Dr Bob Brown at the Perth Writers’ Festival

Dr Bob Brown at the Perth Writers’ Festival

Dr Bob Brown and I go back a long way—not that he knows that. Not that he even knows who I am. Growing up in Tasmania as I did, I’ve admired and respected Dr Brown—or Bob as he introduces himself—since the early ’80s—as a man, as a...
Thoughts on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Thoughts on ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

As regular readers would be aware, I have dubbed 2015 the ‘Year of the Classic’, or YOTC. I’m trying to read one ‘classic’ per month, as well as at least one book by an Australian female author. I chose ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by...
The Sun Sets on the Holidays

The Sun Sets on the Holidays

Tonight, the school holidays draw to a close. No more long days in our bathers. No more serene afternoons with a book. No more evening walks and swims under a reddening sky. It’s back to the daily grind of uniforms and books, and lunches and bags, and music...
2014 AWW Challenge Round-Up

2014 AWW Challenge Round-Up

I completed the 2014 Australian Women Writers’ (AWW) Challenge. I signed on to read ten books by Australian women and review six, but I ended up reading and reviewing fourteen. Towards the end of 2011, Elizabeth Lhuede, the founder of the AWW...
Thank You and Happy Christmas

Thank You and Happy Christmas

Dear Reader, Thank you for joining me on this long-haul writing ‘safari’—you’ve jumped aboard even without the promise of a destination, and I can’t thank you enough. Each time you read my words, or ‘Like’,...
Snapshot Poetry #7—Soft Dawn

Snapshot Poetry #7—Soft Dawn

I took this photo with my phone at about 5am, facing west, with the sun rising behind me. The sky had a soft, muted appearance, but the air was thick and humid, and thunder rumbled periodically. There was a heavy sense of foreboding, as if something ominous was about...
Book Review: Shy, by Sian Prior

Book Review: Shy, by Sian Prior

“Shy. It’s such a shy word; a timid little word that begs to remain unnoticed. Only three letters long and it begins with an exhortation to silence: ‘shhh’.” Sian Prior is accomplished. She’s a journalist and broadcaster, a...