Day: September 30, 2022

13 Oct—Graeme Hetherington book launch (Hobart)

The Divided Self: A Tasmanian Odyssey  (Graeme Hetherington)

Hobart Bookshop, 5.30pm, Thursday 13th October

Ralph Spaulding will launch Graeme Hetherington’s new poetry book ‘The Divided Self: A Tasmanian Odyssey.  This is Graeme’s ninth poetry collection and portrays the poet’s troubled journey to escape an “afflicted self” shadowed with loneliness and paranoia.

Tautly crafted short stanzas with references and images connoting blackness, punishment and curse, such as Mount Black’s shadows on Tasmania’s West Coast, the cat-o’-nine-tails, Coleridge’s albatross and the scourge of Christ’s crucifixion, convey the depth of the poet’s despair. Despite the poet’s desire to escape the “darkness of the past”, the reader senses that the power of his personal psychological drama will challenge his search for transcendence. The poet will certainly continue to seek poems that “soar beyond” the theatre of the self, but they will provide perhaps only temporary respite as he continues to experience personal uncertainties and pain.’ – Ralph Spaulding

About the event:

This is a ticketed event ($5.00) being held at The Hobart Bookshop on Thursday the 13th October, where tickets include a complimentary glass of wine.

Click Here to Book your tickets

08 Oct 2022—Thérèse Corfiatus, book launch (Ulverstone)

A new poetry collection, Bridge of Words—a collaboration between Thérèse Corfiatis of Ulverstone, and Britta Stenberg of Sweden—will be launched by Fay Forbes at the Red Cross Hall, 49 King Edward Street, Ulverstone, 2-4pm Saturday 8th October, 2022.

Thérèse is a featured guest of this month’s Tasmanian Poetry Festival (Launceston 30th Sept / 2nd Oct), while Britta—if I’ve interpreted google maps correctly—lives in the isolated town of Rentjarn, a community of some 71 souls in Sweden’s north.

I’m reminded of a 2006 writing collaboration between Karen Knight and Scottish poet Delys Rose, imagining the similarities of their experiences with those of Thérèse and Britta. Karen—from her home in Hobart, and Delys, comfortably ensconced in Scotland—were writing a poem a month. ‘Neither of us was particularly keen on formal stipulations and have found that the more open the remit, the better the results,’ wrote Delys at the time. ‘We began very simply with a poem about midsummer/midwinter because it was happening, at the moment we committed ourselves. It’s been a great way to keep up a long distance correspondence, not to mention generating new work.’ 

A key difference is that Karen and Delys had already met in Australia; and some time later, Karen travelled to visit Delys in Scotland.  Britta and Thérèse have never met, though perhaps that will change. In one of the pair’s many online conversations (as reported by the ABC here), Britta suggests that it’s been exciting to get to know Tasmania and Therese. “Bye-bye from Sweden, come and see me some day.”

 

Two women. Two poets. Two countries. One man. Thérèse Corfiatis lives in Ulverstone, Tasmania; Britta Stenberg lives in Rentjärn, Sweden – two women joined in friendship by Tom Langston, who introduced them to each other long distance, during a trip to Sweden. This collaboration is a tribute to his memory.
 
This evocative collection written over the course of a year, from opposite ends of the earth, holds a fervent hope for readers to discover a moment caught in time.
 
Britta Stenberg is a published writer from Swedish Lapland with a number of novels and poetry to her name. She also writes for the stage. This is Britta’s first publication in Australia.
 
Thérèse Corfiatis lives and writes in Ulverstone on Tasmania’s beautiful north-west coast. She is a cat lover, avid cloud gazer, watcher of oceans and worshipper of the night sky.
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06 Oct 2022—book launch, Robbie Arnott (Hobart)

Shambles Brewery, 222 Elizabeth Street, Hobart Tas 7000.

Thursday 6th October, starts at 6:00 pm, launched by Senator Peter Whish-Wilson.

Tickets $10 from Fullers Bookshop

In the heat of a long summer Ned hunts rabbits in a river valley, hoping the pelts will earn him enough money to buy a small boat.

His two brothers are away at war, their whereabouts unknown. His father and older sister struggle to hold things together on the family orchard, Limberlost.

Desperate to ignore it all—to avoid the future rushing towards him—Ned dreams of open water.

As his story unfolds over the following decades, we see how Ned’s choices that summer come to shape the course of his life, the fate of his family and the future of the valley, with its seasons of death and rebirth.

The third novel by the award-winning author of Flames and The Rain Heron, Limberlost is an extraordinary chronicle of life and land: of carnage and kindness, blood ties and love.

04 Oct 2022—Tamar Valley Writers Festival, Youth Program (Launceston)

TAMAR VALLEY WRITERS FESTIVAL YOUTH PROGRAM✨
 
In the first week of the school holidays, FIVE workshops are spread across Exeter and the Northern Suburbs – with three repeating to make sure that everyone can access the sessions with ease. Sessions are $5 each and can be booked on Eventbrite or at Starting Point Neighbourhood House. There’s First Aid AND Youth Mental Health First Aid at all events, and plans for any anxiety or sensory overload issues. Groups are limited to 15 participants to reduce barriers.
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