Indulge me for a moment as I present these facts. Women make half the food and fibre in the world. The entire freaking world. Up until 23 years ago any Australian woman filling in the Census could not be categorised as a farmer. Women could be 'farmer's wives' or 'help meets' but even if they … Continue reading One invisible story
Australia
More please
In writing, as in physics, once things begin to happen, they keep happening. I've just had another story accepted and it'll be out next month. It will be the second published from my once upon a time ex-almost collection, so at least some of it was on the right track. A lot of time is spent … Continue reading More please
Over a barrel
Ideas Kaboom! The idea of creative writing is plastic. It's a vast global business, it's a singular remote activity, it's digital and ancient, it's free and expensive, it's a past time and a career, it's a legacy and aspiration, you can study it, you don't need to, it takes myriad forms, it's individual and there … Continue reading Over a barrel
Skirting the edges
Despite living in the 'city on the bay' I haven't been to any sort of beach for about eight years. Recently though, I had the opportunity to spend a long weekend at Mornington Peninsular. Apart from one day trip to Sorrento, I hadn't visited the area before. I found it had its own special allure, … Continue reading Skirting the edges
Dealing new illusions?
This is what some people thought about TV in 1976. I quote it because it speaks to me today and I suspect it may to others. You're television incarnate...Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same...And the daily business … Continue reading Dealing new illusions?
At cross porpoises
Chances are, you, like me, had never heard of the Vaquita Porpoise until recently. If you have, it's because there are now less than 100 in the wild. We humans think we own this joint, and that we've conquered it. Humans describe it in terms of our economies and resources. But most of us barely know it. It's … Continue reading At cross porpoises
Review: Lincoln + myth making
I've had a fascination with myth and myth making and recently watching Lincoln (2012) directed by Steven Spielberg, got me thinking about it again. If the United States has succeeded at one thing, it has succeeded in the mythologisation of its history, even to the point where those myths are exported to the rest of … Continue reading Review: Lincoln + myth making
A Summerisle not forget
Sir Christopher Lee has passed into the West and into legend. His long career and abilities are now being examined far and wide by those who worked with him and those who admired, his many, many, films, amidst his other accomplishments. What I've found interesting is the focus on how he spent much of his … Continue reading A Summerisle not forget
Genre-trification
This year I graduated with an MA in Writing and Literature. Throughout, the emphasis in the writing components was upon 'literature'. We could only use aspects of genre or sneak them sideways into our short stories or essays. However, I'm over artificially constructed barriers. Surely there is nothing unliterary with the works of China Mieville or Ursula Le … Continue reading Genre-trification
Writing Bec 