Writers Voice September 2011 - Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW

Literary Achievements
Blue Mountains faw
Rosemary Baldry’s ‘Tribute to Joan’ published in June
2011 Writers Voice; Commended, Eastwood/Hills FAW
Literary Awards, for ‘Infectious In The 1950s’.
Naomi Annabel was pleased that her letter to The
Blue Mountains Gazette which was a reply to an earlier
complaint resulted in a satisfactory resolution.
David Berger recently launched his book Letters from
Paris in the form of a series of vignettes that depict
present day Parisian life [see ‘Bookshelf ‘page 25].
Bondi writers [EASTERN SUBURBS FAW]
Cynthia Rowe:
two haiku in Notes From the Gean Vol. 2, issue #4 2011;
haibun ‘Unseemliness’ in Contemporary Haibun Vol 12;
haibun ‘Consultation’ in Haibun Today June 2011;
two haiku in Notes From the Gean Vol. 3, issue #1 2011;
tanka in Notes From the Gean Vol. 3, issue #1 2011;
two haiku in Shamrock Haiku Journal No 18 June 2011;
haiku published in The Heron’s Nest Vol XIII (2) June 2011;
two haiku published in Creatrix #13 2011;
three tanka in paper wasp volume 17 (2) autumn 2011;
three tanka published in anthology ‘Grevillea and Wonga
Vine: Australian Tanka of Place’;
tanka published in Eucalypt 10 2011;
five haiku published in ‘moonrise and bare hills’, the paper
wasp Jack Stamm haiku anthology 2010;
haiku published in Haiku Presence #44 2011;
haibun ‘Incandescence’ in Haiku Presence #44 2011;
two haiku, Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum website;
tanka prose ‘Winds of Change’ published in 25 Tanka
Prose, Atlas Poetica 2011;
tanka prose ‘Tolling’ published in Atlas Poetica 9 2011;
Article: The Writer’s Life of Interaction
cont. from previous page
jobs, and love the world of information and know where
to look for it. A trip to the library will yield the most
valuable information when you know (how to ask the
right questions). I remember the days before we had
the convenience of the internet, my local library was my
favourite place, quiet, solitary and full of books. Today this
hasn’t changed, the library is always the first place I visit
when doing any sort of research. Finding the right book
often means a trip to the information desk where the
librarian would be asking the questions. Of course many
more ideas would come to mind and I would leave with
more books than I could carry.
Now you have your books and have assessed the
information and it’s time to consult with the professionals.
These are the people who know the answers to the
questions we have. Organising time with them and
interviewing them is a world of interaction skills all of its
own. There is a lot written about the right way to hold an
interview… should you take notes or record, what goes
on the record and off the record, how many questions
22 WRITERS’ VOICE 233—SEPTEMBER 2011
two tanka published in Simply Haiku Summer 2011;
poem ‘Chasing the Gypsy’ Highly Commended Eastwood/
Hills FAW 2011 Literary Competition.
Gavin Austin:
four haiku in paper wasp haiku journal Autumn 2011;
three haiku finalists in the Jack Stamm haiku competition
2010 and published in anthology ‘moonrise & bare hills’;
four haiku accepted for publication in Famous Reporter;
tanka published in Eucalypt 10;
tanka published in Take Five – Best Contemporary Tanka
Vol. 3 [2010] MET Press, USA;
haiku published in Presence 44, UK;
three haiku in ‘Haiku Xpressions’ August 2011 issue;
two tanka and 3 x haiku accepted for Kokako 15, NZ;
two haiku accepted for Presence journal issue 45, UK;
three poems published in The Write Angle edition 36;
haiku accepted for publication in A Hundred Gourds.
Fay Reeve: 3 haiku published in ‘Haiku Xpressions’, the
haiku pages of FreeXpresSion, August 2011;
poem ‘Cat Trounces Dog’ in FreeXpresSion, August 2011.
eastwood/hills faw
Anne Benjamin:
tanka in Take Five Best Contemporary Tanka Vol 3, 2010;
tanka in Moonbathing;
First in Eastwood­Hills FAW June Monthly Competition;
tanka Prose in Atlas Poetica 25 Tanka Prose;
tanka Prose in Atlas Poetica #9;
tanka in Simply Haiku, Summer 2011;
commended poem in FAWNS Vibrant Verse competition;
three tanka in ‘Grevillea and Wonga Vine’ Anthology;
five tanka in Eureka Street, 31 May 2011 (Online).
cont. opposite page…
should you ask without sounding too intrusive. Much
thought has to be put into the organisation of the simple
interview, setting the right atmosphere, making sure you
have given yourself enough time, learning how to acquire
the information you need, and listening with an active
participation in the conversation while taking notes at the
same time. Practise makes perfect they say, so that’s what
we should do. Get hold of as many people as you can who
will give you a bit of time and see how you go.
Last but not least is the humble writing group, usually
a small gathering of writers who give encouragement to
put our writing out there, offer different perspectives, and
help us through the dreaded writer’s block.
Keeping all of this in mind gives one a different view
on the life of a writer being just about sitting in a solitary
room with only the sound of the tap­tap of the keyboard.
There is a quote I found the other day, which I feel sums it
up quite well…
“When something can be read without effort, great effort
has gone into its writing”—Enrique Jardiel Poncela
© Susan Hourigan
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