Compulsive Reader Talks

As the Newcastle Writers Festival had to be cancelled this year due to Coronavirus, we did a virtual launch for Morgan Bell's  poetry chapbook Idiomatic, for the people.  The session, which we conducted with Zoom, was a lot of fun and after my launch Morgan read and spoke about several of the poems in the collection, as well as how the book came together. The full video version can be found here: https://youtu.be/1G3kbb2wCfU.  You can buy copies of Idiomatic, for the people from the Girls on Key Poetry Portal (https://www.girlsonkey.com/poetryportalshop/Poetry-book-Idiomatic-For-The-People-Morgan-Bell-p140419435) or Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Idiomatic-people-chapbook-Morgan-Bell/dp/024445776X)

In this guest episode, Daniel Flahie of the Die Healther podcast shares a recent interview with Dr Jim Reese on his new book Bone Chalk.   Jim talks about how he became a writer, his transition from narrative poetry to prose (and the inspiration for that), the relationship between his personal experience with crime, working in prisons (especially San Quentin) and some of the surprising facts he learned doing so, and on writing crime, on the value of education, the relationship between writing, exercise and mental health, some of the key themes in his book, what gets him up in the morning, his inspirations, his upcoming project, and lots more.  Jim Reese is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Great Plains Writing Tour at Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota. He has also worked for over a decade in the United States prison systems as an educator. Dr. Reese has published three books of poetry, and his most recent work Bone Chalk is his first work of published prose. He

Roslyn McFarland reads from and talks about her new novel All the Lives We've Lived, and discusses such things as her transition from English teacher and author of English HSC text books to fiction writer, the Salt Pan Creek setting of her book, the unique narrative structure and multiple stories within the narrative, her work in progress, and lots more.  Find more about Roslyn at: https://www.facebook.com/RoslynMcFarland.Writer/ Find All the Lives We've Live here: https://www.ginninderrapress.com.au/store.php?product/page/2018/Roslyn+McFarland+%2F+All+the+Lives+We%27ve+Lived

In this wide-reaching and warm conversation, novelist and poet Jessica Mehta talks with novelist and poet Nina Murray, who reads some of her poems and talks about her latest poetry book Alcestis in the Underworld, the writing year in review, book titles, their relationship with Shakespeare, the appeal of the list poem and variety packs, on poetic themes, poetic sequencing and the critical importance of editing, on making sense of data, patterns and needs and how that relates to the poetic process, wishes for the new year/decade, writerly relationships, and lots more. Nina Murray’s website: https://houndart.wordpress.com Jessica Mehta’s website: https://jessicamehta.com

Multi-talented polymath Jenny Blackford reads from her new middle-grade novel The Girl in the Mirror and talks about her attraction to different genres, how the book came about, her attraction to sci-fi (and why she chose to entangle her protagonists), the book’s lovely illustrations (especially those redbacks), on her different fan streams, her large garden, her work-in-progress (and the name of the cat who will be in the book), and lots more!   Find more of Jenny at her website: http://www.jennyblackford.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/dutiesofacat Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennyblackford Macleans booksellers is carrying The Girl in the Mirror. You can find them online here: https://www.macleansbooks.com.au

The author of The Wolf Hour reads from and talks about her latest novel, its origins and her research, her characters, writing about Uganda, the micro world of her family and the macro world of global politics, on sibling tension and bonds, her work in progress, and lots more.   Find out more about Sarah and The Wolf Hour at https://sarahmyles.com.au/

Peter Valentine reads from and talks about his new book World Heritage Sites of Australia.  In this wide-ranging discussion, we talk about the book and how it came about, why he’s pleased it took the more popular and less academic form of a coffee table book, the critical importance of protecting and celebrating our most important ecological areas, his plans for a second part, the need for community engagement, and lots more.   You can find out more about World Heritage Sites of Australia at the National Library of Australia book site.  You can also read or listen to the excellent conversation held with former Greens leader and noted environmentalist Bob Brown at the Canberra Writers’ Festival in August 2019 here: https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/audio/fragile-inheritance-book-launch

Eliana Gray reads from and talks about their new poetry book Eager to Break.  In this candid interview we talk about such things as writing about, through, and after trauma, on finding new forms of language, on writing about the body, on blurring and allowing for multitudes in pronouns, on self-acceptance, love, and healing, on eggs, and lots more.   Eager to Break can be purchased here: https://www.girlsonkey.com/poetryportalshop/Eager-to-Break-Eliana-Gray-p127089532 Find them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foxfoxxfox/

Richard James Allen reads from and talks about his new poetry book, The Short Story of You and I, exploring topics such as his book's themes and unique dialectical structure, the relationship between the poems and the reader, writing about love, the delicate motion between the metaphysical and the concrete, the relationship between poetry and quantum physics, complexity, the links between his many creativity practices, the relationship between the constructed self and character, and lots more.  Find out more about Richard's many projects at: https://physicaltv.com.au/

Bram Presser drops by to read from The Book of Dirt and we chat about many things including the Holocaust, the origins of his novel, the research he’s done, on the interplay between fact and fiction, the motif of dirt and his many golems, Czech folklore, his works in progress, and lots more.  Find out more about Bram at: https://brampresser.com/the-book-of-dirt/ We ran out of time before I could ask Bram whether his Jewish punk rock band Yidcore would be getting back together, but it turns out that they are, at The Festival of Jewish Arts & Music on the 8th of Sept. Find out more here: https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2019/yidcore/

Anne Casey drops by to read from and talk about her debut poetry collection Where the Lost Things Go, including the poem that started it all (fifth most read item in The Irish Times “In memoriam II: The draper” which actually made both of us cry, some of the many themes in the book: loss, anger, compassion, the migrant's guilt, poetry as activism, transcendence, and lots more.  Find more about Anne at her website: http://www.anne-casey.com/

Ali Whitelock reads from and talks about her latest poetry book And My Heart Crumples Like a Coke Can.  We cover such topics as Ali's particular take-no-prisoners style, on being candid, how the book came together, on being a permanent migrant, her work-in-progress, and lots more.  You can find Ali at her website: http://www.aliwhitelock.com

Poet Steve Armstrong joins us to read a number of poems from his new poetry book Broken Ground. We also talk about the healing power of poetry and the magic of nature, about his poetry practice, on writing the 'walking poem', themes, rhythms, on the subtle droll humour running through the book, the difference between writing poetry and using poetry as therapy, on the editing and structuring process of pulling the book together, and much more. Find Steve's book here: https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/broken-ground

Jill Jones joins us to read several poems from and talk about her latest poetry book Brink.  We discuss some of the key themes in the book (what does it mean to be on the 'brink'), the changing face of eco-poetry (and why trees remain fertile subjects for poets), the way the book came together, its editing process, the relationship between fierceness, tenderness, and politics, on appropriation, collaboration, on ways of making meaning, and lots more.  Jones' photo by Annette Willis 2007 Jill's website is: http://www.jilljones.com.au

Poet Kathryn Fry reads a number of poems from her latest poetry collection Green Point Bearings and talks about the book's inspiration, how many of the poems came about and how the collection came together, her interest in the natural world, on mindfulness and the power of paying attention, on Ekphrasis and the paintings of Margaret Olly, the notion of 'grace from loss' and Wendy Whiteley's secret garden, on her mentorship with Brook Emery, what she's currently reading and inspired by, and much more.  Here are links to a few of the things we spoke about: Green Point Bearings Wendy Whiteley's Garden Jean Kent's Paris in my pocket John Foulcher's A Casual Penance

Holly Ringland, author ofThe Lost Flowers of Alice Hart joins us to read a little from the book and talk about the wonderful language of flowers she invents for the book and how that came about, writing and trauma, her recently completed book tour, the impact of leaving Australia, Alice in Wonderland, Sturt's Desert Peas and Alice Springs, on the visceral nature of her book and its promotion, and lots more. Find more about Holly at her website: http://www.hollyringland.com/, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollygoeslightly/, Twitter: https://twitter.com/hollyringland, and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holly.ringland

Tracy Sorensen drops by Compulsive Reader Talks to read from and chat about her new book The Lucky Galah. The conversation is wide ranging but we talk about such things as her fabulous main character Lucky, about anthropomorphism and the relationship between the human and natural worlds, about 'hooking up' with author Charlotte Wood, about the Varuna writer retreat and retreats in general, about the Canarvon dish, magic realism, space travel, and lots more.  Tracy Sorensen's website is: http://squawkingalah.com.au/

The wonderful Jennifer Maiden joins me at Macleans Booksellers in Hamilton NSW for a launch of her new book Appalachian Fall, including a Q&A, 3 poems, and audience questions.  The talk, which is opened by a reading from the introduction by Quemar Press publisher Katharine Margot Toohey, is wide ranging and explores such things as how the book came about, its inspiration, the relationship between poetry and political rhetoric, the bisection between the personal and the political, on the use of personae and humour in poetry, and lots more.  The sound is quiet but the conversation was too good to let go, so turn up your speakers and enjoy.  You can also grab the full transcript on Quemar's Commentary page here: https://quemarpress.weebly.com/commentary.html Find out more about Jennifer's books at: Quemar Press.

Jessica Townsend, the author of Nevermoor: the Trials of Morrigan Crow drops by to read from and chat about her book, which has been had the biggest children’s debut in the Australian market since records began.  We talk about the book's outrageous success, about target markets and how it's impossible to work to them, about magic, about the broader series (including some hints about what's coming in future books), about the upcoming 20th Century Fox film (and a first time reveal of the director!), about some of the key themes in the book, including the notion of a “cursed child”, the nature of wunder, on sentience and the Hotel Deucalion, on Fenestra, the fabulous feline, and lots more.  Find out more about Jessica at: Twitter: https://twitter.com/digressica Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digressica/

Gerry Orz is an award winning actor, director, producer, youth activist, and author of the book Lucky or Not, Here I come, released this month.  He drops by to read from Lucky or Not Here I Come and to discuss his inspiration for the book, some of the key themes, why he decided to broaden his already extensive list of accomplishments to include 'novelist', his characters and their relationships, the concept of lucky, about his writing process, the critical support of his family and school, about the changing landscape for young people, about bullying and why schools need to do more, his wish list, and lots more.   You can find out more about Gerry's work at his website: https://www.gerryorz.com/ His production company: https://www.flyingeagleproductions.com and his YouTube Channel World According to G: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQOJ3FO_6Lpfy6wXwpXA18g