Prizes, buses, workshops, interviews and publications - what a week!

A lot has been happening for me in the writing space lately. The Poetry in Motion project chose one of my poems to go up on a bus in Hobart. The project involves displaying 40 different short, 3-lined poems on 40 different buses around Hobart. My poem was inspired by the Dark MOFO Winter Feast, when we were able to sit around fire-pits, enjoy an amazing variety of food and drink and be grateful we were not in lock-down like other states. Let me know if you have spotted it!

I also found out on the weekend that I won First Prize and a Highly Commended in the Fellowship of Australian Writers Tasmania 2021 Poetry Prize! Both poems come from my yet-to-be-published verse novel, Dancing with Empty Prams.

Here are the comments made in the judge's report about my poems:

First Prize:  Reproduction, the ocean’s arc

This poem is so sad, and fascinating in its twin unfurling narratives and undercurrents of distance and complex envy/love. Its metaphors are perfectly matched to the emotional tone, and the poem is deft in its craft and so crisply rendered that it offers a direct window into an otherwise deeply private experience.  

Highly Commended: The dance of infertility:  Deeply, precisely raw, with a vivid narrative. Both sections build to the emotional reveals of their endings.  

On Tuesday I ran some workshops for Mental Health Week on the topic of Creative Writing for Mental Wellbeing. 

I was interviewed by Ryk Goddard on ABC Hobart radio about these workshops and my writing. It was early in the morning, first day back after holidays, so I wasn't firing on all cylinders, but hopefully inspired some people to pick up a pen and write when they are feeling stressed, anxious or down! You can listen to my 9 minute interview here: ABC radio interview.

And lastly, I am excited to share a new poem of mine, 'Sonnet for Lost Lasts', which has been published in Communion Literary Journal along with Esther Ottaway's beautiful 'Sonnet for fifteen' and my response to it. Check it out here 

My review also includes a link to Esther's brilliant new collection which I highly recommend.