Do we put things in boxes and hide them far away
Hoping someday we'll be ready to open them on a rainy day
Must we label the people in our lives in order to give them meaning
To feel better about our lives when we're day dreaming
The story of my Greek Father is something I want to explore
However if my Mother knew, she'd simply shut the door
But how can I ignore where I came from
All I want is something to hold on
My English family are not quite like me
They share similarities that bewilder me
So the idea of Greece remains in my head
I cannot simply put it to bed
It was at the Bendigo Writers Festival
That I was inspired to look into my heritage oh so careful
Three intelligent authors took to the stage
Speaking of their Greek families of a past age
They spoke of their sense of belonging as a second generation
And I felt every word as I used my imagination
Author John Charalambous said knowing his father was key to his identity
I too have the longing in order to feel free
Author Victoria Kyriakopoulos realised her ideas of home were a misrepresentation
When she touched down in the land of Greece with her thriving temptation
Her time on the islands brought her face-to-face with the facts
Despite her dreams being broken it didn't stop her from making tracks
Author Helen Nickas was wise and graceful
Her words connecting with my soul leaving me feeling wonderful
I never expected the Bendigo Writers Festival to touch me so deeply
I wasn't to know that over three days my world would be transformed so magnificently
So where to from here
I will persevere
Saturday 6 September 2014
Sunday 10 August 2014
Write about what you love, or not...
Alex Miller, award wining author of Journey to the Stone Country said it best when he described his experience at the Bendigo Writers Festival.
"A writers festival is more than just talking about your book, it's about talking of the things you love, the things you value, your beliefs."
And that is exactly how he got onto the subject of Australian politics, and his opinion that reconciliation is simply a "white persons idea".
I found Mr Miller's comparison to the attempted extinction of Indigenous people upon European settlement in Australia, to the Holocaust during the second world war, interesting.
It led me to think about individual perception of events.
Sitting there in the large packed theatre, I wondered what everyone else around me was thinking. A hundred minds in the one room, running at full speed ahead, listening, interpreting, contemplating, and interpreting.
I began to explore my experience at the Bendigo Writers Festival.
Without knowing it, Mr Miller gave something to me, he gave me food for thought.
"Write about what you love" he said.
I do not necessarily agree with this notion, in fact I think one of the most valuable aspects of writing, is having the freedom to explore the things you love the least, fear, hatred, regret, resentment, whether through characters or poetry.
At the ages of fifteen and sixteen, I regularly wrote down my feelings in the form of poetry. For me, it was a coping mechanism for the depression I suffered as a teenager.
It really it hit home for me when award wining bush poet, Les Murray, said that he too, felt writing poetry healed him through difficult times.
It would seem, I wasn't the only one.
For years I have felt lonely in my longing to write. It's a bizarre emotion, difficult to explain. All I know is that I have not been able to pick up a pen and write fluent poetry for eleven years.
In essence, I have not been able to heal myself for over a decade.
After my second day at the Bendigo Writers Festival, I felt the urge to write, and every rhyming word came freely, as the my fingers could not scribble the pen fast enough.
The me that I had lost was found again. And I no longer feel so alone.
So what did the Bendigo Writers Festival do for me? It give me the space to find myself again.
"A writers festival is more than just talking about your book, it's about talking of the things you love, the things you value, your beliefs."
And that is exactly how he got onto the subject of Australian politics, and his opinion that reconciliation is simply a "white persons idea".
I found Mr Miller's comparison to the attempted extinction of Indigenous people upon European settlement in Australia, to the Holocaust during the second world war, interesting.
It led me to think about individual perception of events.
Sitting there in the large packed theatre, I wondered what everyone else around me was thinking. A hundred minds in the one room, running at full speed ahead, listening, interpreting, contemplating, and interpreting.
I began to explore my experience at the Bendigo Writers Festival.
Without knowing it, Mr Miller gave something to me, he gave me food for thought.
"Write about what you love" he said.
I do not necessarily agree with this notion, in fact I think one of the most valuable aspects of writing, is having the freedom to explore the things you love the least, fear, hatred, regret, resentment, whether through characters or poetry.
At the ages of fifteen and sixteen, I regularly wrote down my feelings in the form of poetry. For me, it was a coping mechanism for the depression I suffered as a teenager.
It really it hit home for me when award wining bush poet, Les Murray, said that he too, felt writing poetry healed him through difficult times.
It would seem, I wasn't the only one.
For years I have felt lonely in my longing to write. It's a bizarre emotion, difficult to explain. All I know is that I have not been able to pick up a pen and write fluent poetry for eleven years.
In essence, I have not been able to heal myself for over a decade.
After my second day at the Bendigo Writers Festival, I felt the urge to write, and every rhyming word came freely, as the my fingers could not scribble the pen fast enough.
The me that I had lost was found again. And I no longer feel so alone.
So what did the Bendigo Writers Festival do for me? It give me the space to find myself again.
Thursday 7 August 2014
Spoken from the heart
The first thing I saw was the road works blocking my way
I could hear the sound of the car radio leading my mind astray
I could smell the beautiful jasmine perfume I had bought the day before
Pulling into the car park, I felt the coldness of the handle as I closed the car door
As I walked across the road with the taste of morning coffee still on my tongue
The feeling of not knowing what to expect gave me the urge to run
Entering the room of ABC National Radio
I sat down, feeling like a school child, from days long ago
Hearing the descriptive words of my home town of Bendigo
I realised how much of this city I am actually willing to let go
Authors described their fictional characters
As I pondered which part of their story really matters
Tales of promiscuous girls trying to find their soul
Question right from wrong in a world that judges all
I hear myself thinking that people can be so unkind
And that at the end of the day, if you're not happy with yourself, you'll lose your mind
I pondered in secret to how my own life is panning out
I am lucky enough to be comfortable in the feeling of doubt
As the morning progressed I found myself in a quaint, dark, theatre room
Filled with school students with personalities to go 'boom'
Charles Jenkins begins the song writing activity
The room is overwhelmed with young, vibrant, positivity
We are all song writers
That we are I thought, as I believe deep down, we are all fighters
There is rhythm in the word rhythm, and melody in the word melody
There is light within us all, even when we feel a little melancholy
The afternoon has settled in and I rush to buy some lunch
I gaze out of the café window, watching in awe the see of uniforms gathered together, bunch by bunch
Into the writing workshop with Jane Curtis I go
Only to realise I'm half an hour late, oh I wish the day would go slow
The room is small and hot
There's a few big personalities in here, it seems they've got a lot
As we go into groups and share our stories
I am taken away yet again my someone else's histories
Moira was talking about just last week
When she walked past a man who gave her some cheek
Moira said she tried her best to walk normal
But as is everyday for her, the Parkinson's disease leaves her feeling abnormal
Within the first five minutes of meeting Moira
I noticed the purple in her hair, her bright red lipstick, and her bubbly personality made me want to join her
Not once did I wander about her illness
Instead I wondered what her lounge room looked like, and if her grandchildren were also filled with kindness
The day had come to an end, and I'm off to pick up my son from school
Only to find out that tonight there was so much more to do, all very cool
It is times like these that being a single mum can be hard
As I can't do everything, I've been dealt my cards
I pull up at the school yard and my son jumps in the car
And I am reminded yet again that there is nowhere else I'd rather be, not over there, not far
I could hear the sound of the car radio leading my mind astray
I could smell the beautiful jasmine perfume I had bought the day before
Pulling into the car park, I felt the coldness of the handle as I closed the car door
As I walked across the road with the taste of morning coffee still on my tongue
The feeling of not knowing what to expect gave me the urge to run
Entering the room of ABC National Radio
I sat down, feeling like a school child, from days long ago
Hearing the descriptive words of my home town of Bendigo
I realised how much of this city I am actually willing to let go
Authors described their fictional characters
As I pondered which part of their story really matters
Tales of promiscuous girls trying to find their soul
Question right from wrong in a world that judges all
I hear myself thinking that people can be so unkind
And that at the end of the day, if you're not happy with yourself, you'll lose your mind
I pondered in secret to how my own life is panning out
I am lucky enough to be comfortable in the feeling of doubt
As the morning progressed I found myself in a quaint, dark, theatre room
Filled with school students with personalities to go 'boom'
Charles Jenkins begins the song writing activity
The room is overwhelmed with young, vibrant, positivity
We are all song writers
That we are I thought, as I believe deep down, we are all fighters
There is rhythm in the word rhythm, and melody in the word melody
There is light within us all, even when we feel a little melancholy
The afternoon has settled in and I rush to buy some lunch
I gaze out of the café window, watching in awe the see of uniforms gathered together, bunch by bunch
Into the writing workshop with Jane Curtis I go
Only to realise I'm half an hour late, oh I wish the day would go slow
The room is small and hot
There's a few big personalities in here, it seems they've got a lot
As we go into groups and share our stories
I am taken away yet again my someone else's histories
Moira was talking about just last week
When she walked past a man who gave her some cheek
Moira said she tried her best to walk normal
But as is everyday for her, the Parkinson's disease leaves her feeling abnormal
Within the first five minutes of meeting Moira
I noticed the purple in her hair, her bright red lipstick, and her bubbly personality made me want to join her
Not once did I wander about her illness
Instead I wondered what her lounge room looked like, and if her grandchildren were also filled with kindness
The day had come to an end, and I'm off to pick up my son from school
Only to find out that tonight there was so much more to do, all very cool
It is times like these that being a single mum can be hard
As I can't do everything, I've been dealt my cards
I pull up at the school yard and my son jumps in the car
And I am reminded yet again that there is nowhere else I'd rather be, not over there, not far
The immortality of written words
What does a good story, and a passionate kiss with someone you love, have in common?
A moment. A moment where nothing else but you feeling every sense of that moment there and then. The world disappears as you fly away into a wonder-lust of emotion.
This evening I was in a room with a hundred people, and in just a few spoken words they all vanished. It was just me, listening to the heartache and sorrow of a story that was told with such rawness, and such passion, that I was immersed in every, single, spoken word.
The physical environment which I was in was in fact a dinner, a welcome dinner for the children's authors who are taking part at the Bendigo Writers Festival.
And the star of the evening, was the Australian National Children's Laureate for 2014 and 2015, Jackie French.
Ms French told a personal story that I truly believe, will stay with me forever. It doesn't seem fair to re-tell even parts of the story she shared, as I wouldn't do it justice, and it's not my story to tell.
What I will do however, is share with you three things that Ms French said tonight about the value of books, and more importantly reading, for children.
Not only did they resonate with me, they have inspired me, and ignited a spark so bright that I feel if you could see my heart, it would be shining so remarkably that it would light up the southern hemisphere so greatly, that night, would turn to day.
"When something is written down, it never dies. The author always lives.
"Even when books have been put away and stored up for years, even a hundred years, when you have that book, the ideas still exist, they are still real.
"There is nothing as powerful as a book. We can give kids love, we can give them food. Even without these things, if you give a child a book, you give them dreams that are within reach."
said Ms French.
A moment. A moment where nothing else but you feeling every sense of that moment there and then. The world disappears as you fly away into a wonder-lust of emotion.
This evening I was in a room with a hundred people, and in just a few spoken words they all vanished. It was just me, listening to the heartache and sorrow of a story that was told with such rawness, and such passion, that I was immersed in every, single, spoken word.
The physical environment which I was in was in fact a dinner, a welcome dinner for the children's authors who are taking part at the Bendigo Writers Festival.
And the star of the evening, was the Australian National Children's Laureate for 2014 and 2015, Jackie French.
Ms French told a personal story that I truly believe, will stay with me forever. It doesn't seem fair to re-tell even parts of the story she shared, as I wouldn't do it justice, and it's not my story to tell.
What I will do however, is share with you three things that Ms French said tonight about the value of books, and more importantly reading, for children.
Not only did they resonate with me, they have inspired me, and ignited a spark so bright that I feel if you could see my heart, it would be shining so remarkably that it would light up the southern hemisphere so greatly, that night, would turn to day.
"When something is written down, it never dies. The author always lives.
"Even when books have been put away and stored up for years, even a hundred years, when you have that book, the ideas still exist, they are still real.
"There is nothing as powerful as a book. We can give kids love, we can give them food. Even without these things, if you give a child a book, you give them dreams that are within reach."
said Ms French.
Friday 1 August 2014
A festival for everybody
There is a particular reason why the 2014 Bendigo Writers Festival is extra-special. This year, festival organisers are taking an inclusive approach.
Complementing the BWF is Write on the Fringe, a fringe festival with difference.
Write on the Fringe breaks down the barriers between traditional festival goers, and the new culture of festival heads.
Typically, festival attendees have been perceived to be artsy-fartsy, fancy-pancy, beret wearing, high-income earning over 40 somethings.
Reasons for this may be due to the fact that previously, the community has not been catered to in terms of free, inclusive events as part of the festival.
It is exciting and pleasing to see Write on the Fringe taking place in the Bendigo Library, a community hub where people come together, a place where everyone is invited to go down and let their creative selves loose in a world of books.
Bringing the community together starts with embracing diversity, it is pleasing to see that this year, the whole community is encouraged to let their hair down in a celebration of all things written and read.
Complementing the BWF is Write on the Fringe, a fringe festival with difference.
Write on the Fringe breaks down the barriers between traditional festival goers, and the new culture of festival heads.
Typically, festival attendees have been perceived to be artsy-fartsy, fancy-pancy, beret wearing, high-income earning over 40 somethings.
Reasons for this may be due to the fact that previously, the community has not been catered to in terms of free, inclusive events as part of the festival.
It is exciting and pleasing to see Write on the Fringe taking place in the Bendigo Library, a community hub where people come together, a place where everyone is invited to go down and let their creative selves loose in a world of books.
Bringing the community together starts with embracing diversity, it is pleasing to see that this year, the whole community is encouraged to let their hair down in a celebration of all things written and read.
Monday 21 July 2014
Fringe festival launches into action
Bendigo's newest community hub brings locals together in celebration of everything written and read.
The third annual Bendigo Writers Festival offers something a little different this year.
'Write on the Fringe' is the first of what is hoped to be an annual fringe festival surrounding the BWF.
Kicking off on Thursday 7th of August at View Point Hand Made Gallery, is an exciting art exhibition displaying a fascinating array of word styles and genres.
From there a multitude of free workshops will be delivered to the public over the 8th and 9th of August at the newly renovated Bendigo Library.
Bendigo Library Community Engagement and Programs Project Coordinator Briget Robertson is excited about the libraries involvement with the event "It's a great opportunity to support the Bendigo Writers Festival and showcase the library's new spaces" she said.
Highlights over the fringe festival include live readings from local and emerging authors, as well as a song writing workshop ran by the 2012 Triple J Uneartherd Winner 'Allday'.
While you're at the library, be sure to have a look at Lorena Carrington's exhibition in the foyer. It is an intriguing collection of pieces that explores the accepted norm of the role of females in fairy tales.
If you're a young professional and looking for an opportunity to network, 'Write on the Fringe' has the event for you: the Young Professionals Network kicks off Chatty Hour at 4.30pm Friday August 8th.
There is a sure fire buzz building up to this years Bendigo Writers Festival.
Creative juices will be flowing in every direction over what is going to be an unforgettable August weekend in Bendigo.
Sunday 13 July 2014
The Bendigo Writers Festival comes to town
Imagine you've walked into a warm, cosy room. The fire is crackling away in the fire place, the smell of wood smoke subtly fills the room.
The wind outside is bustling, rain is dropping onto the window sill.
You sit down in a red velvet arm chair and take a sip of the hot chocolate in front of you.
Reaching out, you grab the book off the wooden oak table, and begin to float into a world of imagination and endless possibilities.
Welcome to the 2014 Bendigo Writers Festival.
From August 8th until August 11th Bendigo's View st precinct comes alive, as keen writers and readers take their passions and creativity to the streets.
Bendigo welcomes award winning author Raimond Gaita, legendary poet Les Murray, and the majestic Blanche DÁlpuget, and all of the talented presenters who will be gracing BWF2014 with their presence.
Festival goers will be captivated by talented authors and poets as they deliver a series of workshops over three days.
Attending multiple workshops is easy as they are held in short walking distance from one to the other.
Casually strolling form one stunning location to the next, there is time to take in the beautiful surrounds of Bendigo's historical buildings and gardens.
A host of local, and national writing celebrities will take to the stage in what is sure to be a party for the mind and soul.
More information and to find out how to purchase tickets, log onto the festival website http://bwf.agencyhost.com.au/
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