Pitt Just Got Real

A very quick post today – just wanted to share some good news. I am very proud to announce that my fourth poetry collection, working title Drag down to unlock or place an emergency call, will be published in late 2013 by Sydney publisher Pitt St Poetry.

If you pop over to their website and check out their 2013 poetry list, among the distinguished poets with national profiles and swags of awards, there at the very end is little old me, honoured to be keeping such distinguished company.

This blog contains earlier versions of a number of poems that will be appearing in the collection, including Roadside Memorials – which is (quick plug) being read out on ABC Radio National’s Poetica program next Saturday (May 11) at 3pm.

Watch this space for details of final title, launch dates and locations. And wonder of wonders, it will be coming out as a $5 e-book too. Can’t wait.

 

A poem of mine on ABC Radio National’s Poetica

Those of you who live in Australia may be familiar with the Poetica program on ABC Radio National, produced by poet Mike Ladd. It is broadcast on Saturdays at 3pm with a repeat broadcast the following Thursday night at 9pm.

I am very pleased to say that my poem ‘Roadside Memorials‘ will form part of the May 11 program, which is a feature on the villanelle in Australia.

‘another kind of road sign, small but clear’

(If that technical name is unfamiliar, it may help to know that a villanelle is a highly structured poem in (mostly) three line stanzas with two repeating refrain lines appearing in turn throughout. Think Dylan Thomas’ ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’.)

Now I’m not privy to the full schedule, but I believe you can expect to hear villanelles from Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Stephen Edgar, Suzanne Edgar and Michael Thorley among others. So lots of reasons to tune in, really.

And in case you were wondering, it won’t be my voice reading Roadside Memorials out on Poetica. The ABC are in the happy position of having trained actors available to do that job. Having read my own work on radio – and to camera – before, I know from experience that it is extremely difficult to produce an effective ‘read’ without the instantly available feedback of a live audience. Frankly I don’t know how the professionals do it, but I’m very grateful one will be doing it in my stead with this poem.

So why not make a date with your radio – Sat 11 May 3pm or Thursday 16th May at 9pm. Or, for about a month afterwards, you can visit the Poetica site and listen via the audio links, or download the program as a podcast.

Thanks for listening

MS

Reading at Manning Clark House in November 2013

I am delighted to have been invited to read my poems at Manning Clark House later this year. The reading will be on Wednesday 6th November at 5.30 for 6pm. Wine and nibbles will be laid on, and of course you can buy my books if the mood takes you.

Manning Clark House is at 11 Tasmania Circle, Forrest (in Canberra’s South). It is indeed the last home of Manning and Dymphna Clark, and is now operating as a museum, library, and working, meeting and exhibition space for writers, artists, historians and other academics. Find out more about MCH here.

I will be one of three featured poets on the night : the other two are Adrian Caesar and Jen Webb, both eminent and much awarded. I feel very privileged to be sharing a bill with them.

The reading is part of a year long series of ‘First Wednesday’ poetry nights. Here is the full program as it currently stands – possibly subject to some slight changes.

Wed 3/4 Wanta Jampajinpa, Keith Harrison

Wed 1/5 Charlotte Clutterbuck, Penelope Cottier, Geoff Page

Wed 5/6 Jessica Wilkinson, Alan Gould, Michael Byrne

Wed 3/7 Theodore Ell, Paul Hetherington, Luke Whitington

Fri  12/7 Anthony Lawrence, Alison Clark

Wed 7/8 Nicola Bowery, John Foulcher, Martin Dolan

Wed 4/9 Kerrie Nelson, Harry Laing

Wed 2/10 Penelope Layland, Paul Magee, Judy Johnson

Wed 6/11 Adrian Ceasar, Melinda Smith, Jen Webb

Wed 4/12 Moya Pacey, David Brooks, Bronwyn Lea

I hope to make it along to several of these. If you are in the ‘Berra it would be lovely to see you there.

Poetry as Drama: The Wild Party

Until a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of Joseph Moncure March‘s long 1928 narrative poem, The Wild Party. What a terrible lacuna to have in one’s poetic education!  Fortunately, a friend invited me to see a cabaret version of the poem performed at the Famous SpiegelTent (which was visiting my city Canberra as part of our centenary celebrations).

The Wild Party: Page 1 with illustration

The poem – which takes well over an hour to read out – is a delicious Jazz Age debauch (in heroic couplets, no less) which was thought ‘too racy’ when first written, had its publication delayed for two years and even then remained banned in the city of Boston. Here is some more about the poem and here is a link to the full text.

The SpiegelTent version was performed by actor/director Pauline Wright and actor Joe Woodward, with an original score (for piano, voice and trumpet) by Jiri Kripac.

Here are a couple of tidbits from it. The first, early on, sets the scene by describing the apartment where the ‘heroine’, the dancer Queenie, lives with her boyfriend of the moment, a vaudeville clown and ladykiller called Burrs:

studio;
Bedroom;
Bath;
Kitchenette:
Furnished like a third act passion set:
Oriental; Sentimental;
They owed two months on the rental.
Pink cushions,
Blue cushions: overlaid
With silk: with lace: with gold brocade.
These lay propped up on a double bed
That was covered with a Far East tapestry spread.

Chinese dragons with writhing backs:
Photographs caught to the wall with tacks:
Their friends in the profession,
Celebrities for the impression—
(“So’s your old man—Isidore.”
“Faithfully—Ethel Barrymore”)
On a Chinese lacquer tray there stood a
Gong with tassels, and a brass Buddha.
Brass candlesticks.
Orange candles.
An Art vase with broken handles,
Out of which came an upthrusting
Of cherry blossoms that needed dusting.

And here is another snippet from later on, after the Wild Party of the title has gotten into full, gin-soaked swing:

The bed was a slowly moving tangle
Of legs and bodies at every angle.
Knees rose:
Legs in sheer stockings crossed,
Clung: shimmered: uncrossed: were lost.
Skirts were awry.
Black arms embraced
White legs naked from knee to waist.

Of course, not long after that, everything goes horribly wrong and somebody gets shot. Just your typical evening in the demi-monde.

Many modern readers of the poem are (apparently) put off by its ‘sing-song’ rhymes. All I can say to that is, perhaps what was missing was a cabaret setting, a horn, a piano and a dirty martini.  The setting and characters are vividly realised, the rhythm is varied enough to overcome any ‘sing-song’ quality (it is actually an amazing piece of technique upon which new poets could be sent to school, IMHO), and the pacing is effective too.  I was struck while listening by its cinematic quality – and indeed it has been adapted, with varying levels of success, twice for the big screen and twice as a stage musical.

My new project is to purchase a copy of the 1999 reprint featuring Art Spiegelman drawings. And also to stock up on appropriate musical accompaniment – and liquor – to enjoy it with

I hope you have enjoyed this little journey back into the Roaring Twenties. I know I have.

A small new poem plus a mention on Whispering Gums

Here is a new poemlet, written during a recent visit to Sydney. It is not strictly a haiku, but it does follow a 5-7-5 syllable pattern:

Halfway to Bronte Beach

here come the sea brides:
surf-drenched rocks off the headland
dripping with thick lace

In other news, I somehow managed to miss this post on Whispering Gums, about women poets from Canberra, back in January.

(Whispering Gums is a high quality blog on books and reading with an Australian focus)

http://whisperinggums.com/2013/01/14/monday-musings-on-australian-literature-capital-women-poets/

Imagine my amazement – when I finally read the post – at my name being mentioned as one of Whispering Gums’ five favourite ‘capital women poets’, alongside such luminaries as Rosemary Dobson, Judith Wright and Susan Hampton.

Chuffed doesn’t even begin to cover it. I’m thinking that deserves at least a pingback and a recommendation to subscribe to an excellent blog

Wishing you and yours a happy Easter (if that’s something you celebrate).

Cheers M x

Women’s Work Poetry Anthology Launch at NSW State Library

On Friday night 8th March I attended the launch of a new anthology of poetry by Australian women. That’s me on the left and Helen Thurloe on the right. Both of us were very chuffed to have poems included in the book.

The anthology, called Women’s Work, focuses on all the different kinds of ‘work’ done by women. It is published by Pax Press and was put together over two years of hard work by Libby Hathorn and Rachael Bailey. It is now available to order from all good bookshops and will shortly become an e-book as well.

Professor Elizabeth Webby gave a wonderful launch speech, followed by readings from several of the poets whose work appears in the book. All of the readers were great, but special mention must go to fellow- Canberran Moya Pacey for Freudian-slipping the word ‘shagging’ into her poem, ‘Smalls’

There is an incredible range of poetry in the book, covering every conceivable style, and ranging in subject matter from office work to factory work to child-rearing to housework by way of dentistry, nursing, baking, ironing, water carrying in Africa, surviving violence and teaching in prisons. The dozen or so readers gave tantalising glimpses into a fascinating and engaging collection.

After the readings, we adjourned to the next room for champers, nibbles, and mingling. A fine time was had by all and I got to meet a few of my fave poets into the bargain. All in all, a great way to spend International Women’s Day. Here’s hoping the book finds its way to the many women who will enjoy reading it.

The Invisible Thread

I have been anthologised again. It didn’t hurt a bit.

My city, Canberra is having its centenary this year. In honour of the occasion an anthology of 100 years of Canberra writing has been produced, and I am very proud to be included. The book, edited by the amazingly talented and dedicated Irma Gold, and called ‘The Invisible Thread’, is published by Halstead Press and is available to order from all good bookshops.

Here is a sneak preview of the poem of mine in the anthology, No Bed .

The Invisible Thread has its own YouTube channel, where you can find a really cool book trailer and also interviews with several of the authors whose work appears in the book, including me.

(My interview is here. You may want to read the poem No Bed before viewing the interview – I get asked a few questions about the…er…adult themes in the poem).

The anthology also has its own Facebook page and Twitter feed.

I have been thoroughly enjoying dipping in to my copy of the book. Some old favourites are here : Alan Gould’s ‘The Roof Tilers’….Suzanne Edgar’s ‘Birth Control’…And there are some new discoveries (for me): Dorothy Auchterlonie Green’s marvellously snarky review, ‘Porn Birds’, for one.

There are two sets of readings from The Invisible Thread anthology coming up in Canberra, one on 14 March in Paperchain Bookshop Manuka at 6 for 6.30pm, and one on Sat 23 March in Glebe Park as part of the Village Festival, starting at 5pm and featuring yours truly among a half dozen other authors.

Why not come along to a reading? Or buy the book ? Or both ? Self – interest aside, I can’t recommend it highly enough – it really is a fun and stimulating read.