It’s been 10 years since the last event… 

NATIONAL POETRY WEEK at Poets Corner @ Pages Cafe ~ 30th August 2008

#PoetsCorner@PagesCafe  #PagesCafe  #PoetsCorner  #Poetry  #FMFPoetry  #PoeticEvents

A few weeks ago, my man and I attended a play in Kalamunda.  His cousin Ultan was on stage doing a mighty job for only his second role in community theatre.  During interval, I bumped into Peter Jeffrey, OAM who I haven’t seen since my Poets Corner @ Pages Cafe days – and he looks the same.  He, like his good friend and my mentor Glen Phillips just don’t age!  I found this excellent article about Peter and wanted to share it.

via An Astonishing 61 Years of Poesis: Allan Padgett launches ‘True to Poetry in my Fashion’ by Peter Jeffery

‘Epitaph for Gregory O’Donoghue’ by Frances Macaulay Forde is Write Out Loud’s Poem of the Week

Monday 16th April 2018 8:18 am

The new Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is ‘Epitaph for Gregory O’Donoghue’ by Frances Macaulay Forde, a tribute to the Irish poet who died in 2005. In the poem Frances recalls workshops with O’Donoghue at the Munster Literature Centre in Cork, and how such sessions naturally included liquid lunches, “Guinness frothed and creamy with subtext”, at the nearby, aptly named Forde’s Pub. She lives in Australia, her background is in “poetry, children’s literature, film and theatre” – and she describes Write Out Loud as her “go-to daily fix”, with many of her current favourite poets on this website.

#WriteOutLoud  #FMFPoetry  #EpitaphForGregO’donoghue  #MunsterLitCentre  #Poems

Today’s posting on Write Out Loud:

Epitaph for Gregory O’Donoghue

#GregO’Donoghue  #MunsterLitCentre  #MLC  #CorkCity  #Poetry  #FordePub  #FMFPoetry  #FrancesMacaulayForde

“Write Out Loud” is a site I read every day which inspires, often surprises and delights me with words written by others from all over the world.  (I think I’ve mentioned it before.)

The site encourages and supports writers of all levels to share their work.  I felt comfortable enough to share my poem about losing a loved one called  ‘Never’, written all those years ago, from my old notebook   and bought to Australia all the way from Africa.

I was 18 when I decided to gather all my scribbled little scraps of writing into one place – then promptly hid it away in a drawer.

Years later, my dear mum read it and made some pencil marks in the columns, noting those she thought could go into a manuscript to be sent to a publisher.  I can’t tell you how much that encouraged me at the time.

Even more years later, I gave a selection to my niece for a High School project and she loved them too – although I suspect that’s because she loves her Aunty.  🙂

Not long after, I decided to (finally) do a degree in Creative Writing for my 50th birthday.

#1968Notebook  #Poetry  #TeenageAngst  #TeenPoetry  #PoetryNotebook  #FMFPoetry  #FrancesMacaulayForde

Yesterday was publication day for West Australian author Natasha Lester’s third novel; “The Paris Seamstress”.  Huge congratulations to Natasha but also on a wonderful 4 1/2 star review by DebbishDotCom.

I’m sure my sister-in-law Grace who adores anything Parisian and locally (as in Perth) produced – and good writing, will be intrigued after this review.

I can’t wait to read it myself!

Another re-blog about Rachael Johns – and yes, I am a BIG fan!

#RachaelJohns  #TheGreatestGift  #LouiseWestBlog  #WriterInterview  #ShortSweetQ&A  #WAWriter  #LocalWriter

This article about a Nessie washing up on a USA beach, reminded me of a poem I wrote to this photograph taken by my sister-in-law for her blog PerthDailyPhoto.com … quite a few years ago now:

The Surgeon’s Photo

Like a summer’s day Nessie in her deepest loch

with itinerant Hugh Gray’s camera watching on shore,

she bows her head to honour the sparkling blue

and dances in the sunlight between the stars.

She is a he whose strong arms plunge out to sea

powering over and above possible danger beneath,

relentlessly pulling liquid waves to his chest –

a celebration of strength, youth and fearlessness.

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2013

#FrancesMacaulayForde  #Poetry  #TheSurgeonsPhoto  #PhotoInspiredPoem  #LochNessMonster  #Nessie