Sian Burman exhibition

Here's a bit of a plug for my talented partner, Siân Burman, who is exhibiting several of her recent works at Blarney Books Art Gallery in Port Fairy at the moment: acrylics, oils and mixed medium collages.  It's been a busy house of late.  She's also been blog-building recently, and some of her work can be seen in a little more detail over at her blog spot.

Ghosts at The View, Angel Delight and whales

Have just posted a piece I've been working on for The View from Here: The Ghost Poetry Project: an interview with Nathan Curnow - Part One.  Part Two should be appearing at around 1.00 pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

 

Recently read Toast, the story of a Boy's Hunger by Nigel Slater (Harper Perennial, 2007) and Dissection by Jacinta Halloran (Scribe, 2008).  Well, I stopped with Toast after a hundred pages.  I found it interesting to be reminded of the various food fads of 60s Britain - Heinz Sponge Pudding, Arctic Roll, Angel Delight, to name but a few - but wanted something more of a story behind all the humorous observations.  After a while it felt like I was being spoon-fed bowl after bowl of Angel Delight: too much saccharine, too little substance.  Dissection was a much more substantial dish.

The whales have left our stretch of the Southern Ocean for the time-being - their presence during the winter months is always impressive - but to make up for that, I've rediscovered (courtesy of ComedyOnABC) a favourite short animation.  Anything for mindless amusement.  Love the 'New Zealand' accents.

Here's episodes 1 and 6.

The Fun Theory

After a fun night at the art auction (and what better way of raising money for a local charity than involving everyone, loosening wallets with champagne and having a good laugh?), thought I might keep the Fun theme rolling with these excellent ideas from TheFunTheory.com.

Go have fun.

Last Suppers and Tea Parties

Have been caught up in a number of projects recently, which have swallowed all my spare moments, it seems. Not quite clear yet, but getting there. Some have been enjoyably creative, some administrative and some domestic ... and then there's the work that pays to put bread on the table ... next to the wine and fish, of course. Escaped to Melbourne at the weekend to veg out, hang out and catch a couple of exhibitions devoted to Leonardo Da Vinci: Anatomy to Robots and Peter Greenaway's superb Leonardo's Last Supper. Also took the chance to visit The Horn, a wonderful Ethiopian restaurant in Collingwood. What a supper that was.


Either side of that, have been throwing a bit of acrylic paint at a canvas again. All in the name of charity.

Made a decision a few years back not to spend any more time painting, but to concentrate on writing instead; however, was asked recently to create a painting for a charity auction - for the local hospital - which will take place this weekend. (Resolutions are worth nothing if they can't be broken.) It became a family affair, with three of us swearing at easels, trying to meet the deadline.


Mine (Tea Party - Encroaching Shadows below) was influenced by Lewis Carroll's mad Hatter's tea party and Charles Blackman's Alice in Wonderland series of paintings, which I saw a couple of years back (see above). Also by the 'dark forest' as a motif in story-telling. There's a lot I'd have to learn about technique and ways of seeing before I ever got to be a half-decent painter, but I had a great time experimenting with perspective, light, shadows and brush strokes to create visual images rather than with words, rhythm and silences. All very therapeutic. Time to get back to the written word again now though ... once I've had a bite of supper.

The Ghost Poetry Project

Had a wonderful surprise a couple of weeks back, when a friend posted me a copy of The Ghost Poetry Project by Nathan Curnow. I didn't know it was on its way - just opened the padded bag and ... Hey presto!

Happy day. (Thanks, JL. You're a gem.)

It's an intriguing idea for an anthology of poems, built from Nathan Curnow's decision to spend ten nights in ten of Australia's (reputedly) most haunted locations. From sleeping in the back of Elvira the haunted hearse to a night at the notorious Port Arthur penal settlement.

And the writing is stunning too. Superb poetry.

Won't say much more at the moment because I'm going to interview Nathan for The View From Here very soon, except that The Ghost Poetry Project is available from a number of Australian booksellers and directly from the publisher, Puncher & Wattmann.

Recent Reads

Have just finished reading Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance (Vintage). I'm a bit of a sucker for Murakami's novels (haven't read any of his non-fiction yet) and have been ever since I first came across The Wind-up Bird Chronicle about ten years ago. However, Dance Dance Dance, which was first published in 1988, has catapulted itself close to the top of my Murakami favourites.

While his novels are wonderfully surreal at times, it's a quality of the narrative voice that sucks me in and draws me along - a quality that the translator (Alfred Birnbaum on this occasion) obviously manages to retain.

High-class call girls billed to Mastercard. A psychic thirteen-year-old drop-out with a passion for Talking Heads. A hunky matinee idol doomed to play dentists and teachers. A one-armed beach-combing poet, an uptight hotel clerk (in a hotel that houses a metaphysical hotel) and one very bemused narrator...

Book Group

Spent Thursday evening as the guest of a local Book Group, who'd chosen The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore as their October selection. Thanks, folks.

I've been involved with answering the questions of a couple of Book Groups via email in the past, but this was my first 'live' involvement, and what a great night it was: a lot of laughter and a very decent drop of wine - not necessarily in that order. I could get accustomed to that.

While I'm posting, here's a plug for the delightful and witty Mrs T, who, when she's not blogging away at her own site, writes very entertaining pieces for the BBC. Check out her latest contribution to Mum's The Word here.

Surreal Italy

Flicking through some photos of Italy from May, there seems to be a surreal theme to my favourites. Was really taken by this stone tree in the courtyard of the Medici Palace in Rome and wouldn't mind growing one in our backyard.


Brilliant light and Italianate buildings suggest Giorgio de' Chirico. The only thing missing was the long shadows and the outline of a train.


The roofline of buildings spiralling down the cliffs of Cinque Terre put me in mind of Maurits Escher.


As did the rooftops in Siena.


And this Sienese beauty speaks for herself.

Recent Reads

Had a good run of books recently. Pleasurable reads. Sometimes nothing seems to satisfy, but then several good reads in a row come along. This run began with Jae Watson's Journey (Legend Press). Put if off for a while because I didn't like the cover, but once I opened it the quality narrative hooked me quickly and I loved the descriptions of Marianne and Sara's journey through India. I found the characters interesting, which they've got to be if you're going to tag along on this sort of journey with them, and I admire the way Jae Watson handled the mystery of Sara's death, dropping some tremendous surprises along the way. 'Following the break-up of her relationship and unsure of her life's direction, Marianne leaves a London still reverberating from the terrorist bombings to travel for a year with the mysterious and beautiful Sara...'

Next came Streakers (PaperBooks), Gary Davison's second novel. This is a fun read from start to finish, and I got the sense that he had a great time writing it. It comes through every page, which makes it a page-turner! Having had a chat with Gary about this (and who's currently running a short story competition over at his website), I have to agree that it would make a great film: very visual and vibrant - a book bursting with antics and energy. It put me in mind of The Full Monty, even though the storyline is nothing alike; possibly because it shares the same gritty, irreverent humour and is a celebration of determination against all odds. 'Faccome FC are playing at home when the crowd erupts and a masked streaker sprints across the pitch...'

Alternated reading Streakers with Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange (Penguin). This is one book I've been meaning to read for years and years. Have seen Stanley Kubrick's movie, but somehow failed to get round to the book... until now. The Penguin plain cover branding - reminiscent of Penguin's covers from the 1960s - is probably one reason I finally picked it up: great cover, great novel. 'Fifteen-year-old Alex and his thrill-seeking gang regularly indulge in ultra-violence, rape and drugs...' (Found Blake Morrison's introduction good value too.)

Number four was a re-read: William Maxwell's So Long, See You Tomorrow (Panther). I first read this in 2000, and the narrative style made a big impression on me at the time - sparse, slightly distant. Wanted to get the feel of that again. Wasn't quite so strong this time for me, perhaps because I was expecting it, but still a beautifully written book: 'A murder in rural Illinois shatters the tenuous friendship between two lonely boys...'

Back in blogdom

Gary Davison's short story competition is building up steam. He's announced the judges and is posting the occasional profile, and the choice of inspirational titles and opening sentences will be published on Monday 28th September (courtesy of *cough, cough* yours truly). For full details click here.

I like Gary's idea for the small entry fee, and wish I'd thought of something like this myself. Instead of charging a flat fee, as many writing competitions do, all that competitors have to do is purchase a copy of his latest novel Streakers from Amazon and post a brief review of it there. It's a neat idea, and not just from a marketing perspective, but because it ensures that, even if competitors don't win one of the significant prizes, they'll still have a book to keep. I guess that's a win-win situation.

By the by, the final part of my interview with Dmetri Kakmi recently appeared in The View From Here, and the UK edition of his excellent memoir Mother Land will be released by Eland in the next few days.