We spent a very rewarding afternoon being part of a group of writers for the launch of the latest Booranga Writers Anthology – fourW thirty-four New Writing. Thank you to the editor David Gilbey for his passion and hard work to bring this creation to fruition. David acknowledges a team of dedicated helpers and the large gathering at the Sydney launch was testament to gratitude of Australian writers. I like how David Gilbey describes our writings – “diverse, multi-layered &polyvocal writings . . .celebrated pieces are just a few of the gem in our ‘treasury of literature'” The launch was held in the auditorium of the AIT at Ultimo. The new anthology, fourW thirty-four includes new work from 76 writers from all over Australai and from overseas, more than 20 stories and fifty poems. It was special to be standing side by side with writer friends published, Pip Griffin, Antonia Reiseger and a few other familiar faces and to be published with some of our top poets Judith Beveridge, Andy Kissane, Mark McCleod, Damien O’Brien.
Dr. John Stephenson a novelist who has written many thoroughly researched novels including The Optimist which is an early look at the poet Christopher Brennan. He gave a wonderful address . The words I remember ‘where are you my beloved country’ and how standing lost one evening in a dead end on the way to Wagga Wagga he got out of his car to see the sign and found once again his beloved country there surrounding him and he knew everthting would be alright. It was very uplifting .
Everyone who was present got to read their work and it was powerful to hear the voices of so many of our poets and short stories writers from all around the country.
I felt very honoured to read my published poem Intrusion. It is an unusual set out for me but it wrote itself one day when I couldnt take the violence intruding into my lounge room any more and then the low prioity the subjects in the last stanza were given and the conclusion to make light of everything with the cat news .
How can we change this low brow news that is our daily and nightly story?
Unable to get the spacing to work on this blog I photographed the poem above, Thanks to editor, David Gilbey
intrusion
and a WARNING
the following contains scenes
that may disturb some viewers
discretion is advised
Ah says the screen gotcha
disarmed
i rummage for the remote
under a pile of papers or behind the cushions
and flick to another channel
i don’t need these unnecessary images
flip back in time to hear the newsreader gloat
if this has distressed . . .
tipped you over the tipping point
overwhelmed your lonely hard cruel overwhelmed life
sunk you even deeper into the pit
you can contact LIFELINE
or 1800RESPECT
back to the news
no longer raising the shock flag
another woman is murdered today
indigenous incarceration ratio increased
2000 feared drowned in Pakistani flood
and a new cat show
where cats learn to walk tight ropes