OOTA Newsletter December 2nd, 2014
WRITING AT THE CENTRE DECEMBER 2014 th Poetry Friday, 5 December, 1.00pm-3.00pm with Shane McCauley (last class for 2014) Poetry Bites OOTA’s last poetry biter for 2014 is: Sandra Thibodeaux for midday 5th December in the FAC Café. Sandra Thibodeaux is a poet and playwright. She has recently released her fourth collection of poetry, DIRTY H20 (Mulla Mulla Press). In 2011, Sandra was Australian Poetry’s Poet-in-Residence. Sandra has written over a dozen plays that have been staged as part of festivals and broadcast on Radio National. Her most recent play was The Lion Tamer, winner of the Darwin Festival Script Award, 2012. CHRISTMAS PARTY 12th December @ 12.30pm. Members are asked to kindly bring a plate and your own particular drink. OOTA will have wine and orange juice. Raffle contents accepted on the day. There is no Prose Class, however writers are invited for coffee & discussion for 2015 at 10.00am in the café. MEMBERS ACHIEVEMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS TO: Flora Smith Her achievements for the past few months are: A poem in Poetry d’Amour titled, For my brother. A poem in Westerly titled The Burghers of Calais 3 poems in the KSP Poets Anthology ‘The Light Painters’ – titles are A Winter’s Tale, Mandalay and Bibbulmun Track, Denmark. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Veronica Lake Her poems "Exotic Flowers" and "Sky Migration" to be published in Regime Magazine #5, the Poetry Issue edited by Andrew Burke. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Gail Willems Her short-listed poem to be published by “erbacce” press U.K. in an anthology. Winner from Preston: U.K. 6 runners up- from Ireland, USA, Scotland, Bulgaria, Albania, and Gail Willems, Wannanup: Western Australia
WRITERS’ CENTRE EVENTS KSP WRITERS CENTRE Katharine’s Birthday – Sun 7 December, 11am-4pm Please join us at Katharine's Place for our special end-of-year celebrations. You are warmly invited to take part in the Awards Ceremonies of three annual competitions, namely the KSP Speculative Fiction Award, the Karen W Treanor Poetry Award and the KSP Short Fiction Award. Many of these winners will share with us extracts of their winning stories. The day will also present a tribute to Katharine and give free tours of the heritage-listed house and garden (11.30am and 2.50pm). A delicious lunch and afternoon tea will be available for a gold coin donation, plus a range of giftware and raffles will be on sale. If you are interested in joining a writing group, volunteering or learning more about the Centre’s program, this is a great chance to find out more and chat with Committee members. Everybody is welcome to join us for this special occasion! Cost: Free Ω POETRY WORKSHOP WITH SANDRA THIBODEAUX This workshop, suitable for both beginners and experienced poets, will encourage participants to go harder and dig deeper. Although the class will be shaped somewhat by participants’ needs, it is likely we will cover the following: moving from the abstract to the concrete; using nouns and verbs that punch their weight; ‘the magic if’; economy; titles; and last lines. The class will be active with new works created and the odd rug pulled out from beneath a writer’s feet. WHEN: SATURDAY 6TH DECEMBER 10AM - 1PM WHERE: MATTIE FURPHY HOUSE Corner of Kirkwood Rd and Clare Corpse Swanbourne (next to Allen Park) BRING: Writing implements, paper/device COST: $45: Discounted to $30 for FAWWA or any writing group members. TO BOOK: Contact FELLOWSHIP OF AUSTRALIAN WRITERS WA (FAWWA) Phone: 9384 4771 Email: fellowshipaustralianwriterswa@gmail.com
Sympathy and Other Stories, consisting of a novella and six short stories, is being launched by Chris Palazzolo in association with Regime Books at PICA Bar on 9th December from 6.30pm (there will be a bar tab and nibbles with live music by Chris Boyder). All welcome! CALENDAR DECEMBER 01 – Leaf Press Publishing Opportunity for Poets: Details 05 – Cuttlefish for poetry, flash/ short fiction. Details 15 – Tom Collins Poetry Prize: www.fawwa.org 15 – Peter Porter Poetry Prize : Details 19- Somerset National Poetry Prize: details Somerset 24 – Nature Writing Prize 2014 : Website 31- 2014 Aurealis Awards Calling for Entries: Details here. Fish Publishing Short Story Prize: Deadline Extended to 3rd December: Log in Entry
2015 Tasmanian Writers' Prize 2015. Closing date is 31 January, 2015. Further details here. 2015 One-Act Play Writing Competition. For details, click here. Entries close 31 January 15. The ESU-Roly Sussex Short Story Award 2015 Submissions accepted from Nov 17 2014-Feb 28 2015. For details, click here.
JOIN JEN DE NESS FOR A FUN NIGHT OUT Paris Cat Jazz Club on December 11th. VENUE: PARIS CAT JAZZ CLUB ADDRESS: GOLDIE PLACE, MELBOURNE
TIME: 9-11PM (DOORS OPEN AT 8.30) TIX: $20 Joining me on the 11th will be: Bill Atkinson: Guitar/Backing Vox Andy Ross: Double Bass (who joined Bill and I in July David Allardice: Grand Piano Sharky Ramos: Drums You can pre- book your tix at the following link: https://www.rollerdigital.com/pariscat/#/event/1039/45805 /20141211 When in Melbourne visit Collected Works Bookshop for all your poetry, fiction & philosophy books.
POEMS OF THE WEEK Sleeping in the Forest I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees. All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me, the insects, and the birds who do their work in the darkness. All night I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom. By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times into something better. Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
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by Mary Oliver
“All about Mary” at Poetry Foundation
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