queerly historical theatrical and Edna Walling inspirational
pushing through
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I saw this plant pushing through the tarmac and cement nestled against a shop wall catching the early morning sun. It's not a weed, it's a Plain Tree seedling! Such determination! Where there's life ...
Michelle de Kretser and I became friends when I was a mature student at University of Melbourne back in the late 1980s. Michelle was my tutor and, perhaps because I was a mature student with a theatre background, she took a liking to me and I of course liked and admired her. This was about a decade before she began to win major prizes for her novels. A few days ago, Michelle was announced as the winner of the prestigious Stella Prize - named after Stella Miles Franklin, author of My Brilliant Career. Michelle de Kretser's prize-winning novel is called Theory and Practice - and it's a fabulous read. But what I really want to record here is Michelle's acceptance speech. Please read it in full. It is very important, to all of us. Hello everyone. Thank you all so much for being here. The 2025 Stella Prize does my work great honour, and I’m so happy to accept it. I wish I could join you in person to celebrate all the long and shortlisted writers. As that’s not possible, I’m reco...
This image comes from a postcard printed in the UK circa 1910. The caption reads: Picturesque Devon, Bickleigh Vale, Nr Plymouth . When Edna Walling chose the name for her envisioned self-made village (though it was just two dwellings at the time, Sonning and The Barn) I think she was remembering a beloved place from childhood, called Bickleigh Vale. The reverse of the UK postcard declares: 'Bickleigh Vale is a favourite resort with the inhabitants of Plymouth, from which it is only situated a very short distance. If there is one season in the year in which the Vale is more picturesque than in another it is in the spring, when the delicate foliage of the ash still retains its freshness, and the earth beneath is literally carpeted with a brilliant growth of bluebells and anemones.' I reckon they are silver birch in that picture, one of Edna's oft used trees in her landscape designs. Edna Walling spent her childhood in Plymouth, and each Sunday, she and her father would ...
I have been celebrating with friends. Popping the cork on champagne. Yippee! Last week I secured a Literary Agent! After my last post about the slowness of snails everything suddenly sped up. I tried a bit of lateral thinking ... and it paid off. I am now represented by Martin Shaw, who is associated with Alex Adsett Publishing Services (they represent Melissa Lucashenko who just won the Miles Franklin Award - not that I'm name-dropping or anything). I couldn't be happier with this turn of events. Especially as Martin Shaw is "very excited" about my manuscript, and very positive about its publishing potential. So one enormous hurdle scrambled over - and just a few more yet to come! - and, but, here is a 1923 update : long story short: My manuscript is now published titled A Secretive Life and is available as paperback or eBook via all usual outlets (see more recent posts re). Martin Shaw and I parted company in the end, very amicably, and the champagne was g...
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