BOORANGA NEWS
NEWSLETTER FOR BOORANGA WRITERS’ CENTRE OF
WAGGA WAGGA WRITERS WRITERS INC.
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
EDITOR: DEREK MOTION
Writer-in-residence:
Steven Amsterdam
Booranga would like to welcome our final writer-in-residence
for 2010, renowned author Steven Amsterdam. He was born
and raised in New York City. He has worked in different roles
at Random House; first at Fodor’s Travel Guides and then at
Knopf. During these years, a love of pastry led him to make
wedding cakes on the side, work in a bakery and finally, become
a pastry chef.
Amsterdam moved to Melbourne in 2003. Since that time he
has been a freelance travel editor, graphic designer, pastry chef,
and student. He received
a masters degree in creative writing and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University
of Melbourne. Things We Didn’t See Coming is his first book, and it has recieved the following accolades: Guardian First Book Award Nominee, The Age Book of the Year Winner, NSW
Premier’s Literary Prize Shortlist, On School Curriculum for two states in Australia, from 2011,
Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection.
Wagga reading + Q/A session: Thursday 7th October, Wagga City Library, 5pm.
Workshop (‘Freeing Your Inner Strange’): Saturday 9th October, 2-5pm,
(Please call or email Booranga to book, as numbers may be limited!)
Booranga Writers’ Centre (McKeown Drive) 2010 Office Hours:
Staff will be in every Monday (9am - 3.30pm), Tuesday (9 - 11.30am), Thursday (9 - 11.30am).
For enquiries (with a quick response) email us: [email protected]
Or alternatively email our director directly: [email protected]
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BOORANGA NEWS
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
fourW twenty-one update:
All work submitted for fourW twenty-one has now been selected, and the text is
currently being put together by designer Adam Bell. It’s looking like being, once
again, a great book.
2010 Calendar of Booranga Events
The launch dates for fourW twenty-one have now been finalised:
October
Wagga launch, Saturday 20th November, 2pm, Wagga City Library.
- to be launched by Jennifer McKinnon
2nd - 10th: Writer-in-residence:
Steven Amsterdam
Melbourne launch, Sunday 21st November, 2pm, the Courthouse Theatre, Carlton.
- to be launched by Nathan Curnow
Reading - Thursday October
7th, Wagga Library, 5pm
Sydney launch, Saturday 27th November, 2pm, Glebe Books (Glebe site).
- to be launched by Keri Glastonbury
Workshop - Saturday October
9th,
November
Recent Booranga Events
fourW twenty-one launches:
Writer-in-residence: Lauren Williams
While in town recently Lauren Williams gave two performances (one in Albury,
one in Wagga), and also
hosted a creative writing
class at CSU (the topic for
the week ‘Poetry as Song’).
As it turns out there could
be nobody better placed to
speak on this topic. Lauren
is of course well known as
a poet and performer, but
has only recently turned her
focus to music, to singing
and playing guitar. At both the performances and the workshop I was fascinated to
hear how Lauren approaches the art of songwriting. Most of the time she takes some
pre-existing written material (usually on of her poems) and then arranges it for musical performance. Often she takes the work of other poets and puts it to music too (an
appreciative audience got to hear some really interesting versions of Shelton Lea’s
poems).
Lauren was a semi-finalist in the Tamworth Country Music songwriters’ awards this
year, and no doubt we will hear more of her in the future.
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20th: Wagga Launch: Wagga
City Library, 2pm
21st: Melbourne Launch: The
Courthouse Theatre (Carlton),
2pm
27th: Sydney Launch: Gleebooks, 2pm
December
Booranga Christmas Drinks?
(Date and venue to be announced)
JULY - AUGUST 2007
BOORANGA
NEWS
EDITOR: DEREK MOTION
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
Wagga Heat - National Poetry Slam
I’ve attended the Wagga heat of the National Poetry Slam for the last three years running.
The first year I ended up being one of the randomly determined judges. The second year I
put in some preparation and entered, and I was lucky enough to win a place in the NSW state
final (despite my poem going over the 2 minute time limit). This year, I was asked by Slam
coordinator Miles Merrill to host the event. I gratefully accepted. I did still have to perform,
to demonstrate the process for contestant, but I wasn’t being judged, so the pressure was off
me just a little.
This year the event was held on a Friday night at the Home Hotel. The pub atmosphere suited
the poetry slam style, and I was pleased to
see we were treated to a huge range of performers and material. There were poets who
read their material from the page in the traditional manner, and there were also many
performance oriented hip hop performers,
getting up and doing their stuff without any
musical backing. And of course there were
performers whose style was somewhere in
the middle. There was a crowd of over 60 at
this year’s Wagga Heat, the largest we’ve ever seen. We also had 16 people sign up
to compete, which again I believe is a record. After a long and tense battle of poets
(tense only for the poets themselves - the crowd enjoyed themselves immensely)
we were left with an extremely close finish.
Also on in the Region...
Peter Matthews finished 3rd. His poem about the ‘old Pete’ versus the young Pete
was both funny and truthful. In 2nd place was Booranga President David Gilbey.
His poem about the humour that can arise when attempting to communicate in a
second language was also funny
but true. Most importantly though
these poems demonstrated what is
essential to a good slam performance - good written material,
and confident delivery. And finally, the 1st place winner was Ben Wallace (pictured
above left, mid-performance). His piece was (in his own words) a ‘third-person perspective on suicide’. It was moving, clearly articulated and included subtle rhymes.
He was a deserving winner. Overall, it was a fantastic evening and I look forward
to being involved again next year. Our top two scorers Ben Wallace and David
Gilbey are now allocated a place in the NSW state final for 2010 (to be held in late
November), and I wish them the best of luck. There’s a $500 prize up for grabs, and
if they progress to the national final, there is a trip to Asia on offer.
The Wagga heat of the National Poetry Slam was supported and organised by:
Word Travels, The Wagga City Library, Friends of the Wagga City Library, and the
Booranga Writers’ Centre.
Images by Anita McRae: Ben Wallace (left), Tess Syme (right), and Melanie Evans
(bottom).
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BOORANGA NEWS
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
Write around the Murray Festival
I was recently over in Albury for the Write Around the Murray Festival. The Booranga Spoken
Word Group had their second live performance, but I was also there to be the official festival
blogger. It was a great weekend, full of ideas and performances and books. The following is an
excerpt from my post on the Writers / on stage performance:
I guess the stage doesn’t really matter… What we had today was a sort of marquee this morning,
as such we weren’t really elevated above the audience. But this is good. Very Tony Abbott-esque.
There was a second hand book sale going on too, right behind the audience seating. This was
good. Everything is good.
Jo Wilson-Ridley kicked things off for us Booranga folk. Her performance was assured, giving
me some satisfaction that the work we’ve put in (plus the countless hours of memorising work
Jo has done alone) has shown some results. Her work was as always entertaining, with a focus
on domestic satire, but I’ve really noticed an increased confidence in her presentation. Hey, hard
work does give some results people.
David Gilbey, ever-assured poet and raconteur (and until quite recently a senior English Lecturer
at Charles Sturt University), took us on a journey to Japan with his poems. I know David has a close connection with the place, and
often feels most comfortable when he can recreate the feeling of being there. His work without doubt gives a sense of this connection
to the audience.
Harata Syme performed one longer piece for us today. Her work tends to focus on the pursuit of power and knowledge, the relevance
of action to contemporary culture, but it is also her delivery that blows me away every time. A hip-performer as well as spoken word
performer, Harata creates intensity simply (at least it seems simple), with her rhythms and tone.
I was the penultimate performer. It’s hard to assess your own performance, but hey,
what the hell, I think it went okay. My last piece (if you know me, you know I am obsessed with my fictional life as a ballet dancer) went particularly well. The crescendo
effect to end things. Another highlight was my daughter wandering on stage to have a
little chat (while I rambled on about having a ‘microwave instead of a head’).
What needs to be said about Nathan Curnow? He is, there could be little argument, a
seasoned performer. He’s been working the Melbourne scene for years. We have to
give him this (even if his blogging skills leave a little to be desired…) I was particularly pleased to be able to hear Nathan do his piece inspired by Michael Jackson’s
‘Thriller’, which he wrote for Liner Notes. We love Nathan. The crowd loves Nathan.
I only hope he might do some kind of ‘impromptu’ performance later tonight...
(Images: Jo Wilson Ridley (top); David Gilbey, Derek Motion, Emilie Zoey Baker.)
My other blog posts about the Murray Festival are at: typingspace.wordpress.com
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JULY - AUGUST 2007
BOORANGA
NEWS
EDITOR: DEREK MOTION
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
Review (excerpt) by Derek Motion: Tiggy Johnson’s First Taste
I often have to catch the bus out to the university, and from the stop near my house the journey takes around 15 minutes. This parcel
of time is – if you get straight on to the task, and don’t waste any time looking out the window or at other people on the bus – large
enough to allow you to read through a small chapbook of poems, a book such as Tiggy Johnson’s First Taste. Accordingly I have
used this bus trip to read First Taste through a number of times. It seems a suitable way to read the collection too – you read all the
way through without stopping, then you put the book in your bag and walk to the building where you work, the poems still working
in your head. Later on in the day your mind is more tired but nevertheless you get back on the bus and open the book again.
There is a definite narrative arc underpinning this collection, one that encourages the ‘full read’. Johnson’s seventeen poems take you
from her early memories, through romance, to family and children (particularly childbirth), and finish with musings on death. The
arc is particularly easy to grasp – indeed the cover image of the poet as a young girl encourages you to read this way. But it is not
because of this arc that the book is readable and fulfilling. In lesser hands a collection spanning childhood to adulthood could easily
become pedestrian. I felt a real delight in sharing some of the poet’s experiences via this book. It’s probably because I didn’t feel as
if deep poignancy or wisdom was the key thing on offer – if there are any lessons about life within this book they are not simple and
satisfying, not sermonic titbits that you’ll repeat in your mind with a contented smile after reading (possibly reclining in a rocking
chair). We bumble along through life just like these poems, wallowing in tastes and experiences, often just because the mud feels really good. We are unsatisfied and unsure. In the titular and opening poem you find a couple who
wrestled
with decisions over
chocolate or caramel
mud
docked dry fruit in port
for months
before baking the proverbial
bun
Obviously the etching out of a relationship and the subsequent decision to start a family are key elements of this poem. But what
stays with you – and must stay with the poet – is the food. This writing makes you want to eat things, to go home and seek out a
recipe for a triple chocolate cheesecake, to celebrate things with ‘premium ice-cream / swimming in chilled muscat’. It makes sense
to make a poem that foregrounds these deliciously sensory images.
Implicit (or is it?) in the poem ‘Coburg High’ is the fact that the ‘kids’ in question won’t be too interested in the house you used to
live in. They have their own, more pressing concerns, and live in the present. Wallowing in times past is for adults. Johnson knows
this, places the whole exercise (the potential pulling off the road to look at her former high school) as a ‘retreat’, even while it doesn’t
stop her going through with the act via the poem. Things are listed that are very particular to her life (we assume) and at least some
measure of Big Star poignancy is gained. Some of the incidents identified are overly personal, meaning I can’t quite go there with the
poet (‘walking up Bell Street with Mark Garnham’ is an interesting example) but I don’t care too much, because I feel for the poet
and her plight. As I am to find with the rest of this book, Johnson creates a specific mood really well.
Everything about this book is preparing the reader for the kids. The poems dealing with memories of childhood are all about positioning the poet and reader as child again, forcing you to consider that viewpoint. As a poet when I undertake this sort of writing I hope
5
BOORANGA NEWS
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
that some of the childlike insouciance can be regained, but avoid the sentimentality. It’s hard though. In her list poem ‘I remember’
Johnson continues compiling images of childhood and place, placing them before us, but then finally she admits ‘I don’t remember /
ever missing it’. It’s the place she once lived, but also the innocent point of view, the living in the now. Now, we miss it.
I know Tiggy – we’ve met and talked on a few occasions – and though I don’t know her really closely, I think I do know her as
someone you might call ‘straight-talking’ (as poet, blurb-writer, and AAMI television commercial extra Nathan Curnow does),
someone who enjoys living, doing, and experiencing, and of course writing about these things without embarrassment. This comes
across in her poems about ‘adult’ life too, and so there is an authenticity here, something that suggests she hasn’t lost all of that special something-or-other that makes childhood, well, special. Even as she goes on to suffer the unavoidable discomforts of pregnancy.
In ‘Week sixteen’ the poet really hopes there’s something medically wrong,
so I might be treated, fixed, returned to normal
in just a fraction of the five months
I otherwise face
But of course there’s nothing wrong. It’s just another individual living inside her stomach, causing the unrest. We sometimes have a
perverse desire to be told there is something wrong, because of course then it can be fixed. Johnson devotes quite a lot of the space
in this book to pregnancy, and children, and as a male reader it’s something I liked, not only because it enabled me to become a
woman giving birth (although perhaps this is reason enough?) The poetry is organised well, leading the reader quite naturally from
one thematic concern to another, and they are things I want to read about. The move from giving birth to a poem about a stillborn
niece is moving – our own worries about the demands of parenting become petty when faced with this image of a father, a man
constantly trying not to imagine what his daughter’s milestones would have been like (birthday parties, Christmases) had she lived.
There is life and there is death. There is food and there is poetry.
‘Concluding’ brings all these things together. A visit to the hospital and the poem is directed straight at the patient:
I focus on the baby
who’s too young to form a single lasting image
but old enough to visit a stranger’s ward
or to pull at one of the cords affording you life.
The cupcakes presented will not be touched, but the ‘stories of our recent times’ are all that is needed at this point. I assume – based
on the final short poem ‘Dear Dad’ – that ‘Concluding’ is a poem for the poet’s father. We don’t need to know exactly how his story
concludes, because the idea of family is what is presented. Family lingers with us in a peculiarly unanswerable way. The links and
ties and repetitions provoke us to think, to question, to write, but we rarely come up with anything definitive. The closest we can
get is an acceptance of the story, the recurring motifs. Memories of childhood; anticipation and rumination on ageing. The patterns
of child rearing and habitation. You sink into these ideas in a sensory way, much in the same way as you revel in the comfort of a
trusted food.
If I have any criticisms they are as minor. The poem ‘Us’ left me worried that I was excluded from some of the depth of meaning,
simply because as a reader I am not one of the two people isolated by the term and focus of the word ‘us’. But then that worry didn’t
stay with me. Also some later poems disrupt the book’s flow a little (there are two prose poems and two that borrow language from
women’s fashion). But on reflection I also came see these pieces as ‘veers’: the prose form a stylistic deviation that suits emotional
clutter of the poems, and the tangential forays into advertising language a reflection of the way other vital themes arise in the book.
So overall any concerns I had with this collection faded quickly.
There is a lot to like about Tiggy Johnson’s First Taste. The lineation and formal construction of individual poems promotes readability, and the personal voice the poet has created is consistently foregrounded. As I mentioned previously, the poetry stays with
you. This is strong work. I recommend you obtain First Taste, and have a read.
First Taste can be ordered through Tiggy’s own website: http://www.pageseventeen.com.au/Tiggy.htm
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JULY - AUGUST 2007
BOORANGA
NEWS
EDITOR: DEREK MOTION
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
PUBLISHING, COMPETITIONS and OPPORTUNITIES
Poetry
First Prize $200, Highly Commended and Commended certificates.
General Submissions
Entry Fee: $5.00 per poem.
Remember to keep in mind those literary journals that are
open for submissions all year. A good place to start researching the major Australian ones is here:
We are looking for unique and well-written poems,
so enlighten us, make us laugh or cry, but make it
memorable for your chance to win.
http://www.litmags.com.au
Competition opens 2nd August 2010 and closes 29th October
2010. Open to residents of Australia.
(Booranga receives copies of the NSW based journals Southerly and HEAT, and these are available to borrow for Booranga Members)
For an entry form / results sheet, please send a SSAE to P.O.
Box 574, MORNINGTON, VIC, 3931, or email [email protected]
The Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize
The Blackened Billy verse competition
Run by Ballarat Writers to honour the memory of poet, Martha
The 2010 Blackened Billy Verse Competition will be opening
on September 1.
Richardson. Poetry to 40 lines, open theme.
Prize money has been increased for this competition, which is
regarded as one of the most prestigious BUSH POETRY competitions in Australia. First prize is now $500 plus the famous
BLACKENED BILLY TROPHY. Second prize is $250 and
third $150.
First prize: $1000 AUD
Judge: Judith Rodriguez
Entry $10 per poem
Closing date: 15 October 2010
Bush poetry is a traditional type of verse written with rhyme
and rhythm that reflects the Australian way of life. The genre
has widened in recent years to encompass modern living in
both the city and the bush.
Results announced online December 2010
For further guidelines, or to enter online, go to: http://www.
ballaratwriters.com/?p=1346
Tamworth Poetry Reading Group welcomes entries from new
and old writers. Entry forms will be available on September 1.
Please write to Jan Morris PO Box 3001, West Tamworth or
email Jan Morris at [email protected]
The Mornington Peninsula Poetry Prize 2010
Entries close November 30 and the winners will be announced at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January
2010.
Offered by the Fellowship of Australian Writers (Vic) Peninsula Region
A poem of up to 30 lines: open theme and style.
7
BOORANGA NEWS
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
PUBLISHING, COMPETITIONS and OPPORTUNITIES
Prose
The Port Stephens Examiner Literature Awards 2010
There are two categories:
$1000 prize money
General Travel Writing and Gippsland. The general category is
Short stories up to 2000 words on any topic: 1st $400,
2nd $200, 3rd $100, 4 x $50 most highly commended prizes.
for an article about a travel experience anywhere in the world –
volunteering in an Incan village; saving whales in the Antarctic;
climbing Kilimanjaro; your first view of the aurora borealis –
there are a million stories to be told.
Plus $100 – ‘Tanilba House’ prize.
The Gippsland award is for an article about a travel or tourism
Entry fee - $5 cheques made out to TACE.
experience in the geographic area encompassed by Philip Island
· Standard competition conditions apply – no entry form needed.
· Separate cover sheet- story title and author’s contact details.
· Stories to be typed and double spaced.
· Closing date 30th September.
to Warragul to the NSW border.
Enquiries Geoff Walker 02 49824095 or [email protected]
the article.
Postal Address: Literature Awards
PO Box 105
TANILBA BAY NSW 2319
There is a first, second and third prize for the General
The articles will be read by the main judge who will hand shortlisted articles to two other judges. Criteria for shortlisting will
include originality of theme, language skills and construction of
category, $1,500, $500 and $250 respectively. The Gippsland
category has a $350 first prize and $150 second prize. Depending on the quality of the shortlisted articles, the judges have the
discretion of awarding a $100 commendation prize/s.
East Gippsland TAFE Travel Writing Award
For the third year East Gippsland Institute of TAFE is offering
an award that is designed to capture those writers who prefer to
write in the non-fiction genre.
The word limit for each article is 1,500 words.
Entries must be in by Thursday, September 30, 2010. Winners and finalists will be announced after October 31.
If you have any questions regarding the awards you should con-
If you have had a unique travel experience and want to write
about it and win prize money, then this is the competition for
you.
8
tact Peter Millard on (03) 5150 4203 or by email to pmillard@
egtafe.vic.edu.au.
JULY - AUGUST 2007
BOORANGA
NEWS
EDITOR: DEREK MOTION
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2010
PUBLISHING, COMPETITIONS and OPPORTUNITIES
Screen and Theatre
Full conditions and entry form at: http://www.egtafe.vic.edu.
au/docs/writingcompetition/Writing%20Competition%20
Condtions%20of%20entry.pdf
Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award
Lyric Writing Competition
Applications are now open for the devleopment of a play or
other approved performing arts project. The award is for people
needing income support during the writing or development of
a project or to assist with the costs of production, workshops,
restaging, publishing or touring. It is not intended as a prize for
a finished work.
Closes 30th September
Write the lyrics to a new hit single, music composed by James
Roche. Winning lyrics will be recorded and released.
Visit www.australianpoetrycentre.org.au for further details.
Major Prize: $20000
Entries close: 5th October
Entry forms available at: http://www.sbwfoundation.com
Nature Writing Essay Prize
The Nature Conservancy Australia is giving you the chance to
win $5000 with publication in the journal Indigo.
A new biennial prize for nature writing open to any Australian, for an essay between 3000 and 5000 words exploring the
author’s sense of place in Australia.
Judged by Sally Blakeney and Mark Tredinnick.
Email [email protected] for guidelines, eligibility and entry
forms. Entries close 30th September.
9
BOORANGA WRITERS’ CENTRE
APPLICATION FOR 2011 MEMBERSHIP
Booranga (trading as Wagga Wagga Writers Writers Inc.) was formed in 1987 to assist and promote local authors and their
work. The group holds regular readings at local venues, conducts writing workshops, offers fellowships at Booranga, the Riverina Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University, and published an annual anthology, fourW, under the imprint of fourW press,
and is active in promoting writing and writers throughout the Riverina.
Membership period: 1st January to 31st
December 2011
Group membership (including one copy of fourW)
$55.00
Single membership (including one copy of fourW)
$36.00
Single membership (not including anthology)
$25.00
Concessional membership (one copy of fourW)
$26.00
Concessional membership (not including anthology)
$15.00
Student membership (under 21 years) not including
anthology
$11.00
MEMBERSHIP ENTITLES YOU TO...
- Copy of fourW twenty-one Anthology
- Regular newsletter (bi-monthly) & e-list mailouts
- 10% discount at Book City, Wagga
- 10% Discount at Angus & Robertson Bookworld,
Wagga
- 10% discount to RTC performances
- Member discounts to readings, performances & workshops
- Invitations to writing events & get-togethers
- Access to a network of writers, book enthusiaists &
other writers’ centres for information & friendship
- Use of Booranga Writers’ Centre resources, such as
library and computer
Please fill out and send application form to:
Wagga Wagga Writers Writers Inc. Booranga Writers’ Centre,
Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga NSW 2678, Phone/Fax (02) 69332688
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Email:
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Enclosed is: $............. cheque/money order FOR:
(please indicate membership type required)
undeliverable return to:
POSTAGE PAID AUSTRALIA
Booranga Writers’ Centre
Locked Bag 588
Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678
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AUSTRALIA
WWWW & the Booranga Writers’ Centre are supported by: