthology which is published in November. Last year I had a story and ten poems chosen which was very satisfying. This time around I have submitted eight poems and four short stories. It will be interesting to see which of them the editors choose.

One of the good things about this submission is that I could submit electronically. Makes the whole process relatively painless compared with sending off letters. Bit cheaper too.

Challenge to readers

Are you constantly writing but never sending off those stories and poems and articles you’ve slaved over so lovingly? The secret to getting published is no secret, really. You need to write, write, write and then submit, submit submit. And while waiting to hear back from the publishers, you need to write some more, and then write some more and then submit… I think you get the picture.

Send off a story or poem today.

Good writing – and may you see your writing in print soon. I know I will.

Fun at my writers’ group

2 Comments »12th September, 2009; Category: Events, Fiction, Poetry, Short Fiction, Short Stories, The Writer's Life

On Thursday of this week I attended my monthly writers’ group in Adelaide. It’s one of two I regularly attend; the other is devoted to poetry only.

We usually gather for pizza at 6pm and then start into reading and critiquing each other’s work. The readings are based on a challenge set the month before. We limit the activity to 1000 words so that everyone gets a go at reading and having their work critiqued. A good attendance is about 6-8 people, but this week we had 12 eager participants, 7 of whom had risen to the challenge of writing a short story.

This was the fun part. The challenge we had appeared to be very hard, but we all found it very interesting. We were asked to take a poem written by a fellow student which was published in last year’s anthology. This poem had some interesting Nordic references and names, which made the task even more challenging.

The Challenge

The writing task was as follows:

Take the first word of the poem and use that as the first word of the first sentence of the story.
Take the second word of the poem and use that as the first word of the second sentence.
Take the third word of the poem and use this as the first word of the third sentence.
Follow this pattern until you get to the end of the story – or the poem – whichever comes first.

The variations were wonderful. Using the same words we came up with seven quite different stories. These included:

A recount of a classroom teacher grappling with unusual student names in the class.
A stream of consciousness account of someone justifying why she should murder her mother.
An account of the arrival home of a Viking raiding party.
An snippet from a Shakespearean like scene written almost completely in iambic rhythm (this was my effort).

Reader challenge

Try it for yourself as a writing challenge. Take a poem – any poem – and try it. Last year we used a Robert Frost poem. Use one of your own poems. Whatever. You could be pleasantly surprised at the result.

Have fun with your writing.

Good writing.

An afternoon of poetry

No Comments »6th September, 2009; Category: Events, Poetry

This afternoon I went to an afternoon of poetry. Normally I would have to travel for a half hour or so into the Adelaide Hills, or for about an hour into the Adelaide city itself. This time the poetry reading session came to my home town, Murray Bridge.

The special afternoon was organised jointly by the Friendly Street Poets group in Adelaide and the local district council, who funded the event. I didn’t quite know what to expect, not having been to such an event, though I had heard some things about readings like this. What I didn’t expect was the enormous interest in the event. Over 80 people chose to ignore the lovely spring weather and the fact that it was Father’s Day in order to attend. This must have been most encouraging to the organisers.

About 15 people used the opportunity to use the open mike to read their poems. There was a vast range of themes covered by the poems. Some people read confidently, while others were a little hesitant. One thing that stood out was the prominence of rhymed poetry. According to one of the organisers, this is something that is unusual in their normal reading sessions.

At the last moment I chickened out and didn’t take any of my poems to read. In retrospect, many of my poems would have stood up very well against those that were read out, something I find encouraging. It was announced that this was to be the first of several more such events over the coming year. This is encouraging. The good attendance at the inaugural event ensures successful readings to come.

After the readings, there was a book launch. An acquaintance of mine, Max Merckenschlager launched his first collection of poetry, Lifemarks. I’ll do a review of this fine little book when I’ve read all of the poems and savoured them for a little.

Poem #42: Anzac Cove

15 Comments »25th April, 2009; Category: Poetry

Anzac Cove

And then –

Young hearts and heads adventure filled
Were drawn to other lands by those
Whose fear, concern or hatred fueled
Through actions – bold, aggressive foes.

On ships they came upon that shore
With brave anticipation high.
A storm of lead hit to the core
And took young men without a sigh.

That stain of blood spread o’er the beach
As brave young lives cut short and lost
So far from home, in senseless reach
For peace – elusive, at what cost?

And now –

At Anzac Cove, a company
Of young Australians out to seek
And fashion their own destiny –
A solemn, silent, vigil keep.

The people of Australia and New Zealand celebrate their war heroes on this day, April 25th. The date commemorates the landing of our soldiers at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It is now known as Anzac Cove. Tens of thousands of pilgrims – many of them young people – gather for the dawn service there every year. It has become a sacred, significant and moving ceremony for those who make the journey. The dawn service is also a feature of celebrations throughout both nations, together with marches through towns and cities everywhere.

Mt Macedon War Memorial

Note: this poem was originally posted on ANZAC Day 2008. I am republishing it on ANZAC Day 2009.

LEST WE FORGET.