Dry River Writings
For anyone who read my memoir, Long Road to Dry River, and is interested in a bit of backstory, The Brevity Blog (US) has kindly published a short (very short) essay I wrote about a light bulb moment in the writing, and my precious aunt who brought it about.
With the first email on 13 March, my writerly ego to the fore, it was clear: Nobody Owns a Fire, I conceded, was a half-decent story and it just took the right judge to bathe it in the glory it deserved. And of course the Foundation needed some documentation – my residential address, my phone…
I’m forever grateful to Hansa’s old friend Wayne, who shared an experience from his motor-wrecking days one night over dinner — a seed that became a story, published this month in the digital Wordgathering journal (Syracuse University, NY), and also part of a novel currently looking for a publisher (more news on that soon, I…
No, it’s not my birthday … but it was, on the day that the Booranga Writers Centre (Charles Sturt University) launched their fourW anthology this year. And my story ‘Birthday Girl’ was shortlisted for the Prose award. Congratulations to local poets Linda Albertson and Kai Jensen, also selected for this long-running collection — Linda won…
It was a few days before the Referendum and I was wearing my badge when someone asked me, ‘So, why are you voting Yes?’ Well, after all those months I had a whole catalogue of answers to choose from, depending on the circumstances, the time I had, the demeanour of the person, the mood I…
A Melbourne cryptocurrency trader is placing AI-generated Facebook ads with an AI-generated, brown-skinned avatar pushing the ‘No’ vote. Far-right US Christian groups are funneling money into the ‘No’ campaign, despite all major Australian faith groups declaring a resounding ‘Yes’. Independent fact-checkers have found multiple instances of misinformation in the ‘No’ side of the official Referendum…
Three main Voice campaigns have coalesced as we approach the Referendum. There’s the ‘Yes’ campaign, supported by the Federal Government and all State and Territory governments, all major Australian faith groups, many sporting codes and a few large corporates. There’s the ‘Conservative No’, also known as the ‘Racist No’, supported by the Federal Opposition and…
‘Why them?’ is a question being thrown around lately. Why do our Indigenous people need a Voice? Isn’t Australia a democracy where everyone has equal access to power? I’m tempted here to say, well, yes, we’re a democracy – but like democracies the world over, money speaks and some people have access more equal than…
Something a bit lighter for now – some memories inspired by a ‘Desert Island Discs’ writing prompt. Yes, I was a Countdown tragic. Guilty as charged. 1975, Mrs Lumsdaine in No. 11 has a record player, and my neighbour Cathy and I sit on her sofa listening to Billy Don’t be a Hero on Explosive…
At the Referendum meeting at Well Thumbed Books on 6 June, a participant cited some friends of hers, Wiradjuri elders. These women were concerned that with a Voice to Parliament, First Nations peoples would be ceding sovereignty. Leading constitutional lawyers, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, disagree. But what exactly is sovereignty?