Book Launch: Imagine: Keilor Downs Secondary students anthology
May 23rd, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Last night I attended the most special book launch of my life. I completed a Artists in Schools residency last year at Keilor Downs College where 40 students participated in short story workshops. Last night was the book launch of the anthology of their work.
It was such a proud moment. I was so happy to hold a copy of the book with all of their writing and the students were so excited. It was a wonderful culmination of all of the hard work that the students put in and I’m so happy that they will have a momento to always remind them of the occasion.
Below is a write up in the local newspaper with some of my students.
This is the cover of the anthology.
And here are the gorgeous flowers I received last night and that I’m enjoying looking at.
In the back of the book are comments by the students about participating in the program and I want to share a few of these:
“Amra helped me throughout the writing process.I took her advice and implemented it in my story. I wrote a realistically gritty story which I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.” Andrew
“I was a bit reluctant to join at the beginning as I thought it might be too much work. But once I started, it was actually fun. I found myself developing a story which I would never have thought of it if If i had not joined this writing group.” Anthoni.
“I love reading so I though I would like to develop my own ideas in writing. Before I completed this workshop I wasn’t really clear about what was involved in writing a short story, but I learnt a lot from discussing ideas with others and through the drafting and writing process.” Louise
It has been such a privilege working with Keilor Downs College to run the program and with the Project Manager Colleen van der Horst who is an organsational wonder, but the best part is being able to mentor students. To help them learn new skills, gain confidence in their writing and have fun.
I’m currently doing it again at Gisborne Secondary College running workshops with Year 9 and 10 students and I’m going share some of these published short stories to inspire them.
Review: Etchings Journal: The Feminine
May 16th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Etchings is a new journal published by Ilura Press and I had the privilege of receiving a copy to review of it’s latest edition The Feminine. When it arrived in the post I was intrigued. The cover felt lush and the pages textured. I flipped to the contents page and was delighted to discover that there was an interview, extensive fiction (12 stories in fact), two memoir pieces, poetry, art and photography, and reviews.
Reading it is a visual and tactile experience. The contents are interspersed with colour glossy paper for the art and photography, grey background for poetry and black and white images reproduced beside text.
This issue is on the theme of femininity and reading it felt like a celebration of women, while also acknowledging some of the negative experiences that we as women go through.
One the stories that really struck me was A.S. Patric’s The Ink on Her Lips about a failed relationship and the way that even when someone is out of our lives, they leave an indelible mark. The ex-girlfriend he described is obsessed with words and his prose is so vivid, not to mention that as an author I could relate to her obsession, that after reading this story I’ve ordered his anthology.
‘Back when we were together, she had imagined that there was a way she could open her mouth and let in streams of sentences wriggling down around her silent throat, wishing she was made of paper.’
Felicity Castagna’s story Last Train about a strained relationship between mother and daughter while on an overseas holiday was layered and poignant as we find the source of their tension.
There is an interview with Kate Holden, author of In My Skin a memoir about her life as a sex worker. It was eye opening about her writing process ‘By writing memoirs you do forfeit something, you do break a bit of a pact with yourself …. (and) violate your own privacy,’ as well as how being a sex worker made her appreciate her femininity. Holden’s book has been patiently sitting on my shelf waiting to be read and it is moving up on my list now.
Danielle Blasko’s poem To Liz in the psych ward at Oakwood Hospital, MI was brilliant in its portrayal of a patient’s breakdown and recovery. While Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhran’s epic poem Cycle Undone has remained with me long after I read it. I recognised myself and I recognised every woman in it:
‘We make beauty from the refuse of
other people’s lives. We are their refuse, what
they refuse to admit in themselves..’
I loved the two memoir pieces that were so different in writing style and themes, yet packed a punch. Silk Chen’s All That Glitters is about her engagement to a man who doesn’t share her cultural background and the way culture seeps into us without us even realising. The Truth of Stories by Palila Opit was a cautionary tale about her parent’s backpacking adventures that made my skin break out into goose pimples.
The interview of artist Deborah Klein provides a fascinating portrayal of an artist’s inner world and the reproductions of her artwork are lush and lovely, while Lorna Murray’s photographs of her fashion designs are quirky and fresh.
In short I loved reading this journal and to do justice to all the things I loved in it would be too long a review, but I will be following up on future editions with pleasure.
On teaching
May 3rd, 2012 § 1 Comment
So I’m back from the black hole that was teaching rounds. For two weeks I was observing and then planning and delivering lessons. I’ve been looking forward to teaching rounds as I was unsure if I would enjoy teaching things other than creative writing. Turns out my nerves were for nothing. I love teaching whether it is Humanities, English or Creative Writing. I love the opportunity to plan a lesson and deliver it, and have that moment when it connects with a kid.
While there are lots of little tips to implement and techniques to improve on, overall I did well. All the years of public speaking and delivering creative writing workshops have prepared me well. There is also an advantage coming into as a mature agent student by having a thick skin and extra patience. I also learnt that teaching well is hard. There is a lot of preparation involved, but it pays off in the classroom. Plus I heard from lots of teachers that the first year is the hardest, but once you have all your lesson plans tried and tested it gets much easier.
I’m really glad I returned to study and that I decided to do this course. I agonised for a lot of years about whether to pursue a MA in Creative Writing or a Grad Dip in Secondary Teaching. I’m glad I chose this path. I’ll get a practical qualification and have a good chance of getting a job when I graduate. I’m also really excited about other opportunities it will give me in combining writing and teaching.
A free writing competition for young people
April 20th, 2012 § 2 Comments
Writing For Kids Logo sourced from http://writingclassesforkids.com/competitions-2/
I’ve been featured on Dee White’s website Writing for Kids where I’ve shared my inspiration and writing process. I’ve also provided a writing activity so that you can write a short story and enter it in her great writing competition on the theme of Displacement and Belonging. The competition closes on the 30 June 2012 so you have heaps of time. And the best part-I’ve put up a copy of The Good Daughter as the prize.
Happy writing.
All is quiet on the blogging front
April 18th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Just a quick post to let you all know I’ll be absent from the blogging world over the next few weeks. I’m doing my school placement as part of my Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education and need to focus on lesson plans and preparation. At the moment I’m doing lots of classroom observation and preparing for my first teaching class. I feel like a stunned mullet by the end of the day, but I’m finding it very interesting and stimulating too.
Check back at the beginning of May for some book reviews and other thoughts.
Social media: I’ve joined Pinterest
April 13th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I’ve been hearing about this new-fangled social media bizzo called Pinterest and after lurking for a few weeks and checking out all the lovely things that are there, I’ve decided to join. If you want to see more of my pins follow me on Pinterest.
While I love images and things to look at my absolute favourites are writing quotes. Here is a selection of some of my pins in my Writing Quotes Board.
If you approach writing with this you will get nowhere. To be a good writer is to be receptive to the world and to those who are generous enough to read your work, think on it and provide you feedback.
One of the reasons I want to write crime-so I can kill all the people who have wronged me
This is rule number one when writing.
If this is how you write you can never go wrong.
Commentary: On journaling
April 11th, 2012 § 2 Comments
I’ve kept a journal since I was a teenager. I credit my former English teacher Denise Kirton for developing this habit. One of my few good memories of high school involve reflective journaling in English class. The process gave me the opportunity to work through my angst, think on things and soon I began keeping my own journal at home.
I’ve never been a regular journal writer. I pick it up when I feel the urge to clear my head or to record a certain milestone. Sometimes months pass when I have nothing to record, other times it’s almost a daily process.
Since becoming a mother journaling is my lifeline. Before if I was having a tough day or feeling lonely I could pick up the phone and chat to a girlfriend to help ease my frustrations. Now it’s much harder to find time to talk and by the time I do many other things have come in the way.
At the moment I maintain two journals. One is for me, and the other is for my daughter. Having lost a parent when I was a child I didn’t want my daughter to not have her own history and opportunity to know who I am if something happened to me.
I write in her journal at least once a month and share her milestones and tell her about our life. I’m hoping that one day we’ll read this journal together and it will give us a shared perspective and bond, and hopefully become a family heirloom.
I’ve also found journaling an invaluable process as a writer. It gives me the opportunity to clear my headspace so I can approach my writing from a better place.
In the past few years I’ve also discovered new ways of writing in journaling. I read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and her advice to do morning pages every day was a much needed life-line when I was struggling to write. It let my muse run free and let me find a story without stifling it with expectations.
I also recently did this Creative Journaling course last year run by my friend Simmone Howell and through it I found an affinity for poetry. I used to write poetry when in high school and then stopped, but playing with words again has given my muse a much needed new well of inspiration.
Most importantly I find that journaling is helping me control some of my much hated impulses. I used to have this terrible habit of over-sharing, be it in person or in my on-line life. Since having my journal to record all my deep, dark and sometimes yucky thoughts I feel free. I am able to leave them between the covers of my journal and move on.
Commentary: 20th Anniversary of Sarajevo Siege
April 7th, 2012 § 2 Comments
Today is the 20th anniversary of the Sarajevo siege. The siege lasted almost four years and was the longest in modern history. It began on the 5 April 1992 when Serb forces took over Sarajevo airport and ended on the 29 February 1996 when the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed.
There is a commemoration in Sarajevo with an exhibition of red chairs titled Sarajevo’s Red Line with 11,541 chairs lined up in the street that represents the number of men, women and children that were killed during the siege. Many of the chairs are small representing the children.
I saw these photos and teared up at the visual reminder of all the lives lost and blood spilt while the international community watched on and sent food packets. It makes me sad and angry.
My husband’s family lived through the siege. My husband became a refugee and spent four years in state of anxiety, depending on the kindness of strangers for shelter and food, while not knowing if his family were alive.
I would hope that this is a lesson learnt and the international community doesn’t turn away again, but I am cautious in my optimism.
On Writing: Gender Bias in Literature
April 5th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Listened to this great interview on ABC Radio National Books and Arts Show about Gender Bias in Literary Review Pages.
Talking about it are:
- Monica Dux-Writer, social commentator and board member of the Stella Prize, a new award for Australian women’s writing.
- Jason Steger-Literary editor of The Age newspaper.
- Linda LeithCanadian writer and publisher. She’s former artistic director of the Blue Metropolis literary festival in Montreal and has just set up an online literary magazine through her company Linda Leith Publishing.
Some interesting points that came out of the discussion was the fact that:
Linda as a publisher said that most of the submissions she received were from men and that when it came to featuring men on festival panels the publicists were pushier.
Jason said that The Age had about 40 % women reviewed and that sometimes they might disadvantaged because of the genre i.e. self help or at the moment the farm lit making the rounds.
Monica said that this is part of a larger discussion about women being sidelined in all spheres like higher management and boards because their role as carers cuts into their career aspirations.
What I learnt:
Be pushier about promotion. I sometimes feel like someone has to tell me I’m worth something by booking me etc, rather than me taking initiative and putting feelers out.
Trust in my writing and take pride in it. There was mention of a first time novelist who is on the Miles Franklin Prize long list and saying that she was embarrassed because of her inclusion considering the prestige of the other authors. Now a man might be humbled and awed, but never embarrassed to be in the same position. As women we tend to talk ourselves down, rather than up. Let’s agree to stop that right now.
TAFE students unite
May 12th, 2012 § 2 Comments
I just read this blog post by Koraly about the TAFE cuts and was inspired to send a letter to my local members.
Here is my letter:
I’m one of the people who benefitted from access to TAFE. As a resident of the Western suburbs of Melbourne I can tick all the boxes of socio-economic disadvantage. From a disadvantaged bacground-my parents are on a disability pension-TICK. From a Non English Speaking Background-TICK. Struggled with high school and didn’t have the grades for Uni-TICK.
It was TAFE courses that gave me the opportunity to climb out of the well of social disadvantage. First by being able to complete an administration course that ensured I was employable, then by completing a Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing and Editing in order to pursue my dream of being a writer. And I finally made it to university, enrolling as a mature age student at 25 to complete my Bachelor of Arts.
And now I’ve achieved my dream. I’m a published author and I’m studying yet again. This time a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education in order to be a teacher and take my career and life’s work in another direction. And all this began with one simple step-by enrolling in a Certificate of Administration at TAFE. This one step changed my life, but now so many others who like me face disadvantage won’t be able to access this step on the social ladder.
We are in a changing world. The unskilled jobs for those without education and language skills are fast dissapearing. The guarantee of employment and one career is gone. We need the TAFE sector to fascilitate social mobility, to give everyone a chance to begin their career in an affordable way and especially to engage those who like me, struggled with school and had low confidence and zero transferrable skills to academia.
So I hope my story will inspire you to fight against these TAFE cuts and give everyone a chance for a better life, and keep Australia the great country that it is. The true land of opportunity.
Yours Sincerely
Amra Pajalic
St Albans resident, and author of The Good Daughter
So other TAFE students-what do you have to say to your local member of Parliament.