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Symphony Central Coast: One Land, Many Stories

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What a moving, exciting afternoon concert  we experienced on Sunday 23rd February 2020.

Originally it was to be held in The Entrance Park and we had planned to walk there but the flood of Tuggerah Lake has caused damage in the park hence it was changed to Kibble Park in Gosford.  Kibble Park is a very pleasing park but we needed to drive and hesitated about traffic and parking. By hook or by crook I wanted to go to this concert. So we went. 

The concert called One Land, Many Stories brought together performers and composers to showcase quality Australian music – from quiet reflections on our personal space in a very old country to an exuberant celebration of shared values.

There were stories of creation, ritual and first meetings

and music that evokes the Dreamtime spirit of Australia, 

the grandeur of the colonial stock run 

and the stars above us all. 

Performers from Central Coast Grammar School and Central Coast Youth Orchestra, 

plus special guest artists joined the Central Coast Symphony Orchestra. There was a world premiere of a piece by Kevin Hunt.  

It began with with a smoking ceremony. Green eucalypts leaves smoked and gave off a wonderful healing aroma . Many bathed in the smoke but there was no need to file past as we felt the cleaning power from where we were sitting. 

  

There was a heartfelt welcome to country. The first piece of music was very appropriate for Australia still grieving after the unprecedented Summer bush fire season – Peter Sculthorpe’s Earth Cry together with some insightful poetry about lament for Mother earth.

Next was An Ancient Forest Once Stood Here composed by Sarah Hopkins. Then a very Indigenous piece telling the creation story in music, poetry with clap sticks in unison with the European pealing of bells and the earthy magic of the didgeridoo .

Next was Stars Above us by Stephen Conroy, then the World premiere of Kevin Hunt’s 

Yaggabantana. The  lyrics were sung in one of the Indigenous languages with the British settlers singing  in English as they learn and copy each others language.

After interval we learnt that Spike Milligan was a Central coast boy and he composed A grand  waltz for the Central Coast .  Next Aurora Australis  composed by Martyn Hancock from Tasmania.

Listening to this music one could hear the cracking of the ice and the fiery colours scintillating across the night sky.  It was an exhilarating piece. 

Not my favourite, but i accept we need experimental music. Kinetica by Mark Grandison was experimenting with sound and I could see the young people in the orchestra were really enjoying it.

Then we segued with poetry from Man from Snowy River and  and the music from the movie which blended into Waltzing Matilda and back to the overture of The man from Snowy. We could see those brumby horses go.

Finally We are Australia sang in language and English. Breath-takingingly beautiful. Heartwarming and healing. As Stan Grant says we are making the space for the conversation and we are coming together more and more. 

By the way, the birds in the trees loved the soirée. They made their presence heard .It was a delight to hear them as they have been so silent all summer.

 

The new Anthology, Love’s Footprint edited Maree Silver & Leigh Hay

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LOVE’S  FOOTPRINT  published by Poetica Christi Press

  Edited by Maree Silver & Leigh Hay

It is exciting to have two poems chosen to be included in the very thoughtful Anthology Love’s Footprint published by Poetica Christi Press. My two poems ‘bells’ and ‘morning glory’  were chosen among 132 poems that make this Anthology an enjoyable read.

It has been a joy to read this anthology by poets whose experiences speak from and into vulnerability, risk, ageing and loss, in ways that are believable and moving. There were many notable poems which surprised and warmed me. You will be consoled and absorbed by the truth-telling  of the poets who have in common the human and divine capacity to love in both action and word. (Marlene Marburg, poet and author Grace a upon Grace)

 

The Blue Nib reviews Hildegard of Bingen by Colleen Keating

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https://thebluenib.com/article/hildegard-of-bingen-colleen-keating-reviewed/

‘Hildegard of Bingen’ Colleen Keating – Reviewed

By

Emma Lee

Reviews
Colleen-Keating-Hildegard-of-Bingen

‘Hildegard of Bingen’ Colleen Keating

(Ginninderra Press www.ginninderrapress.com.au

ISBN 9781760417666, 248pp, $Aus 35)

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a nun, sold into a convent aged 8, initially under care of Jutta von Sponheim (1091-1136). Hildegard specialised in medical properties of herbs and plants and had religious visions which she dictated to a scribe. She also undertook four journeys to spread word of her faith and was officially canonised in 2012. Colleen Keating’s poems form a book-length sequence telling Hildegard von Bingen’s story, starting in Hildegard’s teenage years. Her confessor, Abbot Kuno, already sees Hildegard as a potential problem, in ‘Confessor’,

‘He questions Hildegard’s sincerity,
annoyed by her fervour.
He knows he is not the confessor for her.
Blessed Jutta is different
he tells himself impatiently,
compliant and so very holy.’

Abbot Kuno’s attitude reminds Hildegard of her mother’s warning in ‘Her Secret’,

‘when a beautiful light spoke to her,
when she knew more than she should
when her mother warned her to remain silent,
for fear it is the devil at work.’

However, Abbot Kuno has to grudgingly accept Hildegard’s growing fame as a healer, ‘Pilgrims’ ends,

‘Abbot Kuno builds
a small oratory for his sisters,
alert to their fame and charisma
and the revenue
they attract to his monastery.’

Hildegard continues to have her visions but, unfortunately, Jutta’s health seriously deteriorates as she pushes herself to starve and walk on frosty ground barefoot under Abbot Kuno’s urging to push her to sainthood. As Hildegard tends Jutta, she notes in ‘The Last Swallows’, ‘Jutta has her mind only

on heaven,/ to be remembered as a saint.’ In the ‘Passing of Jutta’, ‘Jutta mumbles a litany of virgins and martyrs/ Ursula, Barbara, Agatha./ Hildegard cries names/ of strong biblical women/ Deborah, Judith, Miriam, Esther, Ruth.’ The names reflect the women’s characters.

Hildegard feels ‘A Call to Write’,

‘Light blinds her.
She hears the hum and strike of words:
O fragile human, ashes of ashes,
dust of dust,
say and write what you hear.’

Abbot Kuno allows her a scribe, Volmar. A Papal Envoy summons Hildegard. In ‘Divine Revelation’, ‘The bishops sit high on large carved chairs./ Abbot Kuno sits with a severe frown/ behind an oak desk against the wall./ His impatient tap of fingers/ does not deter Hildegard.’ Turn the page and a missive, ‘The papal envoy calls your words inspired./ You are requested to continue.’ Despite the Papal Envoy’s blessing, Abbot Kuno obstructs her from completing her manuscript of visions. Hildegard goes on hunger strike. Volmar writes to Bishop Henry of Mainz who instructs Abbot Kuno to comply. He allows her to journey to Bingen to build a new abbey. ‘The Art of Perseverance’ sees the abbey established, her manuscript now has 150,000 words and 34 illuminations, and Hildegard has chance to take stock and reflect on her discovery of music,

‘a sacred text in love and trust
and the art of perseverance.
Her years are divided by liturgical feasts
her days marked by the hours
time, by the moon and seasons
rhythmic flow of the cycles.
Abbot Kuno’s stubborn
withhold of dowries constrains here.
Yet nothing constraints her spirit.

Oh, how her spirit soars.
The opera must be performed
for our new chapel opening.’

After three missionary journeys, which aren’t detailed in the poems, Hildegard returns to the issue of the withheld dowries, taking it up with Kuno’s successor, the Abbot of Disibodenberg, in ‘The Letter’

‘Not to release our dowries is unjust, selfish, illegal.
I can see you’ve ignited a black fire against Rupertsberg.
Yes, I see this in you. I’m only a poor insignificant woman,
weak and worthless, yet if you listen to me,
you’ll learn something.

Inside your soul, you  must feel embarrassed
when you see yourself for who you ware.
Sometimes you’re an angry, growling unkind bear,
but since you are so weak, you only snarl quietly under your breath.

The italics are a quote from her letter and, despite their tone, the dowries are released. There’s a ‘Last Missionary Journey’ where Hildegard talks to Volmar, ‘I must journey forth in these dark times,/ speak out for our people./ They especially need encouragement.’ Following an incident where buries a beggar in her abbey and refuses to allow the beggar to be exhumed and re-buried outside of consecrated ground, music is banned from her abbey. Hildegard’s reaction is captured in ‘The Final Letter’ to Archbishop Christian of Mainz,

‘So you and all your prelates must use the greatest vigilance
in stopping, by decree, the mouth of any assembly
of people singing to God.
Beware,
lest in your judgement you are ensnared by Satan,
who draws man out of the celestial harmony
and delights of paradise.

By silencing song in our abbeys you cut human fellowship
with the angelic praise of heaven, but graver still
you disrupt the harmony of body and soul.’

Again the italics are direct quotes. With her own life coming to an end, Hildegard notes, ‘A Circle Ends Where it Begins’ and ‘watches herself both hands in the air,/ eyes to the heavens, turn and twirl a dance of light.’

In ‘Hildegard of Bingen’ Colleen Keating has done meticulous research and brought Hildegard to life in a series of poems that follow a chronological narrative arc. The liveliest sections are where Hildegard is quoted and able to speak for herself. Some sections do however tell readers that this incident happened, then another incident happened which gives the section a prosaic, list-like feel. Overall ‘Hildegard of Bingen’ paints a picture of a compassionate, dedicated woman, not afraid to rebel and stand up for just causes when necessary.

https://thebluenib.com/article/hildegard-of-bingen-colleen-keating-reviewed/

 

Seeing the world through childrens’ eyes

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Seeing the world through children’s eyes. 

When the tide recedes beyond the horizon
and the underbelly of the sea is exposed
for little adventurers, Edison and Darcy
the rock platform is a necklace of pools
shimmering like emeralds and full of treasure.

Worry of slipping and falling is not their concern
they hop from rock to rock                                                    
clamber about down on their tummies
their shining eyes
reflected in the mirrored sea.

Everything is magical and extraordinary
Come here, quick Grandma 
the crabs are humongous. 
a scuttle of creatures disappear in our shadow
making us wait quietly
pretending we’re not here
as the rocks curl with camouflaged
crustaceans creeping out
and pincers like boxing gloves
point up at us.                                                    

In their eyes there is wonder
as red anemones sway the waves
as the molluscs trail into patterns
as starfish wash up like gift
as a sting ray glides past their toes
as these curious boys
learn to be respectful of the living world

Seeing the world through children’s eyes
makes me happy to be alive
as we steal out to the edge of the sea
and look for whales
as we dig in the sand on the edge of the beach
as we allow gentle laps of waves
to fill our canals and tunnels
and moats to protect our castles
until Darcy sees more fun in jumping
on them as quick as we can  mould the sand
seeing the world through children’s eyes

Colleen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer walk: The Poetry of Tuggerah Lake

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The Poetry of Tuggerah Lake

 

 

Our walk begins on the beach,
low tide and the sea gulls
strutting on the edge,
a flotilla of pelicans glide
with the incoming tide.
A cormorant dives over and over
no chance of predicting where he’d surface.

Coffee from the barrister
at The Lake House is worth the anticipation
(no milk at the apartment so we were hanging out.) 

Two fisherman gut their catch at the sink- bench
and pelicans line up for their share of the feed.

Corellas paired up and sing  preening each other
some on the grass, some in the trees
near an awkward looking ibis pretending
to look elegant on a branch
where cormorants play notes
on musical staves

and on the lake
black swans silky as ballerinas
flaunt with their reflections
on the shiny mirrored lake.

Lap wings were out
squawking to claim their territory.
The council has fenced off
the sand dune to protect
nests of the Little Terns
who migrate from China for the summer
and we watch their acrobatics
around the dunes and seaweed.

 

The sandstone rocks glint
with their striations and swivels and colour
showing us more than any history
or geology text book could

Our signature spoonbill
we expect to see, is again there
as we cross the bridge near the lake,
with his caravan of ducks and hangers-on
waiting for him to disturb the mudflat.

The morning lake catches
the clouds, the sky and ever changing light
and on our way back as the tide turns
the sea spray against the rocks
sings alleluia to another day. 

White Pebbles Haiku Group – Summer

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Our seasonal walk for Summer was held on the 14th December.  It is our fourth seasonal walk for the year. We call these walks a ginko from the Japanese idea of a reflective seasonal walk and writing of haiku.

On Saturday the 14th of December the White Pebbles Haiku Group met at the Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Gardens for a summer ginko and lunch.

Seven White Pebbles’ members attended. Beverley George convened the meeting and welcomed Maire Glacken, Colleen Keating, Verna Rieschild, Gwen Bitti, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde and Kent Robinson.

 

L to R: Verna Rieschild, Gwen Bitti, Samantha Sirimanne Hyde, Beverley George, Kent Robinson, Colleen Keating, Maire Glacken

We met in the café at the Gosford Regional Gallery for refreshment, then proceeded into the garden for our ginko. As per usual, the garden was manicured immaculately. We wandered, quietly jotting images and composing haiku. Through gardenia scent, we became aware of the sound of a cascading waterfall, the melody of which was accompanied by cicada song. Ducks and koi carp that animated the garden’s pond, birthed inspiration for several haiku. The laughter of children pervaded the scene.

After our ginko, we retired to the small lunchroom, which had been reserved for us, thanks to the kindness of The Gosford Regional Gallery, for a post ginko meeting at our customary round table.

A week before, Beverley had supplied us with a work sheet. Each of us shared haiku inspired by this work sheet and found that it was a fine catalyst with which to start our meeting. We then moved on to focus on the results of our ginko. There was a wealth of imagery and inspiring haiku offered. As we sat together in our snug, we worked on images and haiku that needed a little polish. All in all, our rewarding time together was one of camaraderie and learning.

We returned to the café for lunch. A fine time was had by all and with the festive season upon us, we ate, drank and were merry! The consensus was that everyone had immensely enjoyed our summer ginko and all looked forward to meeting again in autumn.

Report by Kent Robinson

Women Writers Network WWN Rozelle

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Women Writers Network, Rozelle.  

I feel very privileged to be part of  the Women Writers Network.  We are a group  of about 30 women writers who share their writing and assist by editing and affirming each others work.

At each meeting you will find about 8 -14 women ready to share which makes a great quorum for fruitful production.   For many it is a way of keeping their work on track. For some already on track it is excellent feed-back . The  reading aloud of your own work  to an audience is an effective self-critiquing exercise.

We meet at The Writers Centre Rozelle, weekly at 1pm, an open group, we welcome new writers and experienced writers – novelist, poets, playwright and story tellers.  (Writing NSW is the new title of the venue)

We have four Anthologies published –  Centrelines, edited by Siobhan Colman, Hot off the Press  edited by Siobhan Colman and  Nathalie Apouchtine, Our Women’s Work edited by Colleen Keating and Decima Wraxall and Silda Trainor and Bare  Poetry and Prose, edited by Colleen Keating and Decima Wraxall.  We look forward to a new anthology in the next year.

Our venue in a parkland setting changes each season .

This is from our window the past weeks.

 

 

A launch of a new book is a celebration

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This afternoon amidst Christmas celebrations we stopped at 3.30 to join Antonia Reiseger  to welcome her new book Poppies .  It was exciting to welcome Peter Skrzynecki  the Australian poet who tells us so much  of who we are,  to the Writers Centre to launch Antonia’s  new poetry book . In his speech Peter spoke of the satisfaction being in the Judith Wright Room for it was Judith who encouraged this young and promising poet with an unusual name to be the Piet he became . And he has just written a book of his experience with Judith Wright . As one person commented as he got up to read one of Antonia’s poems . . . These poem are really to be breathed rather than read . How true. Congratulations Antonia on an exquisite poetry boo

 

 

k .

Bush Walk: Crackneck Lookout south to the Trig Station

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A Spring Coastal Heathland walk 

Today we took the walk from Crackneck Lookout  to the Trig station.

Last Spring the Flannel Flowers were spectacular so this spring September 2019 we returned to enjoy the same. We were a little early. Recommend you wait till mid October to see acres of wild Flannel Flowers. For us they were mostly baby buds still hiding from the world.

However the spring brought wildflowers,  with lots of new colour to the bush. Spectacular –  purple boronias, powerful pink eriostemons australiensis,  red grevilleas, bright blue dampiera, yellow ispogon, dillwynias, gompholobiums, bossiaeas,  yellow hakea.  Add to this the vibrant Cabbage Tree Palms and the Grass trees and the vistas of the sea through the bush made for a wonderful morning. The trees and variety of barks and colours I will leave till a later ‘Tree’ post.

It is becoming a tradition to take this walk each spring –its sandy path and bird life serendading us along the path invigorates us for the rest of the day.

Can you see Michael amidst the beauty of the grass tree and palms ?

 

 

Letter to Oodgeroo Noonuccal from Katie Noonan

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Dear Oodgeroo,

When I was around seven years old I studied poetry from your book My People for a school assignment and I was immediately struck by the visceral power of your words. It was a transformative moment, a moment when I realised the power of language and storytelling. As a daughter of a journalist I was acutely aware of the power of the written word, but this was my first interaction with poetry that really moved me.

This first encounter with your writing also started a deep interest in the culture of our First Nation Australians. At the time, like most white Australian kids, I had no knowledge of this ancient and extraordinary culture and had never met an Indigenous person. Your words gave me a warm welcome into this world, a world that in my adult life I have been fortunately welcomed into, largely through the prism of music making.

Thank you for your powerful words, thank you for teaching me and for opening my mind and heart to your amazing culture. Thank you for introducing me to the magic of Minjerribah and thank you for allowing myself and other Queensland women to stand on your shoulders in a world where gender equality is the best it’s ever been.

I think you would be thrilled to know that right now in Queensland,  we have the most women in state parliament in Australian history. We have the first Australian woman to be elected for two terms as Premier, we have our first female State Secretary and we also have Queensland’s first female Indigenous Minister—your extraordinary niece Minister Leeanne Enoch. It is thanks to women like you that statistics like this are possible.

The Ngugi, Gorenpul and Noonuccal families on your magic y are also currently negotiating new native title for Mulgulpin (Moreton Island). The Quandamooka people were declared the traditional owners of Minjerribah in 2011, and I just recently finished looking at the plans for a wonderful new and amazing arts centre in Dunwich—it is a very exciting time for Quandamooka country.

On this project, after chatting with your grand-daughter Petrina Walker and her brother Raymond, we arranged for your grandson Joshua to translate ten poems of yours into Jandai language for your great grand-daughter Kaleenah to recite with us. She sounds amazing—incredibly strong and powerful.

We have ten of our finest classical composers setting your words to music and five of them are from Queensland. With the six performers on the album—four of us are from Queensland also—Kaleenah and myself, and Dale and Francesca from the Australian String Quartet. It was very important for me that the people on this project be connected to you and your country.

My sincere hope for this project is that more people discover your extraordinary words and your vision for the future of this country is realised, The Glad Tomorrow,  where all Australians, regardless of race or gender, combine from shore to shore and live as equals.

Oodgeroo, thank you for your words, your leadership, your tenacity and your incredible legacy.

Love,

Katie Noonan