Craziness

Well the craziness is over… for now.

Just home from the Melbourne Writers Festival 08. I performed at Fed Square with two of my favourite poets, Alicia Sometimes and Sean M Whelan... plus the cool-for-cats muso, Quinn Stacpoole. Big thanks to the literary journal, Going Down Swinging, who commissioned the show in the first place.

http://www.goingdownswinging.org.au/

Was the gig of a lifetime, and we totally rocked! People really seemed to dig it. But you should have seen us in the Green Room beforehand… soooo nervous. Sean was reciting to himself in the corner, I was plugged into my headphones and Alicia was going back and forth chatterboxing to both of us. Can’t tell you what an honour it was to be up on stage with them. Check out the write up on it (and the rest of the fest) from Angela Meyer.

www.literaryminded.blogspot.com

I also spoke the following night at the Festival Club about The Ghost Poetry Project. A big thanks to David Ryding and the Emerging Writers Festival for sponsoring the session. The ongoing support is deeply encouraging. David, you’re amazing!

So now I’m trying to process all this while looking forward to the next performance of STATIC this weekend at the Ex Libris Book Fair in Port Fairy.

http://www.exlibris.port-fairy.com/

Check out the article on me in the Warrnambool Standard… lamest article I’ve ever read but they have a shot of me in my favourite chair (looking way too serious).

http://warrnambool.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/poetry-in-motion-for-portland-artist/1254712.aspx

Also click on the link below for the what I’m doing at the This Is Not Art Festival in October… can’t wait to get up there for my late night ghost poetry reading…

http://www.thisisnotart.org/

Static MWF 08

Going Down Swinging presents STATIC: white noise writ large

Three spoken word performers, one musician – absolutely no interference

A lion with the face of actor Harvey Kietel; a fist-fight with Paul Davies at the football; and what the Bible has to say about aliens. Come and buy the Universe a beer...

Featuring Melbourne poets Alicia Sometimes, Sean M Whelan and Nathan Curnow, backed by composer Quinn Stacpoole.

Premiere: The Age Melbourne Writers Festival – Friday 29 August –
BMW Edge Theatre, Federation Square
Double Bill: 8.30pm Tracie Morris 9.20pm STATIC
For tickets and information: http://www.mwf.com.au/

http://www.mwf.com.au/2008/content/mwf_2008_standard.asp?name=CurnowN

Plus see me the following day, Sat 30th Aug, in conversation with David Ryding about The Ghost Poetry Project or listen here to my recent interview with Sarah L'Estrange on ABC's The Book Show...

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow


God, everything will calm down and be back to normal soon...

MWF 08/Book Show

Lots of news soon on my upcoming gigs at the Melbourne Writers Festival 08 ie. Static performance @ Fed Square with Sean M Whelan and Alicia Sometimes. 29th Aug

David Ryding is also in conversation with me at the MWF regarding The Ghost Poetry Project. Check out the link below to book tickets. Plus you can hear me on Radio National's Book Show this Monday 18/08.

http://www.mwf.com.au/2008/content/mwf_2008_standard.asp?name=CurnowN

A new ghost poem from my manuscript is up on the Famous Reporter site. Check it out if you like… Ralph Wessman does a great job over there. I'm a big fan!

http://www.walleahpress.com.au/b25/?page_id=673

Last of all... please check out some of the old posts for pics from the project. I've just figured out how to put them up. derr...

Writer Around the Murray Fest

Back in my farmhouse writers residency after a fun weekend in Albury at the Write Around the Murray Fest...

I got to meet Hannie Rayson (man, she's lovely!) and caught up with the equally lovely Cate Kennedy who has always been an inspiration. I was even asked to perform a couple of poems at the Festival dinner too, so was a real thrill.

Following the Fest I held a workshop in the town of Griffith and went to James Fallon High today... all the time being looked after by my top host Derek Motion (and yes, he has dreadlocks!) Still trying to get him into Kanye West... might need a few more road trips! He played me the Wombats and I'm hooked.

Plus the Melbourne Writers Festival 08 program is now up... I'll be performing a show called Static at Fed Square with spoken worders Alicia Sometimes & Sean M Whelan. And then talking about The Ghost Poetry Project the following day... so why not book a ticket and come along?

http://www.mwf.com.au/2008/content/mwf_2008_standard.asp?name=CurnowN

Wagga Wagga

I'm enjoying my time up here in Wagga. Got to talk to 80 school kids the other day about poetry, ghosts, and how we go about generating ideas...

One of the kids came up to me afterwards and said... will you write about us?" hmmm...

Now check out the posts below for links of what workshops/readings I'm doing up here and when. About to head down to the Write Around the Murray Fest" tomorrow. Should be fun.

Booranga

Looking forward now to my residency at the Booranga Writers Centre which kicks off on the 28th of July until the 11th August. I’ve just done an interview with a journo from the Daily Advertiser in Wagga, which is good publicity for the reading and the workshops I’m running. Hope to meet lots of Waggarians. Or is it Waggarites?

http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/arts/humss/booranga/index.html

And the Write around the Murray Festival will be fun in Albury. I’m doing a workshop on Performance Poetry at the Albury Library/Museum. See the link below…

http://www.writearoundthemurray.org.au/

My interview on ABC’s the Book Show must be coming up soon too. So tune in at 10am... you just might hear me yacking. They aired the interview with emerging writer Kate Mulvany the other day, so it won’t be long before I am on. I’ll post the link for you here soon…

Now before I fly out to Wagga I’ll be getting to the launch of the latest Blue Dog which is publishing my poem Anxiety. That will be at the Australian Poetry Centre at Glenfern, St Kilda on the 27th … so come along if you are in the area. It goes from 5:30 to 6:30pm.

Catch you later... I'm going for a bodyboard now in the rain cause I'm writing a poem about surfers/surfing. New writing territory for me. I'm lovin it.

Plus, Go Cadel!! Hold your nerve in those Alps.

welcome/the homecoming

Well here it is.

Finally ditched the Telstra blog. Was doing my head in. Couldn't handle it any longer.

A friend of mine just bought me a hardcover copy of The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury, illustrated by Dave McKean. It’s a beautiful book about Halloween/a haunting. How come I didn’t know about this before? I’ve read it through once and will need to sit with it for a while now. There is a strangeness to the language which is not easy to swallow but altogether captivating, the reason I will keep coming back to it.

Short stories are built (among other things) upon language use and the art of revelation. It’s as simple and as difficult as that. If you’ve got those two working for you then you’re on your way I reckon. Singing My Sister Down by Margo Lanagan comes to mind here… one of my all time favourites.

I’ve had a few short stories published but plays and poems have been my strength to date. I can see the time coming though when I get back there… tempted by prose amid a desert of sales!

Some lines from The Homecoming…

Silently she stood stiff as a great loaf of nile bread…

Their laughter was a cave of winds…

Uncle Einar, last of all, kettledrummed the air as he descended, laughing at some half-remembered death, perhaps his own, until he lay in the longest box of all…