Amra Pajalic

When you have a child  the whole focus is on how you as a parent are meant to educate and enrich their life. It seems the relationship works only one way-you are the sage, they are the novice. But in actual fact the relationship is fluid. There is so much a child can teach you. My baby girl is nearly one year-her first birthday is next week. Every night before she goes to bed I read her book. We recently bought the whole collection of Dr Seuss books and it is as if a whole new world has opened up for me.

I read her Green Eggs and Ham last night. My husband heard me reading it and he came and we read it together, alternating a few pages at a time. We started acting out the book and she giggled and we laughed and it was one of the best moments of my life. It was the first time I read this book. I’d heard about Dr Seuss, I’d heard about Green Eggs and Ham, but I’d never read it.

As a child of migrant parents I didn’t have access to this world I am now discovering for the first time with my baby. A world of story books, of nursery rhymes, of silly games. My mother bought us Golden Books, but it was only when I learnt to read at school that I could get into this world. I remember making up stories to go along with the pictures before I went to school and how in some ways when I learnt to read I lost this ability to tell stories.

While she is the child and I am the parent I feel like I’m rediscovering my childhood in some ways. The childhood I never had. When I think about the future and how I want to bring up my daughter I think of teddy bear picnics, cubby houses, doll houses, doing Playschool craft assignments. All the things I dreamt about doing as a child, but never got to experience.

But this relationship is a two-pronged sword. I have to be careful not to live out my fantasies on her. To burden her with my unfulfilled desires. I have to let her be the child she is and have the childhood she’s supposed to. But I will enjoy it. I will enjoy playing with my little buddy and giving the child within me the chance to play and be carefree in a way I never was.

Yesterday I went to the city to receive my prize for the Melbourne Prize for Literature’s Civic Choice Award. During a lovely morning tea hosted by Simon Warrender, Executive Director and Founder of the Melbourne Trust, at the Federation Square boardroom I received my cheque and a certificate from Mark Rubbo, Managing Director of Readings. I want to thank Readings and Hardie Grant Books and of course Melbourne Prize Trust for their support.

Simon was saying how the Civic Prize has grown since the Melbourne Prize began from 400 votes to this year’s 2900 votes. So that was wonderful to hear. Also the videos that were part of the exhibition will be uploaded on You Tube so I’ll be posting the link as soon as it’s ready. The videos were amazing and some of them were funny as.

I promptly hot-footed to the bank to deposit the cheque in the 39 degree heat. Then I went to the bookstore to celebrate and bought Justine Larbalestier’s Liar which I’m really looking forward to reading. Steig Larson’s first book in the Millenium Trilogy. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, which I read and loved for my husband, and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote cause I’ve always wanted to read it.

On the way there and back I listened to a podcast from the Reading Matters Debate 2007: Girls’ Books vs Boys’ Books and it was absolutely hysterical. Loved Justine Larbalestier’s argument that girls rule the world because of girl germs, Jack Heath’s comparison of boy books being a series of action strung together by plot whereas girls books strive too hard for realism and him reading extracts of Tara Moss’ and Lee Child extracts to prove his point, Jacqueline Wilson asserting that there are female writers still pretending to be male and providing examples to prove it, Simmone Howell talking about all the useless things she learnt from boy books, and David Levithan going nuclear to win the debate. You have to listen to it to believe it. I’m going to be downloading more podcasts to listen to because they are so much fun.

It’s been an amazing month in terms of personal milestones. I received an Arts Victoria grant for creation to work on my new project The Other Daughter, the sequel to The Good Daughter, and an Artists in Schools grant to work at my former high school St Albans Secondary College to develop a short story anthology with the Year 9 extension program in the second half of next year. So next year is going to be all about writing and getting my brain engaged again. Sofia has been going to childcare consistently for a month so next year she’ll be going every morning and I’ll get to write, write, write. So full of glee.

The only bummer has been a month of colds, ear infections, antibiotics, upset tummies, and general malaise for the whole family. Hopefully we’re all on the mend now and will be able to enjoy the holidays in style.

Baby and I have been sick. Both suffering from ear infections and on antibiotics. Starting to feel better, but still droopy. In the meantime there are a few things I’d tell you about happening elsewhere. My friends Jodi and Kim who have a business Art By Wiley have had a write up about their groovy pieces of art here.

Also if you’re under 30 and interested in all things literary, there’s an opportunity for you to blog for ABC’s The Book Show. More info below:

The Book Show Blog

The Book Show, ABC Radio National, has a new blog and we want you to write for it.

It’s about reading, writing, books and publishing. It’s about the book launch you went to last night or the writers’ festival event you really enjoyed. It’s your top 10 book-to-movie adaptations or the books you’ve spotted people reading on trains.

The Book Show and Express Media are in partnership to find a team of young Australian writers to contribute. If you’ve got an internet connection you can be part of it.

It won’t be live until February 2010 but you can check it out here.

The fine print

You must be able to blog at least once a week;

You must be passionate about books, writers’ festivals, writing, reading – anything literary and cultural really.

You are on the younger side of 30.

How to apply

Please send the following four things by January 25th to Artistic Director Bel Schenk at artisticdirector@expressmedia.org.au

1. a sample of writing not longer than 300 words that you’d consider appropriate for a blog;

2. a paragraph outlining why you’d like to be involved in this project;

3. a few sentences that tell us what your main areas of interest are (i.e. romance writing, zine making, writers’ festivals etc).

4. three suggestions for upcoming posts.

What then?
Express Media and The Book Show will select the best writers to contribute to The Book Show Blog. It will be launched February 2010.

You will be given guidance in blogging and ABC editorial policies. The blog will be moderated by a producer on The Book Show.

Then you’ll have a national platform for spreading your ideas. We also hope to provide some ‘fringe benefits’ throughout the year!

For all the poets out there:

I am happy to announce that Moving Galleries is now receiving poetry submissions for our next exhibition, Observance. For details and submissions see: www.movinggalleries.org