It was an exciting visit to Adelaide for a Ginninderra Press Celebration. There was much to celebrate: –
30 year milestone of Ginninderra. Press,
launch of the Anthology Telling Australia’s Truth, (Stephen Matthews final book before his untimely death.)
launch of Golden Days for Brenda Matthews (Eldridge)
and importantly to celebrate the life of Stephen Matthews AOM who would’ve been 80 years old this weekend.
The venue for our celebration was most fitting . Spectacular. The Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Cultural Centre
( a new and exciting centre on the banks of the Port River in the heart of Port Adelaide )
I love the welcome motto “Let us recognise the past, act in the present and build a better future.”
Set in beautiful grounds with natural playgrounds and shady picnic spaces.
Adelaide was a buzz with festival energy. Autumn a true delight
bursting with colour and tranquillity.
We strolled through the leafy mall and nearby streets and into the Botanical Gardens and sat under the golden hues of trees for a leisurely lunch.
The Art gallery is a bustle of wonderment . The Rodin sculpture i include in the photos
We loved the colour and sounds and smells of the multicultural food festival all the way along the mall.
Back story Ginninderra is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘throwing out little rays of light’, which is exactly what GP does, by giving voices to so many writers since its inception in 1996 in Canberra, reflected in its philosophy:
We believe that all people – not just a privileged few – have a right to participate actively in cultural creation rather than just being passive consumers of mass media. Stephen Matthews
Stephen Matthews, having graduated from Cambridge with a ‘fascination for books’, Stephen shared his journey into publishing, a path deterred by his career guidance counsellor who suggested teaching instead. So after taking his advice, and from there into bookselling and eventually into editing, Stephen pursued his desire to ‘give manuscripts a place in our culture’. He explained how getting published has literally changed peoples’ lives (I can vouch for that) and how print on demand has helped to secure the future of books, and indeed his workload.
A few past books discussed
Rays of Light: Ginninderra Press – the first 20 years compiled by Joan Fenney.
First Refuge launched by the former SA Premier and now ordained minister Lynn Arnold had this privilege and did so eloquently. These poems from 88 GP authors explore social justice reaching into uncomfortable spaces – war, domestic violence, refugees, isolation – leaving nothing unearthed, resulting in a somewhat emotional journey when reading it from cover to cover. To quote Ann, this is ‘a small book with big teeth, where language has power’.
Brenda Eldridge’s Golden Days navigates a gentle way through the journey of her husband Stephen Matthews’ fight with cancer and his choice to take the path of Voluntary Assisted Dying. In Brenda’s poem, ‘Silver Light’,she writes: I tease him about becoming a butterfly I want so much for him to be free.Brenda’s glorious and confronting poems explore a couple’s descent into illness; the helplessness and pain this inflicts. Her poems speak to an extraordinary love, full of tenderness, compassion, and the courage it takes to seek out golden days, as each day diminishes in hope.Her collection is a fitting tribute for Stephen Matthews, the man.