A larf ...

Blind Dog Tale

Lily a 6 year old great dane lost his eyesight due to a rare disease. He became disheartened until he met Madison. They have been together for 5 years and Madison guides Lily by the leash and touches him to make sure he doesn't stumble over anything. The picture reveals how dependant and loving they are to each other. 

♥ THERE'S ALWAYS A LESSON OF LOVE TO LEARN FROM ALL ANIMALS ♥ 

Phil Hall joins me in the cabin of TRUCK

As I may have bragged before, I'm guest editor of TRUCK magazine for the month of November. At present, I am following a line on collaboration, so I thought I'd prompt you to visit http://halvard-johnson/blogspot.com/ and read on from this beginning -

Shikibu Shuffle

Andrew Burke / Phil Hall

Murasaki Shikibu (973—1014)

Ornette Coleman (double quartet experiments, 1960)

Editor: One of those happy turns of fate brought Phil Hall, Canadian poet, and myself together in a Perth backyard about three years ago. He also hails from Perth - but his one's in Canada. We struck up a conversation, swapped poetry anecdotes and a couple of books, and kept in touch by email. Then I had a heart attack and was queued up for life-saving surgery. I just had to wait, unable to do much at all, kept alive by sprays and medical potions. To distract myself and to learn something of Phil's absolutely different poetics, we agreed to collaborate on a text. I wrote, he wrote, then we shuffled lines together to make a final text - actually, although I wrote 50% of this, Phil did most of the shuffling because he was so good at it! 

2.

Don’t play what’s there

play what’s not there

a Chinese dragon of smoke

wearing my dead friend’s clothes

above the marina

I stall on the floating bridge

and turn Schubert or Mingus

down low     upright in

the long paddock

gathers rain

You'll never see these ads again. How fast the world changes!

‎"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

~ Albert Einstein

SMH: 'Elevated chair for a man of poetry'

Barry Spurr. Photo: James Brickwood

IT SEEMS fitting that the first person in Australia to hold a professorial chair in poetry and poetics draws on Wordsworth for his job description: ''The only way to read a poet is to love him.''

Professor Barry Spurr, who was appointed to the position at the University of Sydney this week, is a traditionalist. He has a voice like drought - dry and expansive - and made for reading poetry.

He has spoken, without notes, to thousands of undergraduates, breaking frequently into long recitations. His voice has been raised occasionally to criticise post-modern texts, dress standards, illiterate first-year students and Australians' idolatry of sport.

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When he arrived at the University in 1970 he was a shy Canberra boy, overwhelmed by campus politics. But he found welcome stability in the English department, where - apart from a two-year scholarship to Oxford - he has remained ever since.

Spurr could be described as eccentric. He was one of the last people to conduct his lessons in full academic gown. Realising no one else was doing so, he reverted to coat and tie some time in the 1980s. ''That makes you sound terribly hidebound,'' he says, when called a conservative.

''Let me think how to put it: I don't believe in change for change's sake.''

The poet Les Murray wrote a letter of congratulations.

''It is rare to have a person interested in poetry as distinct from the furthering of what you might call Stasi-type criticism in Australia,'' he says. ''In the last 30 years or more, poetry criticism has descended more and more into politics - and a really nasty form of politics.''

When the ''culture wars'' broke out in the 1990s he spoke out against excessive post-modernism in the English syllabus. When John Howard criticised television for a collapse in manners, he was quoted in support.

Spurr says he will use his position to influence the national curriculum and advocate on behalf of the canon.

The dean of the faculty of arts and social sciences, Duncan Ivison, says: ''Some say poetry is struggling to survive in the broader public culture. It's alive and well at Sydney [University].''

- all the above from http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/elevated-chair-for-a-man-of-poetry-20101216-18zj1.html

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/elevated-chair-for-a-man-of-poetry-20101216-18zj1.html#ixzz1dAqt57CU

11 word writing competition for 11/11/11

Go to it! Scene, characters, plot - good luck!

http://www.writingbar.com/2011/11/competitions/11-word-story-competition-enter-now/

The Best Australian Poems 2011

Edited by JOHN TRANTER

‘What a rich, strange and diverse lot these poems turned out to be … I suspect that these baroque and potent imaginings can only have come into existence as fragments of dreams or nightmares.’ — John Tranter

In The Best Australian Poems 2011, celebrated poet John Tranter selects the most vigorous, varied and interesting poems of the last year. This sparkling collection shines a light on the phantasmagorical nature of poetry, evoking images, transformations and events that range from the playful to the melancholy by way of exuberance and satire. Featuring award-winning poems alongside brand-new works, as well as a mix of emerging and renowned poets, this is a volume of surreal beauty and emotional resonance.

Poets include: Robert Adamson, Ali Alizadeh, Jude Aquilina, Ken Bolton, Pam Brown, joanne burns, Sarah Day, Bruce Dawe, Kate Fagan, Michael Farrell, Angela Gardner, Geoff Goodfellow, Lisa Gorton, Jennifer Harrison, Sarah Holland-Batt, Jill Jones, Cate Kennedy, Andy Kissane, Mike Ladd, Kate Lilley, Jennifer Maiden, David McCooey, Les Murray, Ouyang Yu, Felicity Plunkett, Peter Rose, Gig Ryan, Jaya Savige, Thomas Shapcott, Craig Sherborne, Pete Spence, Peter Steele, Maria Takolander, Andrew Taylor, Tim Thorne, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Alan Wearne and many more…

Buy it today from your neighbourhood indie bookseller.

Spike Milligan's Love

Ostensibly, Spike Milligan – The Serious Poet (Radio 4, Sunday) was about his poetry, especially the darker verse he wrote while in the grip of manic depression. But what leapt out, and in a very cheerful way, were the ties and love linking Milligan and his daughters. Their voices as they read his poems filled the programme in a truly spirited way.

"He was an enchanting father," we heard. They recalled childhoods full of magic and play with him. He was more at ease with children, they noted, than the adult world that depressed him, but he couldn't tolerate seeing them in any pain. When he split up with the mother of two of his daughters and gained custody of them, he explained in an old interview clip, he saw his children's haunted faces and became determined "to keep up with trying to love them enough to make up for all the shortcomings".

As children, they were oblivious to some of his behaviour ("I thought my dad was celibate because he slept in a separate room", one daughter said, guffawing at her naivety) but knew they had to tread carefully around his illness. He'd disappear into his room, they remembered, leaving a note on A4 paper stuck to his door. "Fuck off," it would read. "I want to die."

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/nov/06/radio-review-spike-milligan-poet?newsfeed=true

There are holes in the sky
where the rain gets in -
but the holes are so small
that's why the rain is thin.

- Spike Milligan (by memory, so apologies if line breaks are wrong, I think the words are right.)

Perpetual Limited : Acclaimed poet Robert Adamson wins the 2011 Patrick White Award

Perpetual has today announced Robert Adamson, acclaimed for his poetry inspired by Sydney's Hawkesbury River, as the winner of the 2011 Patrick White Award.

The annual award, currently worth $18,000, was established by Patrick White with the proceeds of his 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature to acknowledge writers who have made a significant contribution to Australian literature. Writers are automatically eligible without the necessity for submissions. The philanthropic trust backing the award is managed by Perpetual as trustee.

Andrew Thomas, General Manager of Philanthropy at Perpetual said "Patrick White generously used his Nobel Prize proceeds to establish this award, which has now distributed almost $750,000 to Australian writers over the past 37 years."

"Robert Adamson is a deserving recipient of the Patrick White Award, having been at the heart of Australian literature as an acclaimed poet, successful editor and publisher in a career spanning over 40 years," said Mr Thomas.

On winning the Patrick White Award, Adamson said: "I am thrilled to be part of White's marvellous legacy in the company of previous winners like Christina Stead, Gwen Harwood and Randolph Stow."

The 2011 judging panel praised noted Adamson's "outstanding contribution to Australian literature" and added that "his continued willingness to explore new poetic territory and his evident potential to produce more significant work made him an excellent recipient of the prestigious award."

The judging panel described Adamson as "one of Australia's truly great poets of place."

Adamson's place, the landscape of the Hawkesbury River, is both a real and imaginative homeland and informs much of his poetry.

Adamson explains: "I grew up fishing on the Hawkesbury River and during those early years it seeped in, beyond the reach of conscious memory. I love it, it's beautiful, it is the world flowing through my life, full of birds, fish, mangroves, mud and stars. And yet it's not the river I try to write, my poetry's landscape is darker. I am writing about the internalised landscape."

Adamson is the author of twenty-one collections of poetry as well as three autobiographical works, a play and, with Dorothy Hewett, a two-part opera. His most recent collection of poetry, The Kingfisher's Soul, was published in the United Kingdom in 2009. Adamson's acclaimed work, The Golden Bird: New and Selected Poems, won the 2009 Victorian Premier's Award (Poetry).

The 2011 judging panel members are Dr Michael Costigan, Dr Debra Adelaide, Professor David Carter and Dr Bernadette Brennan.

MORE TO READ at http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/alr/index.php/theaustralian/comments/onward_robert_adamson

From FAWWA: Sue Woolfe at Mattie Furphy House

Acclaimed Sydney novelist, Sue Woolfe has arrived in Perth for a month as writer in residence with the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA). She is staying in the newly restored, stunningly beautiful Federation building, Mattie Furphy House in the Allen Park Heritage Precinct, Swanbourne. Sue is the author of three novels, Painted Woman, Leaning Towards Infinity and The Secret Cure, and the non-fiction study, The Mystery of the Cleaning Lady, a writer looks at Neuroscience and Creativity.

During her stay, as well as working on her latest novel, Sue will run three workshops for writers on creative approaches to writing a novel. During the first two hour workshop, 12.00 - 2.00pm on Saturday 5th November, Sue will revise the process of writing disconnected fragments before a discussion on the tasks involved in writing a novel.

On Saturday 19th November, Sue will work with participants to explore creative and unexpected ways of connecting their fragments. Participants will need to bring scissors, and coloured pencils, as well as a print out of their manuscript, to this session. 

During the third workshop, Saturday 26th November, Sue will show the group how to create suspense in the assemblage that is now their new fiction manuscript. The series is planned for a group of writers prepared to work through the month and so gain the most from Sue’s presence. To encourage participants, the charge will be only $50 for all three workshops.

This is a tremendous opportunity for West Australian writers to benefit from the exhilarating presence of such a creative writer whose novels have all been well received in Australia and overseas. Come along on Saturday and enjoy this event in our new Creativity Centre.


Please book through Tom Collins House: 93844771; or email admin@fawwa.org.au

"... assume crash position ..."

A guy said on Gruen Transfer tonight (TV show with advertising execs and creatives talking about ads, events and mock campaigns) that he thought the effects of this strike and lock-out would be hard felt in the short term but beneficial to Qantas in the long-term. Maybe I can only see the short-term. and I see management causing a wider gap between themselves and their staff, some of who(m) have been around a lot longer in the job than the top guys. Does that matter? Yes, the quality of their work matters - and it can only be excellent if they are loyal and happy in their employ. They're back at work now, but who's to say any of them are happy. Their loyalty will be sorely tested.

Czeslaw Milosz poem - Beautiful!

Woe! 

It is true, our tribe is similar to the bees,

It gathers honey of wisdom, carries it, stores it in honeycombs.

I am able to roam for hours

Through the labyrinth of the main library, floor to floor.

But yesterday, looking for the words of masters and prophets,

I wandered into high regions

That are visited by practically no one.

I would open a book and could decipher nothing.

For letters faded and disappeared from the pages.

Woe! I exclaimed-so it comes to this?

Where are you, venerable ones, with your beards and wigs,

Your nights spent by a candle, griefs of your wives?

So a message saving the world is silenced forever?

At your home it was the day of making preserves.

And your dog, sleeping by the fire, would wake up,

Yawn, and look at you, as if knowing.

- by Czeslaw Milosz

Alan's made a meal of QANTAS

Thanks, Melinda Scott on facebook.

CALL FOR PAPERS: PATRICK WHITE’S CENTENARY

photo William Yang

The year 2012 marks the centenary of the birth of Australia’s Nobel-prize winning author Patrick White who died just over twenty years ago. Since his death, White’s critical reputation has suffered somewhat, although there are signs now of renewed interest in his work. The Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and Societies (See blog link:http://jfv-australiana.blogspot.com/2011/10/journal-of-post-colonial-cultures-and.html) will dedicate a special issue to Patrick White in 2012 in order to celebrate the centenary of the author. 

Submissions for papers to be included in this issue are called for, especially, but not only, from non-Australia based scholars. 

Papers can address any major aspect of White’s fiction including, for example, transnational perspectives, regional aspects, metaphysics, myth-making, recognition (including a discussion of the PW award), aesthetics or representations of Indigenous Australians. 

Special consideration will be given to proposals that address and theorise gender, sexuality and queer readings of White’s work. 

Proposals of book reviews on Patrick White scholarship and on any aspect of Australian postcolonial culture are also solicited. 

Please submit an abstract of up to 200 words simultaneously to both Editors (details provided below) by mid-December 2011. Full length essays will be expected by mid-March 2012.

David Coad is a Lecturer at the University of Valenciennes, in France. After a doctorate on the religious metaphysics of Patrick White, obtained at the University of Paris III – Nouvelle Sorbonne, he published a collection of essays on Patrick White in 1997. Other publications include Gender Trouble Down Under: Australian Masculinities (Valenciennes: PUV, 2002) and The Metrosexual: Gender, Sexuality, and Sport (New York: SUNY, 2008). Contact: coad@neuf.fr

Jean-François Vernay has recently been appointed Associate Editor for The Journal of Post-Colonial Cultures and Societies. He is the author of two monographs on Australian fiction: Water From the Moon: Illusion and Reality in the Works of Australian Novelist Christopher Koch (New York: Cambria Press, 2007) and The Great Australian Novel – A Panorama (Melbourne: Brolga, 2010). Blog: http://jean-francoisvernay.blogspot.com/ Contact: vernayj@yahoo.com

Australiana: Journal of Post-Colonial Cultures and Societies

jfv-australiana.blogspot.com

Australie, Australia, culture, littérature, literature, publication, parution, appel à contributions, call for papers, auteurs, authors, écrivains, writers, exposition, exhibition, Jean-François Vernay

Charlie and I at the Hong Kong Sixes

How come my son is so much taller than me? Ah. it's the Weet-Bix he eats for breakfast!

For all my writerly friends ...

Sylvia Plath's Drawings

Visual Arts Sylvia Plath's Never-Before-Exhibited Drawings 

<http://link.flavorpill.com/8t0v.j2v/TqiBgfEdSgJjRpJEA6115>

Today
would have been Sylvia Plath's 79th birthday, had she not committed suicide
at age 30. Although the literary legend is best known for her
semi-autobiographical novel*The Bell Jar* and the posthumously published
collection of poetry *Ariel*, as her daughter Freida Hughes explains, "her
passion for art permeated her short life." After abandoning the vibrant,
complex paintings she made during her years as an art student, Plath
continued to draw compulsively and illustrate her writing, deriving pleasure
and inspiration from the craft. Now, for the first time, 44 pen and ink
drawings by Plath will be on view at the Mayor Gallery in London. See a
selection of works from *Sylvia Plath: Her Drawings and Dadamaino: Volumes* in
the gallery. Read more
»<http://link.flavorpill.com/8t0v.j2v/TqiBgfEdSgJjRpJEA6115>

Good thought.