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Ring the Bells by Colleen Keating launch at State library NSW
The Launch of Ring the Bells – a new poetry collection by Colleen Keating
Cathedral bells chimed as Libby Hathorn held high my new poetry collection Ring the Bells and declared it launched.
It is a delightful feeling to have your new work officially out in the world.
Thank you to the award-winning author and poet Libby Hathorn for the launch and for our conversation,
poet to poet, about our passion for poetry, its efficacy and inimitable power.
I spoke of the four pathways into which my collection of poetry is divided:
embracing light, embracing dark, embracing life, embracing love.
Also how poetry writing is my creative energy, my passion and daily sunrise.
Thank you to all who attended. It was affirming to have a full house at our Society of Women Writers monthly meeting .
Thank-you to Debbie Lee and Ginninderra Press as publishers. Thanks to Rita Shaw for the chiming bells
at late notice and thanks to my daughter Sarah Little for her help in the creative power point presentation .
Our conversation finished with a word of advocacy for poetry. Speaking mainly to writers
I quoted the American poet Mary Oliver, who inspires us with her mantra:
“Pay attention, be amazed and write about it.”
Colleen Keating
“Bells tolling and poetry on the air– a wonderful launch of Colleen Keating unique poetry collection Ring the Bells (Ginninderra Press , The Society of of Women Writers NSW Inc at State Library NSW – a tintintabulation Australian Colleen Keating 2025” Libby Hathorn
A lovely catch up at the Society of Women Writers NSW Meeting at State Library NSW
Tolling Cathedral bells in the background.
Libby Hathorn in conversation with Colleen Keating will launch Colleen’s poetry book,
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St. Patricks Day 17th March 2026. We remember the blessing of John O’Donahue
Beannacht/Blessing
—John O’Donohue, Ireland (1956 – 2008)
For Josie, my mother On the day when the weight deadens on your shoulders and you stumble, may the clay dance to balance you. And when your eyes freeze behind the grey window and the ghost of loss gets into you, may a flock of colours, indigo, red, green and azure blue, come to awaken in you a meadow of delight. When the canvas frays in the currach of thought and a stain of ocean blackens beneath you, may there come across the waters a path of yellow moonlight to bring you safely home. May the nourishment of the earth be yours, may the clarity of light be yours, may the fluency of the ocean be yours, may the protection of the ancestors be yours. And so may a slow wind work these words of love around you, an invisible cloak to mind your life.
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Sláinte agus beannachtaí dár ndomhan, gach lá!
Health and blessings to our world, every day!
Thank you for reading today’s sublime and sublimely Irish poem/blessing.
On this most Irish day, with our world starving for blessings, how could I not return to the soul nourishment
that John so richly, richly offers? And that we can offer to one another?
John O’Donohue was an Irish poet, author, priest, and Hegelian philosopher.
He was a native Irish speaker, and as an author is best known for popularising Celtic spirituality.
My favourite book of his is Anam Cara
Words on the Waves Writers Festival May 27 – 31, 2026 are promoting Ring the Bells by Colleen Keating
Exciting to be chosen to promote my poetry collection Ring the Bells to launch and sell it at the Words on the Waves Writers Festival.
to be held May 27th to 31st May 2026.
Our visit to the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden in Wellington New Zealand.
Katherine Mansfield
Today I honour Katherine Mansfield — a New Zealand literary icon ( 1888-1923)
Her words shaped New Zealand’s literary voice on the world stage.
She is living tribute to her brilliance and the her shared heritage.
She is best known for her Modernist short stories .
She spent time living in Europe and mixed with many progressive and well known writers, artists. poets etc.
Her work was admired by fellow 20th century writers, including Virginia Woofe , D.H. Lawrence.,Thomas Hardy, and Elizabeth Bowen.
Her journals and letters evoke a passionate individual, dedicated to her craft, whose life was tragically cut short by tuberculosis aged 34.
On our Anniversary-holiday, where we cruised around the South Island of New Zealand we had the exciting opportunity to spend the time while berthed in the Capital Wellington, to revisit Katherine Mansfield House and Garden. We walked with our given map to 25 Tinakori Rd, which was about 15 mins from the Quay. (It took us half an hour, but we did wander and enjoy the journey.)
Unfortunately a motor way now races beneath the preserved house, but at the house and garden we forgot about the business and noise. where she was born and lived her early years. It has been preserved and beautifully restored. I felt the love and dedication given to this beauiful place.
The house and garden gives us a glimpse into the home of a fashionable colonial family, what life was like for Mansfield Katherine Mansfield as a young girl living in Wellington and the life and writing of a woman far away from her first home.
The first view was of the garden, which was beautifully cared for and was connected with Katherine’s writing..
Michael and I after our walk and discovery of the House & Garden.
My favourite sign as I love roses and there were many roses not in bloom at the moment
Inside the house we were amazed at the detail and the ways it has been restored. An honour
for Katherine that it is here and cared for lovingly.
- Dining room 2. Sitting room 3. A stunnin 4. A stunning period chair 5. Michael with the Grandfather clock.
- The last two bring back memories of the old days with the traymobile and the fuel stove that my Nanna had.
One of my connections with here is my favourite story called The Doll’s House.
A short story that shows inequality and the hard reality of life where the children pull our heart strings so wistfully.
And here is the Dolls’ House that inspired the story.
Summary: The story explores the theme of class distinction and cruelty in society.
It is set in rural New Zealand and based on Mansfield’s own experiences growing up.
The story follows the Burnell children receiving a doll’s house as a gift. While Kezia wants to show it to the poor Kelvey sisters,
her sister Isabel refuses due to their lower class. Later, Kezia secretly invites the sisters to see it, but they are dismissed.
The doll’s house and its lamp symbolize hope for overcoming social discrimination.
To read The Doll’s House hopefully click below or google as there is a PDF of the story 8 min read.
https://susannahfullerton.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/THE-DOLLS-HOUSE.pdf
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I mention again the award-winning book, Virginia & Katherine: The Secret Diaries by my friend Pip Griffin (Pohutukawa Press 2022)
that was being sold at the Shop and now I discover it is sold out.
Some flowers in the Katherine Mansfield Garden
Our talk on Mary Oliver for U3A Eastwood Poetry Appreciation
A summary of our talk for U3A on Mary Oliver
Colleen & Michael Keating
“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination” Mary Oliver
I love reading and being inspired by Mary Oliver. Her language is fresh and crisp:
simple and ordinary in a way
that wisdom is always simple. and ordinary. Her imagery is rich and memorable.
I think of her as a technician of the sacred. And she is one of my guides to the natural world.
And I keep discovering her imagery over and over
I hope you enjoy getting to know her too.
Michael
*Mary Olive was Born September 10th 1935 in Ohio
*An American poet who has won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
*The NY Times described her as “far and away America’s best-selling poet.”
*Her poetry turns towards nature for its inspiration and she describes the sense of wonder it instills in her. eg
“when its over I want to say,
“all my life I was a bride
married to amazement.
I was a bridegroom
taking the world into my arms.” (When death comes)
When she left school in 1953 she wanted to get away from her oppressive family situation and on a whim
visited Steppletop the home of Edna St Vincent Millay which was a centre of writing and poetry.
and made friends with Millay’s sister Norma and Mary Oliver stayed there and helped over the next few years
to collate the papers of this late poet.
One day on a visit there she met the photographer Molly Malone Cook, they fell in love as she says:
“I took one look and fell,
hook and tumble”
and set up home together, settling in Provincetown in Massachusetts. That was in 1960 and her partner died after 40 years in 2005
and Mary Oliver continued to live there. and died on the 17th January 2019. We have noted at lease 25 published books of poetry.
Colleen
*Her poetry is grounded in memories of her early life in Ohio and her adopted home in Provincetown in New England.
Most of the imagery in her poetry is found in and around her home.
*She reminds me of Emily Dickinson both having an affinity for solitude and an interior reflective
voice and both inspired by their immediate surrounds.
*A clear and poignant observer of the natural world . Her creativity is stirred by nature and accessed through walking .
*She acknowledges strong influence from two early Nature poets Whitman and Thoreau
Her idols also included the Romantics Shelley and Keats. And as we will notice even in the first poem
she show reference to Rilkie .
Sometimes I feel there is a Rumi influence too.
*Her writings are filled with the imagery from her daily walks near her home.
shore birds, water snakes, grasshoppers, sunflowers ,phases of the moon,
dawn, forests, light .
She says:
“I go to my woods, my ponds,
my sun-filled harbour,
no more then a blue comma
on the map of the world
but to me the emblem of everything”
*She has been called “a patroller of wetlands “ as Thoreau is called “an inspector of snow storms”
*She uses unadorned language and accessible themes
Michael
*A poet of Wisdom e.g. on Pinterest there are pages of people who have been captured by her wisdom,
using lines from her poems to create posters and banners . A few years back we found her words
on grand posters all over the walls and poles of our local McDonalds restaurant.
I think because she grapples and identifies the essence of the matter and has the ability to write simple succinct lines
and her words are spare she is accessible to the reader.
Colleen
*And what I love she can describe ecstasy while retaining a practical awareness of the world as one of predators and prey.
Being in the paradox of the agony and ecstasy
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Here are the poems we read and pondered together, finding the collective wisdom of our great U3A Poetry Appreciation Group
Invitation
Peonies
When I am among the trees
The Summer Day
The Journey
Wild Geese
The Fish
The Poet With His Face In His Hands
How I go to the woods
When death comes
Swan
I Worried
Self–portrait
Can You Imagine
Sleeping in the Wood
That Little Beast
Catchment – Voices. Poetry of Place 5th edition
Catchment – Poetry of Place
Exciting news 5 of my tanka are going to be read on the radio. from February 2026.
Greetings, Colleen.
We are proud to have chosen the following poetry of yours for recorded readings, within our latest initiative, Tanka Tones:
– ‘Changi’
– ‘walking the beach’
– ‘an empty sky’
– ‘in Shiki’s garden’
After recording & editing, we will start making postings online on the 14th & 28th days of each month
Nine Streams of selected tanka will be released in total.
At present, we envisage commencing in February, but will advise you subsequently about specific dates.
To be presented by a team of six readers, in rotation, readings will go live in sets of four.
Previous postings will be readily available, archived immediately below – as with all releases through Catchment, access will be free, with no subscription/ fee payable.
This project follows closely in the footsteps of Catchment Voices, likewise produced through 3BBR-FM: again, a proportion of audio files from Tanka Tones will also be broadcast on local community radio, in West Gippsland, Victoria.
As members of the Catchment team, we are grateful to Paul Strickland from 3BBR for his backing, while also thanking you for your support: we hope you will feel we have done justice to your writing within Tanka Tones.
Looking forward to receiving further submissions from you in future, we wish you all the very best for the year to come!
Cheers,
Rodney Williams
Editor
Catchment – Poetry of Place
Baw Baw Arts Alliance
Gunaikurnai country
Memorial for Monica author of Blotch
Our gift
for Monica
These words are a song of celebration
not of lament
In this room with Monica
there is only room for joy
Swathed in colours of life
she was Monica
her bright cheerful loving face
a spark lighting up our world
Her tools in our years together
were words and writing books
and determination to see them
into the hands of children.
Bright and happy swathed
in her white furry costume
she was Blotch the dog
Blotch who wanted to see the world
getting smuggled onto a plane
to have an adventure
in her beloved Chile
Her horizons were always hopeful
for Monica the clouds were promising
shade if it was too hot
rain if it was too dry
comforting when times were hard or sad.
Monica your unabashed enthusiasm
was translucent
your love and pride in family
your cheery loving phone calls and sad ones.
your welcoming arms wrapped around me
your greeting always as if for the first time
Little was I to know one of those was the last.
My symphonic friend of joy
we had a blast in our writing days
Thank you for you.
Colleen
The venue was stunning. Monica would ve loved it.
Happy Days We had a blast
DAY OF MOURNING 22 nd January 2026 ~~~Light will Win ~~~
DAY OF MOURNING Sydney JANUARY 22 nd 2026.
“Et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt.
“”The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not seized it.” Mozart
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“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” Martin Luther King
“The sun never says”
— Hafez (Khājeh Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī), Persia (c.1325-1390)
Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that – It lights the whole world!Thank you to Dr.Stephanie Dowrick for her New Year initiative of the poetry and photography. Hafez Shirazi (1325–1390) was a 14th century Persian poet. Persian .
He is regarded by Iranians as one of the highest pinnacles of Persian Literature.
His works are often found in the homes of Persain speakers who learn the poems by heart
over the centuries and use them as everyday proverbs and sayings.
Our candle from Darkinjung land
while on holidays.
Mitzvah is an act of kindness, compassion and a moral responsibility.
A simple act of kindness.
Fifteen suggested Mitzvah for the 15 people lost in the Bondi attack
- Give to others – donate to organisations in service of others.
- Uplift the sick – visit someone who is unwell and offer support.
- Help those who have helped you – perform one small task to help your parent or older relative.
- Open your home – offer hospitality to someone you may not have thought to.
- Travel with care – help those needing transport, treat the roads and drivers with respect.
- Act with intent – reflect with a moment of silence to seek guidance and clarity before beginning a task.
- Prioritise family – spend the first hour of your evening dedicated to your family, screen-free.
- Gratitude first – begin your day with thanks for the good things surrounding you.
- Prayer for healing – say a prayer for the complete physical and spiritual recovery for the victims of the Bondi massacre.
- Work with integrity – give the time you committed to the tasks you committed to.
- Pay it forward – When someone wants to repay you for an act of kindness, encourage them to ‘pay it forward’ to a stranger instead.
- Cherish your partner and friend – remind those you love every day how grateful you are for all they do for you.
- Kindness without expecting anything in return – Quietly perform an act of kindness to brighten someone else’s day.
- Teach children – read children stories that show them all the good in the world.
- Legacy of life – empower the next generation to carry forward not with loss but with hope.