merry xmas

Merry Xmas you lot. Have a safe and happy one…

Well it’s been a big year for me. So many cool things have happened, not least my No Other Life But This getting a mention at Literary Minded as one of Angela Meyer’s top reads of 08. Crikey!

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/2008/12/21/literature-that-rocked-my-world-in-2008/

2009 will be kicking off with my Cable Car of Death on at the Short and Sweet Festival in Sydney. And I’ll have news on the launch date of The Ghost Poetry Project later in the new year.

oh and the new header picture is of the gaol gates on Norfolk Island... a fave of mine... think I'll keep it up for a while.

ciao for now & thanks for stopping by

the quiet faith of others

New pic in the header again. This one is from Old Adelaide Gaol. It's up there as the spookiest night of my life.

I’m just home from performing at the launch of harvest magazine, another beautiful issue from the mob at RMIT. This officially wraps up my gigs for the year… and what a year… I’m exhausted. Now it’s downhill to Xmas.

One of the nice things about launches is the people you run in to. Can’t name them all here but you know who you are, you Melbourne lit lovers and wonders. And it was a lovely surprise to finally meet Fiona Wright from Sydney. Catch you next time in Newtown!

But the biggest surprise was meeting Clare Renner who is managing the RMIT creative writing course these days. Clare was one of my first teachers back in 2001(?) when I seriously set out to learn more about writing. I still remember her playing us Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart on cassette. She’s been a real believer in me from the start… and the quiet faith of others has been so important over the years.

Getting reflective at the end of the year ain’t I!

Now I’ve managed to score a studio space down here for launching in to a new play over December and January. And trying to get my head in order for a big 2009. Coming up later, an interview I've done with Angela Meyer (that young powerhouse) http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/

and more news on The Ghost Poetry Project soon.

girly socks

Well as you can see I’m still mucking around with a new pic for my header. This one is from the Dining Hall of the Quarantine Station in Sydney. There are numerous ghost stories attached to it… including accounts of smells, like fresh roasting potatoes, or the little girl who appears in the kitchen downstairs with plaits and bubonic plague.

Now big thanks to Going Down Swinging who commissioned our spoken word show Static. Our last performance up in Bendigo was a blast. Met some lovely people including Tru Dowling and heard from local poets… Spring is a slut… won’t be forgetting that line for a while.

After that we retreated to our hotel room to eat pizza and watch Revenge of the Nerds. Alicia and Sean finally confronted me with the fact that I wear girly socks (a real breakthrough moment for us) then we laughed, drank, oh how we laughed some more, and then I crashed out first. The following morning was spent in the spa.

Ah, life on the road.

Desperate to get into the studio now to record the Static show. Hopefully you want to hear it…

And don’t forget the launch of GDS No. 27 at Northcote Social Club, 3rd December, 7.30pm. I’ve been lucky enough to have a squiz at it already and they say the spoken word cd is a knockout this year. http://www.goingdownswinging.org.au/

On Friday, 5th of December I’ll be up in Melbourne for the launch of the new and exciting, harvest magazine. 6pm to 9pm at the Order of Melbourne on Swanston Street. I'll be reading with superstar Geoff Lemon and major bud of mine, Paul Mitchell. http://harvestmagazine.wordpress.com/

And I’m fine with girly socks. I try to wear em like a man.

typewriter walks

Big thanks to my friend, Leah, for letting me know about the results of the Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize. I came in with a High Commendation for my poem The Last Day, one inspired by Kevin Hart. Turns out that John Kinsella picked up the first prize and you can go and read it here...http://www.usq.edu.au/arts/community/poetryprize/2008.htm

In other news it looks like Static, commissioned by Going Down Swinging, is back on the road again: 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...

Alicia Sometimes, Sean M Whelan, Quinn Stacpoole and myself are performing in Bendigo on Friday, Nov 28th. 7.30 pm. Under the Grandstand at the Queen Elizabeth Oval, View St.

$8 supper, lucky door, books/cd’s available
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL
More info: Tru Dowling 5441 1424
Or Sheree 5442 3634

And don’t forget the launch of GDS No. 27 at Northcote Social Club, 3rd December, 7.30pm. It’s a bonfire night of words & performance. http://www.goingdownswinging.org.au/

Now I’ll be up in Melbourne for the launch of the new and exciting, harvest magazine. Friday, 5th December 6pm to 9pm at the Order of Melbourne on Swanston Street. I'll be reading with superstar Geoff Lemon and major bud of mine, Paul Mitchell. http://harvestmagazine.wordpress.com/

Also please check out the blog of my newest friends, Bean. An artist from Dartmoor UK, she has travelled to Dartmoor AUS for a 10 week residency. Check out pics of her ‘typewriter walks’ and showreel here. http://www.dartmoor-residency.blogspot.com/ Go Bean!

Still waiting on photos for you from a couple of my recent plays… but I hear that a Mystery in a Blimp t-shirt is coming to me from the Benalla production. Merchandise!!!

The Best Australian Poems 2008

I’ve just received my copies of The Best Australian Poems 2008 edited by Peter Rose. Can’t wait to get stuck into it. Poetry from Jaya Savige and Toby Davidson who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting recently. And from Sarah Holland-Batt and Fiona Wright… who I haven’t met, but the pleasure awaits. The book is launched on Nov 17 at 6.30 pm, Readings, Carlton.

Another launch (it must be the season)… is Four W with a launch in both Wagga Wagga and Sydney. I am so passionate these days about opportunities for regionally-based writers and Four W does a great job in selecting work from all around Australia while developing/supporting its local talent. Looking forward to reading pieces from Derek Motion, Belinda Campbell and Kelly Shaw.

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

Now it looks like none of you have decided to buy my house. Hmm… what if I said that koalas sit in the front tree and walk up and down the street? That’s serious wildlife… that’s value!

Aside from poetry and plays what I really dig is music. Gotta tell you about Kanye West’s latest one Love Lock Down, which is super cool as usual, and The Killers new album available in Australia Nov 22. Go to their site and hear the first single, Human. I’ve played it to death all ready. Plus I’ve been workin the cassette deck in my car lately… returned to Peter Gabriel’s So album… still good after all these years!

The Night Air

Recently I’ve been introduced to John Jacobs and have been enjoying his late-night program on Radio National called The Night Air. It’s a wonderful, weird fusion of sound. Check it out. I love it. Here is a link to the stuff he captured and beautifully mixed up from TiNA 08 in Newcastle… featuring snippets from Michael Farrell, Astrid Lorange, Nick Keys and the funniest man on this earth with a guitar, Justin Heazlewood aka The Bedroom Philosopher.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/nightair/stories/2008/2358094.htm#transcript

or check out The Night Air website

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

More news coming soon about Sean Whelan’s launch on the 6th Nov at Bar Open in Melbourne, and the launch of the unstoppable Page Seventeen.

Oh and you gotta check out Justin’s link… that famous bedspread…

http://www.bedroomphilosopher.com/

OzCo news & buy my house

Well the embargo is lifted and I can finally tell you that I’ve been awarded a Developing Writer's Grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council. This means I am heading back to Port Arthur this year and writing a new play inspired by the stories of the Eaglehawk Neck Dog Chain. And I can’t begin to tell you what this means in terms of financial stability… it couldn’t have come at a better time!

Also check out my 'poem of the week' at the Australian Poetry Centre’s website… up until Monday.

http://www.australianpoetrycentre.org.au/?page_id=2

And if you want to buy my house, check it out here…

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=105271790&f=10&p=10&t=res&ty=&fmt=&header=&cc=&c=23084802&s=vic&tm=1224107950

More news coming soon on Ballarat Grammar’s production of my Cable Car of Death and Benalla Tafe’s production of Mystery in a Blimp.