Coalescence - Benjamin Dodds

New Poem at Bluepepper

2012-01-13T16:58:00.001+11:00

Our Lady of Yanco, a new poem of mine, has gone up over at Justin Lowe's Bluepepper today.

I recently went to Canberra to see the Renaissance exhibition at the Australian National Gallery, and let's just say I saw a lot of Madonna and Child imagery. I'd already started this poem a while ago, but it didn't really do anything or go anywhere. After seeing such beautiful depictions of her drapery, I added a few lines about colours and decided to end it with a reference to how hot it used to get in my home town of Yanco, where the statue hid in the priest's garden across the road from our house. I chose not to locate it in any other way than a simple mention of the town in the poem's title.

As an atheist, I'm quite surprised to have a Virgin Mary poem, but she's more than welcome to show up again if she'd like.

On discovering that Jules Verne’s monstrous cetacean is just a sub

2012-01-12T15:36:00.003+11:00

In my edition,

it happens on page 35.

Not too far in, granted,

but enough of my time

to feel cheated.

Everyone knows

that it’s Nemo,

right from the start,

but for seven quick chapters,

I believed it was not.

A Round-Up

2012-01-11T18:44:00.004+11:00

Happy new year. I'm feeling creative at the moment, but it's more of a feeling than a period of actual activity!

I sent my MS out to a couple of publishers in October and November of last year and I'm currently waiting to hear back (though, I refuse to get my hopes up). They're both supposed to make decisions by February, so here's hoping (but not too highly).

A few hours ago, I read a poem that really tickled my fancy at Linebreak. It's by a poet named Molly Spencer and is called The Mail Order Bride Attempts a Letter Home. The piece is beautifully read by Sandra Beasley, a poet I greatly admire. I'll be keeping my eyes out for more from Molly. Good stuff. In a very loosely associated way, it inspired a few lines of my own.

My Sky

2011-10-03T16:33:00.000+11:00

Justin Lowe has put up a new poem of mine on his poetry site, Bluepepper.

Off to Newcastle

2011-09-29T12:20:00.001+10:00

I'm looking forward to reading tomorrow evening at dotdotdash's new issue launch as part of the National Young Writers Festival. Choosing 2 or 3 poems is proving difficult!

The Red Room Company

2011-09-22T21:44:00.001+10:00

The wonderful people at The Red Room Company have put up a biography page with my name on it. My poem, Satisfaction, which appeared in the Sun Herald last weekend is being listed over there, too.

I'll link to it when I get to my computer. This iPhone app doesn't allow my to create links.

National Young Writers Festival

2011-09-18T18:53:00.001+10:00

I received an email last week from dotdotdash magazine about doing a reading at an event they're holding at the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle. How could I say no to a personal invite? I couldn't and I didn't. Yay!

Sun Herald "Extra" Poems

2011-09-15T17:00:00.003+10:00

Satisfaction, the first poem I ever had published, will feature in this Sunday's Sun Herald Extra section, courtesy of a project run by The Red Room Company. It first appeared in the Pastoral issue over at Cordite.

Post Script:
Here's the scan.

Remnant

2011-09-15T16:52:00.000+10:00

My hands won’t stop smelling of onion—

it both repulses and fixates.

Again and again

I raise them to my face

to monitor this immovable scent

that’s been with me,

a part of me,

since dinner on Tuesday.

The awareness of my own porosity

keeps me awake.

What other essences,

benignly odourless or otherwise,

do I take in unconsenting

through my skin?

It’s the recess phone call again

and being bundled away retching

after yielding to the compulsion to touch

the glass thermometer

above the bag and coat hooks,

filled as it was

with creeping silver poison.

(Originally published in Issue 8 of Etchings)

Things I Love

2011-09-15T16:37:00.005+10:00

One of these days, I'll try my darnedest to find a way to marry my twin loves of poetry and Disney on the page as perfectly as my bookshelf does...

There has to be a way!

Books and Covers

2011-08-28T13:29:00.001+10:00

A few years ago, I wrote a poem called Wyndham's Crow, inspired by a scene in John Wyndham's book The Day of the Triffids. His books are truly amazing, particularly in the way their unsettling mood is slowly built up.

I've been thinking about how closely a book's cover can be tied to our emotional feeling for the language inside. We've all heard the old adage about books and the arbitrary nature of their covers, but in some cases, I really feel that they add to the overall positive experience of reading. Maybe it's as simple as I associate this image with this story, but the effect can be so strong.

Look at these examples of some of Wyndham's covers. Before reading each of these books, the covers didn't do much for me, but after, they evoked everything about the narrative itself. I admit they're not much to look at, but I think its the drab colour and the simple outlines. Something about the way Penguin did its paperbacks. Brilliant.

By the way, the gunk on the second hand copy of The Midwich Cuckoos is probably chocolate. I kind of wish it were on the other more appropriately named title!

Recent Happenings

2011-08-25T16:24:00.002+10:00

I've just finished off the manuscript for my first collection of poetry. Who knew how finicky formatting a table of contents would be! I hope the right people are as pleased with it as I am. I'm a diehard skeptic, so I won't bother crossing my fingers, but I'm hoping for good things.

Also, one of my poems will be published in the Sun Herald in September as part of Red Room's ongoing project of promoting new poetic voices. I'll post better details soon.

Things are looking good.

Space Tourist

2011-07-31T20:41:00.001+10:00

I haven't written much lately, but I'm hoping my recent pilgrimage to NASA's Kennedy Space Centre has stirred something up.

Antipodes Launch

2011-03-20T17:52:00.000+11:00

I went with some friends to the launch of Antipodes: Poetic Responses this afternoon. It was very well attended for a poetry event. I was pleased to see so many people with an interest in poetry.

My poem The Challicum Bunyip seemed to go down pretty well. Thanks again to Margaret Bradstock for dreaming up the whole endeavour.

Poets in Person

2011-03-09T16:33:00.000+11:00

I'll be reading my poem from the recent anthology Antipodes: Poetic Responses at its launch on the 20th of March. Details here.

Also, an excellent poet with whom I've had some correspondence recently is Tricia Dearborn. She will be the guest at the next Brett Whiteley Sunday Poetry Reading. Go and hear her read. Her science poems are magical. Details here.

Antipodes: Poetic Responses

2011-02-19T19:08:00.004+11:00

Ages ago, I submitted some poetry to a project Margaret Bradstock was investigating called Antipodes. It went through a couple of different iterations over a long period, but Margaret insisted that it would all come together in the end.

To tell the truth, I'd almost completely forgotten about it until I opened a parcel (which I thought was going to be a DVD I'd ordered) and looked at the cover this morning. I don't think I've ever been more pleasantly surprised.

Antipodes: Poetic Responses is an anthology of poems dealing in a wide variety of ways with the concept of European settlement in Australia and its effects on both the settlers and the original Australians. The poems are presented in order of their author's date of birth, from WC Wentworth, the son of a convict, to Sir Henry Parks and Mary Gilmore, and on to Judith Wright, Peter Porter, David Malouf, Les Murray and Judith Beveridge. Right near the end (third last) comes my poem The Challicum Bunyip. Wow.

The publisher is Phoenix Education, and the book is intended to be used in secondary school English classes, as well as being available in poetry sections of bookshops. How exciting!

More old stuff

2011-01-24T00:42:00.000+11:00

This one was written years ago and published at Mascara last April.

Subcutaneous

since it happened

I have been waiting

for this other event

for a blood-crust to form

for the thin weeping to slow

and for you to move within me

I have seen it in my head

your white fingers fumble

with curve-pointed scissors

as you slip one blade under

and snip the thread at a point

beside the precise black knot

I feel a sudden slackening

just beneath the surface of my flesh

and the anticipated slide

of scrupulous slicing nylon

at a depth whose nerves lie dormant

all times but this

I sit ready tonight

and see you sense a mood in me

that seems incongruous to you

Recent Activity

2010-10-24T12:22:00.000+11:00

Well, I've started to get myself back into gear. Things are stirring again. One of my pieces will appear in Page Seventeen shortly, and I was happy to hear recently that an anthology that was looking to be more and more unlikely is now a definite. I even signed a contract. More about that when it starts happening.

I also received word this week that one of my poems will appear in an upcoming issue of Famous Reporter, and I've sent some stuff out to a few other journals.

I wrote something small and very inconsequential recently, but it was nice to see that I can still do it.

Work worries seem to take up a lot more internal head space than creativity at present. Yuck.

Blue Dog

2010-09-25T13:55:00.000+10:00

I received the latest copy of Blue Dog this week. It's exciting to have one of my poems in such a great publication. My friend Peggy Marks Wahlhaus also has an excellent poem in the same issue.

I just love the production of this journal! It always looks superb. It's a shame this is the second last issue.

Seventeen - 17

2010-08-28T16:33:00.000+10:00

Heard this week that a poem of mine will appear in the upcoming Page Seventeen. Great news.

Funny, too; one of our spelling words in class this week was seventeen. Of course, most of them wrote 17.

Free Poetry Download for National Science Week!

2010-08-21T15:02:00.002+10:00

The three Science Made Marvellous chapbooks are now available for download in pdf form here (and elsewhere, apparently, but I can't find them). My poem is in the Earthly Matters volume. Happy reading!

Happy National Science Week!

2010-08-18T22:58:00.002+10:00

Last night, I was fortunate enough to attend the launch of the Science Made Marvellous event in the Dixson Room of the NSW State Library. Wonderfully presided over by Carol Jenkins, the evening saw the launch of three new chapbook anthologies of science-related poetry to celebrate this year's National Science Week. My poem, In telepathy, space doesn't matter, was included in the volume entitled Earthly Matters. The other two chapbooks were called Holding Patterns and Law and Impulse.

It was great to hear some 'so-called' science poems (often such a restrictive term), particularly the excellent laboratory-oriented work of Tricia Dearborn, and also some thoughts on the history of science in poetry. I caught up with some poets I haven't seen in a while, and I got to have a nice drink with some close friends after the event. Fun!

The chapbooks can be downloaded in pdf format very soon. I'll post a relevant link as soon as they're up.

Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog here!

2010-07-26T23:48:00.002+10:00

Just tricking. It's actually me! Ah, I always did love Kermit. Big Bird, too. To tell the truth, I still do. Anyhow, this has nothing to do with anything. It's supposed to be a poetry blog.

I received word last night that I've been included in one of the three chapbooks being released by the Poets Union for the 2010 National Science Week's Science Made Marvellous initiative. The one I'm in is concerned with Geology and Biology and is called Earthly Matters. I had the chance to have a bit of a sticky-beak and was happy to see some great stuff in there alongside my poem. Some really nice Carol Jenkins, Martin Langford, Michael Sharkey and Emily Ballou pieces. Let's just say, the email was a very pleasant distraction from the election debate.

Also, the latest Blue Dog should be turning up soonish. All I need now is some fresh inspiration to get my writing bubbling again. Hey, maybe a Muppet poem...

Dogs

2010-06-26T14:17:00.000+10:00

Things have been pretty slow on the poetry front, but I received some good news recently from the people at Blue Dog. The publication comes out twice per year and is published by the Australian Poetry Centre. I've been trying to get something in for years and have finally succeeded. I'm really happy that the poem they've chosen is one of which I'm very proud. It's called Thinning our little herd and recalls a charged time when my family failed dismally at rearing cattle.

Another poem at Bluepepper

2010-06-06T16:58:00.001+10:00

Justin Lowe at Bluepepper just put up one of my poems. Many thanks to him.

I love poetry, a lot!

2010-05-05T21:19:00.000+10:00

I'm pleased to say I've had a very poetic day. Well, it wasn't intrinsically poetic, but it was certainly coloured by poetry.

The latest issue of the Mascara Literary Review went live today, complete with three of my poems and an unflattering picture. I'm pretty impressed by the calibre of the other poets included in the issue. Judith Beveridge is the feature poet, and there's also new stuff from Adam Aitken, Greg McLaren and Johanna Featherstone.

I also decided to go along to my weekly poetry workshop after a break of many weeks (I've been too stressed and busy to find the time). It really is one of my favourite things to do. Zonino!

Bluepepper

2010-04-16T16:57:00.000+10:00

One of my poems has just gone up at Bluepepper, a great place to check out new writing. It's a piece I wrote years ago and had pretty much forgotten until very recently (yesterday). I changed the title from After the Washout to Archibald's Fountain and checked my facts a bit more closely (originally I thought the god was Heracles, but it's supposed to be Theseus).

In other news, I'm still pretending that today's not the last day of the school holidays and that I don't have to go back to work on Monday. So far so good. Going out for Egyptian tonight. Yum!

Some Stuff

2010-03-28T15:11:00.000+11:00

Another of my poems is up at kipple this week. There's some great stuff to read over there.

And I received my contributor's copy of the latest Etchings this week. Fantastic production value. It's got two of my poems inside, Remnants and Regulator.

And finally, I'm happy to say that my friend JC Reilly has just informed me that her first chapbook, La Petite Mort, is now available to pre-order from Finishing Line Press. She's a co-editor at Chickenpinata.com and a very talented poet. I've already ordered my copy!

Running on Empty

2010-03-22T17:25:00.003+11:00

There's nothing like an unexpected move and an extreme lack of finances to completely drain one's creative juices. I've got nothing in the tank - zip, zero, zilch, nada, niente, nought. I haven't been going to my poetry group because I don't actually have anything to share. I'm searching high and low for inspiration.

On the up side, Mascara Literary Review and Kipple will be featuring some of my work any day now. I'll link to their pages as soon as they upload.

Let ya' know how I get on, yeah?

Fun and Games

2010-03-06T15:05:00.000+11:00

At the moment, I am reading through the submissions made to a friend's poetry journal. She very graciously allowed me to be one of her readers for the next issue. And what an eye-opener it is! I am so accustomed to being on the other side of the submission coin that I'm feeling a bit torn.

Having to put individual poems into various baskets, from not-very-good to excellent, is a bit nerve-wracking. I'm so conscious of how disappointing it is to receive a rejection notice, but at the same time, it's not in the journal's best interest to accept anything and everything.

The best part of it all is that I get to read so much poetry. Zonino!

It's Getting Hot in Here

2010-02-22T18:38:00.002+11:00

The launch party for the new issue of Etchings has just been announced. I'd love to go, but I live in Sydney rather than Melbourne. I hope they have a great time. I have two new poems appearing in the publication.

Meanwhile, I can't stand this heat. I think my house should be studied by the CSIRO to unlock its secret ability to trap the day's humidity. Maybe they could turn its powers of evil to something constructive, such as designing super-effective Thermos flasks.

Chickenpinata.com - Best Journal Name Ever?

2010-02-06T17:11:00.002+11:00

Just like Harvey Swick (Clive Barker's young protagonist in the perennially unsurpassable The Thief of Always), I feel as though I have been devoured by the great grey beast February. Harvey's Northern Hemisphere beast used bland, chilly, wet days of boredom as its chief weapon; my antipodean beast's arsenal is stocked with a mixture of long, baking days of heat and humidity, and longer sheet-clinging nights.

Luckily, Chickenpinata.com came along this week to take my mind off the pain (am I taking the melodramatic metaphor too far? Possibly). My poem Easter Parade appears in the fifth issue of this excellent online journal based in Atlanta, Georgia and edited by JC Reilly and Hart E. Bee.

I thoroughly recommend clicking through Chickenpinata's poetry-filled pages. You're bound to find something tailor-made for you, just the right thing for warding off further attacks from that great grey beast February.

New Harvest

2010-01-04T19:42:00.000+11:00

I received my contributor's copy of Harvest today. It's their fourth issue, and I'm truly impressed with its quality. They seem to outdo themselves with every issue! I got a real buzz out of seeing my poem The Challicum Bunyip paired with original artwork.

dotdotdash

2009-12-16T22:40:00.002+11:00

My poem Host appears in the beautifully produced current issue of dotdotdash. I'm really impressed with these guys.

Be_jami_ Do_ds

2009-12-08T21:08:00.004+11:00

Sometimes patience pays off, and other times it proves to be a painfully disappointing waste of time. Fortunately, I'll be writing about the former rather than the latter.

After submitting them in early June, I received word today that 3 of my poems are being published early next year in one of my favourite online journals, Mascara.

My name's finally starting to appear, or it will when the 4 or 5 publications I'm waiting to come out finally hit the shelves. I've got stuff in Etchings, Harvest and dotdotdash all coming out any day now, and the anthology I mentioned in a previous post and the 3 poems in Mascara in early 2010. Zonino!

Anthologised!

2009-11-26T23:12:00.000+11:00

In the midst of all-out war with our real estate agent over a blocked drain today (it got pretty ugly, both literally and figuratively), I received some very exciting news "on the email", as the oldies say.

One of my longer poems has been accepted for inclusion in an exciting anthology being put together by a prominent Australian poetry publisher. I don't know how much I'm meant to say about it, but I'll be more specific as time goes by. The idea for the anthology is a really interesting one.

I'm really chuffed because it's not in an online journal, or a print journal, or a magazine; it's a real, live book. They're even sending out a contract!

Zonino!

Kipple Poem

2009-11-13T17:59:00.000+11:00

A poem of mine called Sorting just went up over at Kipple. Inspired by my days as a laboratory technician (a very long time ago).

Pretty Good Year

2009-11-01T16:38:00.003+11:00

As much as I complain about the painfully slow and sometimes disappointing nature of putting my poetry out there, I think it's helpful to step back and look at the bigger picture of how everything's going.

If I leave out the poem that appeared in a local magazine when I was in third class (if I absolutely must), I have eight published poems. All have been accepted by Australian publications over the past 12 months. One journal even took two!

Southerly, Cordite Poetry Review, AustralianReader, Etchings, Harvest, dotdotdash and Kipple are all pretty good publications, if I do say so myself!

To quote Tori Amos, who's provided the soundtrack to my life since age 12, "pretty good year"!

..-

2009-10-26T23:13:00.000+11:00

I just received an email from the lovely people at dotdotdash. It's a funky new journal produced by a bunch of creative-types in Perth, and they've accepted one of my poems for their ugly-themed issue. Zonino!

The poem's called Host and deals with that timeless theme of hatching a hornet from your shin. Join me now, I'm sure you all know the words!

I'm in

2009-10-17T16:48:00.000+11:00

Sitting at my computer for the last hour, psyching myself up to do some preparation for my return to work on Monday (while fiddling with iTunes, YouTube, Facebook and various other distractions), I felt the desperate urgency to post an update to one of my earlier posts. So, here it is.

I mentioned a while back that a magazine wanted to publish one of my poems if they could secure two free pages. Well, I found out (weeks ago) that they've solved the problem and I'm a definite for their next issue. Zonino!

Now, I think there's something I need to check out over at ebay...

Five Stars for Moon

2009-10-16T00:11:00.001+11:00

I've just come home from the cinema. I know this blog is reserved for matters poetic, but it's not stretching the description too far when I say that Duncan Jones's Moon is like poetry. What an amazing film.

Three Cheers for Poetry

2009-10-14T15:14:00.000+11:00

I'm getting to the depressing end of my holidays (it happens every time, like clock-work) and I've decided to try and surround myself with poetry.

I know I've got heaps to do before I go back to work (which I'll inevitably do the night before), but I'm not thinking about that. Instead, I've chosen to focus on the poetry collections arriving in the mail; the submissions I'm sending here, there and everywhere; and the reading I'm attending tonight. They should bottle poetry and sell it at the chemist.

Oh, and congrats to JC!

Waiter, there's a poet at the table.

2009-10-11T18:09:00.000+11:00

I had dinner with a big bunch of people last night. We were all talking about our various creative modes of expression (some were actors, some comedians, some graphic artists) and the topic of poetry came up. They asked me questions that led me to believe that most non-poets see poetry as a quaint and largely outdated little curiosity.

I had to explain the concept of literary journals and the fact that there's a very competitive process involved in having your work published. They were all quite surprised and I felt a little bit like a mason giving up his secrets!

It's a shame that the poem has become such a niche literary form. Although most of the people involved in the discussion were Arts graduates and had studied poetry during their degree, none of them had read a poem since.

I know this was just one small sampling of society, but it was still an eye-opener.

Two Books

2009-10-04T23:57:00.002+11:00

My poem Two Books appeared today at AustralianReader.com. There's also plenty of other cool stuff to explore.

Hmmm

2009-09-30T16:27:00.001+10:00

My favourite lines of the week come from the very poetic song Fish Heads, by Barnes and Barnes.

I took a fish head out

to see a movie,

didn't have to pay

to get it in.

Fish heads, fish heads,
roly poly fish heads.
Fish heads, fish heads,
eat them up,
yum.

I think there's something in that for all of us.

My childhood in a slip case!

2009-09-28T16:58:00.003+10:00

I know I'm an adult, but wow! It's only $50 from a book club at work...........probably gonna buy it.

The Long and Short of it

2009-09-28T16:50:00.000+10:00

Just received word from a literary magazine that they'd like to publish one of my poems! Zonino, but they warn that this is dependant upon their finding a double page. Apparently, the poetry editor needs to negotiate an extra page because the amount of space given over to verse is pretty much set in stone. Here's hoping!

Which opens the issue of poem length. The above situation is, to me at least, quite an ironic one. Almost none of my many poems (the poem in question being the one exception) makes it over the page break. I don't know whether it's a real thing or not, but I sometimes feel as if the turning of a page kills the moment in a poem. At the risk of over-generalising, I prefer the succinct punch of a single-pager.

I was reading the excellent poetry of Ciaran Berry this morning on the bus and, I'm ashamed to admit, found myself scanning ahead to count the number of pages taken up by each poem. If they were more than two pages long, I skipped them and told myself I'd come back later. I know that's ridiculous and pretty irrational, but it's how I roll.

I'm guessing this issue is a purely personal one, since there's so much good poetry out there that's quite long. There are obviously people who favour the longer form.

Any thoughts?

Dustin' Off, Man! (Trying too hard?)

2009-09-23T23:28:00.000+10:00

As Johanna Featherstone mentioned in her blog today, there's going to be a glut of dust-storm poems coming out of Australian poets over the next few days. Many a photography suite, too (from photographers, that is).

For what it's worth, here's my photo (taken at 7am in my undies). Reminds me of that scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where the kid gets abducted. Spooky.

A Visitor

2009-09-20T15:32:00.003+10:00

This little guy just didn't want to leave my t-shirt. I had to strategically coerce him off.

It's ridiculous, but I used to be TERRIFIED of these! A stint in the Entomology section of the Department of Agriculture back in my lab technician days made me realise how irrational that was. We had to catch thousands of them each night with a flood light and empty the traps the next day by hand. Gross, but a good form of therapy. As one of my good friends says, there's a poem in that!

Reabsorption

2009-09-17T17:04:00.000+10:00

I'm rediscovering Philip Hodgins. It's not that I've undiscovered him, I've always claimed him as my favourite poet, but I'm learning to read some of his work with different eyes.

Certain poems of Hodgins's elicit a physical response from me; it might be tears, a lump in the throat or a laugh. I find myself savouring each individual poem by looking up from the page and letting it soak in. Some of his final lines almost kick you in the guts.

The image that still gets me just as powerfully as when I first read it comes at the end of Dead Calf. Maybe it's my own upbringing on a farm with cows around, but I can't go past this poem. It's gruesome, but so perfect:

Its mother started eating the afterbirth.
She must have been damaged inside.
As I walked away
Something spilled out like applause.

Favourite Lines of the Week

2009-09-14T16:55:00.000+10:00

Bearing in mind that I haven't opened Ms. Porter's final offering yet, my favourite lines of this week (let's pretend I've been doing this weekly forever) comes from David Brooks's poem, Mosquitoes, from The Balcony.

He starts by pointing out that the mosquitoes that bug him at three in the morning don't really have a place in his large suite of love poems,

unless it be
that through all this darkness
we fuel them
as you fuel me.

Brilliant, no?

The Final Porter

2009-09-12T15:03:00.000+10:00

A copy of The Bee Hut, Dorothy Porter's final collection of poetry, is sitting on my desk. My housemate bought it for me, and I have another copy coming in the mail (a mix-up, she didn't know I'd already ordered a copy). I'm saving the reading for a quiet moment when I can devote myself to it entirely.

So sad, but such beautiful poetry. Dorothy took a lot of talent with her.

Sorry, did you just say my name?

2009-09-09T21:24:00.000+10:00

Just got home from a reading at Sappho Books in Glebe. Rhyll McMaster was the feature poet, and she shared some great pieces during the first part of the night. Then they opened the mic for anybody who'd put their name down on the reading list. Rhyll was the judge.

There were about nine or ten poets who got up to read, including a couple whose names were quite familiar, and I read my poem about the shrike (a very wicked little bird). After some great poems, Rhyll announced her winners, and I came first! I was so chuffed (another bird reference) and I even won a little prize. Great fun, and such a surprise! I'm liking this reading thing.

Etchings

2009-09-08T17:38:00.000+10:00

I received some great poetry-related news today. Two of my poems have been accepted for inclusion in the upcoming issue of Etchings, a journal from Ilura Press. The journal always looks great and is starting to make quite a name for itself. The current issue even has an exclusive piece by Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee.

Keep your eyes out!

Good Fun!

2009-09-03T22:37:00.000+10:00

I went along to The Big Read in Ashfield tonight. It was an evening of poetry readings organised for National Poetry Week. I can report with confidence that it was really good fun!

I was nervous, but once I got up behind the lecturn I was fine. Each poet had five minutes to read, so I read four pieces. They went down quite well. There were a few poets there whose work I was extremely impressed by. I liked the way we all sort of gravitated toward one another at the conclusion. I suppose it was a coalescence!

I met a couple of poets who signed copies of their books for me and asked for my email address. It was a great night, and I think I've caught the bug! There's another reading next week in Glebe. I think I'll go. Zonino!

Ooh, Almost forgot!

2009-08-31T19:54:00.001+10:00

I also found out yesterday that I've had a poem accepted by the lovely people at AustralianReader.com. Zonino again!

Spacial Anomaly

2009-08-24T17:43:00.006+10:00

I'm a big nerd for anything space related, especially NASA stuff, so a poem about an Apollo mission is not too 'out there' for me, but one about the paranormal is. Anybody who knows me is well aware that I don't go in for, or believe in, much of that stuff, so the content of a recent poem came as somewhat of a surprise, even to me.

I'd read here and there that one of the Apollo 14 astronauts had (and still has) a deep interest in ESP. I found an interview with the man himself that confirmed what I'd heard. The idea of psychic communication doesn't really sit comfortably within the hardcore scientific framework that constitutes the US space program, but the concept fascinated me. I love poetry's power to process ideas like this. Go poetry!

So, there are some guts in there, after all!

2009-08-23T16:16:00.004+10:00

Well, I did it. I read a poem in front of an audience! I've read in front of my poetry group heaps of times, but this was the first time I stood at a microphone and recited aloud.

After the guest poet (Carol Jenkin, whose work I love) spoke, they opened the podium to anybody who'd registered their desire to read. It turned out that there were only four people who did, but it was still excellent. The venue was the very special Brett Whiteley Studio, and the backdrop of his epic canvases and some amazing sculpture really set a fantastic mood. People said some very lovely things about my poem.

I even met a few people. I'll definitely jump at the chance to read again.

Daring Myself

2009-08-23T10:56:00.003+10:00

I'm going to a reading today. I'm quite excited about it, because the guest is Carol Jenkins, whose recent book I reviewed for Cordite. I've never met her, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity to hear her read in person.

And, there's an open mic. Those two words terrify me (I'm referring to open and mic, not and and there's, or there's and an, just to be clear). I've decided to post this entry as a sort of dare to myself. It's easier to chicken out when nobody knows that you were planning on doing something.

I'll post again about whether or not I had the intestinal fortitude to read.

Ciao!

Things that make ya' go hmm

2009-08-23T00:53:00.000+10:00

So, here's a question for anybody with an opinion on the matter. I know it's been discussed before, but I'm still not sure.

Should poets post their unpublished work on their blog?

Lots of what I read suggests that it's not advisable, but other sources seem to say it's fine. I have entered a few contests and sent submissions to journals where the guidelines stipulate that the material must be new, and never have appeared anywhere else before, including websites and blogs. But then, I was reading a really useful book today that highlighted the excellent resource that is the blog for promoting new poetry. The author advocates the use of your blog as a sounding board, allowing comments to serve as a sort of focus group.

It is certainly a quandary. I'd really like to start putting up some of my work, but I'm nervous about jeopardising the chance to have them accepted by journals and magazines.

Hmmm.

Stimulus - Response

2009-08-21T16:12:00.001+10:00

Well, I heard back about some poems this week. Sadly, not in an affirmative way. One of the journals I submitted to sent me a little slip claiming that my work was 'not what they are looking for'. Personally, I prefer the 'due to an overwhelming amount of submissions' type of rejection. The one I received this week was a bit too specific for the sour mood I was in at the time. Sure, they went on to say that it might be suitable for another sort of journal, but what is the intended message when the rejection is a photocopied slip with 'Dear Contributor' written at the top?

Anyway, skip to the end.

I'm getting to be less and less offended by rejection (not that you can see that in this particular blog entry).

Oh, and I also received a certificate of participation from a very small competition that was held in my very small home town. The local newspaper that I still access online every now and again (just for a giggle) said that they had a large response... 6 entries. Serves me right for being so cocky.

Okay, snap out of it, Ben.

Can I modify my rule? Of course I can; It's mine!

2009-08-17T18:28:00.006+10:00

Well, I know I said poetry reading was out after 11.00pm, but listening's different, right?

I've discovered the large selection of poetry-related podcasts on itunes and have been listening to them in bed as I get ready to sleep. Yeah, I know, I said poetry's too stimulating for bedtime, but I can't help myself! There really is something about the peace and solitude of curling up in darkness with a good set of headphones full of poetry.

Have a look, there's plenty of great stuff (and some that's less than great) and it's all free! If you preview through the itunes store on your ipod, you don't even have to wait for them to download. They stream nicely.

P.S. Check out the hilariously deadpan poems on Stormtrooper Poetry. Maybe you need to be a bit of a nerd (check!), but I found some of these to be very clever.

A Public Service Announcement: Don't Read Poetry in Bed

2009-08-14T17:12:00.004+10:00

I have decided to make a new rule. No poetry after 11.00pm.

Every time I take a poetry collection to bed with me, my mind turns over and over. I get up to jot down inspired thoughts that sprout in my mind. I switch off the lamp, but it's back on again in a moment's time. When I finally do drift off, my brain continues to come up with ideas in my sleep. It's a fine thing if you don't have to be anywhere the next morning, but I do!

Anyone else have the same problem?

A Watched Mailbox...

2009-08-11T23:17:00.001+10:00

I just did a little tally and figured out that I'm waiting on responses to 22 poems. 22!

Literary journals seem to move at a glacial pace.

Some poems have been out in the big, wide world for only a couple of weeks, but a few of them haven't called home for more than four months. Still, I shouldn't get too worked up, the longest I waited was almost exactly a year, and the eventual response was in the affirmative.

Patience is a fur shoe, isn't that what they say?

Feather Ruffling

2009-08-10T17:24:00.003+10:00

The poetry group I attend most Wednesday nights is a truly excellent affair, but every now and again it throws up some curly issues.

The one I most commonly encounter is that of poem choice, or more specifically, whether or not to take along AO poems. Remember the AO (Adults Only) television classification? So much juicier than the current M or MA!

A relatively small number of pieces I write might contain 'curse words' or references to, wait for it..., body parts. Nothing too extreme, but not the thing to read at school assembly. Don't get me wrong, I credit my fellow poets with being literary and open-minded, but they probably wouldn't really enjoy analysing a poem about wee. Let's just say, our meetings can be very proper affairs. So, what do I do?

Well, I've made friends with a couple of the members and met outside the group, and I've managed to sneak a few of the racier works into discussion. Nobody's been too scandalised, yet. In fact, one or two numbers of the under-the-counter variety have been shared with me! Perhaps I have an outdated view of people over 50. It's a symptom of being under 30 (just).

Anyway, for now, I keep the more presentable stuff for the group and wait for signs of toilet humour or the odd rude word before bringing out the hard stuff.

On a Shelf

2009-08-07T17:35:00.003+10:00

I know I've already mentioned that my poem, Wyndham's Crow, appears in the latest issue of Southerly, but it's actually in bookshops today!

Sure, my poem's only one page worth, but it's very cool to walk into a shop and open a book to your own writing.

Wednesday Night's All Right For Writing

2009-07-30T16:55:00.005+10:00

Last night, I attended my weekly poetry group at the NSW Writers' Centre. I've really come to love my Wednesday nights.

This gathering of up to ten (but more usually seven or eight) people who all want to share their own writing and see what others are creating has become the highlight of my week. Happily, I can say I've made some friends there, too. Some very talented and sometimes intimidating individuals. As one of the loveliest friends noted last night, it's amazing how different the poems are. Loves it!

View my Review

2009-07-27T21:43:00.003+10:00

The very excellent people at Cordite Poetry Review posted my review of Carol Jenkins's collection of poems, Fishing in the Devonian, today. If you want me to save you some time, I really liked it. I gave a copy to a good friend on the weekend. She's moving overseas, so I thought it'd be a nice traveling companion, as poetry collections are!

Charles Darwin Walk

2009-07-26T00:24:00.005+10:00

Yesterday, I visited a friend in the Blue Mountains and did the Charles Darwin Walk, something I've been meaning to do for a long time. We had a great time picturing Darwin wandering (and wondering) through the bush, trying to classify the antipodean plant and birdlife. The view when you come out at Wentworth Falls is truly awesome. Darwin's journal indicates that he was suitably impressed.

"An immense gulf is suddenly & without any preparation seen through the trees... The class of view was to me quite novel & extremely magnificent."

Bush Baby

2009-07-23T00:55:00.002+10:00

I found this quirky picture in an old book in a dusty box in my classroom. I thought it best not to look through the rest of the books!

Southerly

2009-07-22T23:58:00.010+10:00

My first poem to appear in print (on a papery page, as opposed to a cybery website) has arrived on my doorstep! Yes, it was slightly damp from the day's rain, but it soon dried out next to the heater.

You can read Wyndham's Crow in Southerly Volume 69, Number 1, 2009. The issue's theme is Animal.

My first published poem, satisfaction, lives online in the Pastoral issue of Cordite Poetry Review.