It’s hard to believe it’s only a week since The Riding Gallery was officially released. I could have sworn it was longer – with every day new reviews, new sightings in the wild, and lovely new messages from people who have read and enjoyed it.  Thanks to all who have reviewed it or sent a message – you have made me smile. I am so pleased Anton’s story is touching people in the way I hoped.

If you are an educator, I am pleased to say that there are now some excellent Teaching Notes available, prepared by Belinda Bolliger, and produced by Walker Books. You can see and download them here.  If you do share The Riding Gallery in your classroom, I’d love to hear what your students think!

In other news, if you are in Perth next week, you  would be very welcome at the official launch of The Riding Gallery, to be held at Curtin University’s School of Education (where I work) on Thursday July 18. The event is, of course, free, but you can register here so we know you are coming.

Lastly, it was really exciting to see that The Riding Gallery is the Primary Book of the Month at Lamont Standing Orders. If you don’t subscribe to the standing order, you can still read their lovely review here

My part of the world is really cold and wet at the moment – not my favourite weather at all, but not a bad time of year to be curled up with a good book!

If you are in or around Perth (or just feel like a trip to Perth!) I would love to see at the launch of The Riding Gallery, on July 18 at Curtin University. It’s free, of course, but we’d love you to register here.

To be launched by my colleagues (and friends), Dr Sally Lamping and Tamara Reads, and with a door prize for one lucky school, of a free author visit later in 2024.

See you there!

It’s Poetry Friday and, even while I still play catch up from my recent overseas trop, I am today on the road again, in the north of Western Australia visiting Port Hedland to speak poetry, books and writing as part of Scribblers on the Road.  How lucky am I?

In the meantime, I wanted to share a glimpse of this amazing anthology, a copy of which was waiting for me when I got home  last week.

It’s an absolute feast of nature photography and poems, with each contributor asked to submit both an original photo, and  an ekphrastic poem responding to that photo. When Carol Labuzzetta put out a call for submissions for this project I knew I just had to take part – and I was lucky enough to have all three of the poems I submitted included in the final production.

While I won’t share all three here (we want you to read the book!), here’s one of the photos I submitted (and which I have shared here previously):

taken when this feathered trio paid me  a visit last year. And here is the poem that I finally wrote for the anthology, after some earlier attempts.

Noisy Guests

What’s that ruckus

in my yard?

A feathered trio

laughing hard.

What’s that rumpus

I can hear?

They’re carolling

that rain is near.

What’s that riot

on my fence?

Kookaburras

making sense!

(Sally Murphy, 2023)

Did you know that  the collective noun for a group of kookaburras is a riot?  Isn’t that an excellent choice?

Speaking of riots, I’m off to make some noise in a school today, but after that I’ll be checking out what my Poetry Friday friends have been up to this week. Tracey will be hosting the roundup.

It’s Poetry Friday.  Last week I was away from home – I visited Sydney on the other side of Australia, to do some research. While there I also visited four bookshops and was delighted to find Right Way Down not just in stock, but prominently displayed, face out, with multiple copies in stock. And, yesterday, one of the lovely booksellers I chatted to, Rachel from Gleebooks, posted a really lovely review of Right Way Down with mention of my visit, which you can see here on Instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Children’s events at Gleebooks (@gleebooks_kids)

Having the book selling so well right across Australia is just wonderful. With so few poetry collections published in Australia, it is a delight to see that the dream Rebecca and I had of producing a quality anthology was not only achievable but important in offering more poetry to young readers.

Speaking of Rebecca, way before we came together to work on Right Way Down, we used to have a blog called Poetry Tag where we enjoyed challenging each other to write a poem incorporating a set of words that the other provided.  Rebecca would give me words, for example, and I would then write a poem on any topic and in any form – as long as it included the words she gave me.

Yesterday, as I was looking through the many poems in my files, I came across the Poetry Tag folder and opened the first ever poem I wrote for the blog.

Rebecca had given me  four words: wilt, what, light and almost. I don’t remember what inspired me to choose to write about daisies – but they’ve always been a favourite flower, and probably  the word ‘wilt’ made me  think of flowers.  Anyway, here is the poem I wrote using the words (which I’ve put in pink):

Daisies

Daisies!

Pink ones, white ones,

yellow ones too

dancing in morning light

caressed by bees

buzzily collecting pollen.

Yesterday I picked a bunch

took them inside

and gave them to Mum.

Now, in their vase,

they are starting to wilt

while here outside

their sisters are still

dancing .

I almost wish

I’d left them here,

though Mum’s smile

when she saw what  I had for her

was almost as beautiful

as these millions of dancing daisies.

(Sally Murphy, 2013)

I love how writing prompts can take my writing in surprising directions. Not having written any poetry in the last week or two, sharing this one has made me itch to go and find my magnet words and challenge myself.  First though, I am off to visit my fellow Poetry Fridayers and see what they’ve been up to.  Jone  is hosting this week’s roundup and sharing a glimpse of Carols’ new anthology Picture Perfect Poetry which I can’t wait to read (and may even have a poem or three included).

Here’s to poetry!

PS

Sharp eyed viewers might note that the image I’ve used above is actually a gerbera, not a daisy. It surprised me that I could not find in all my photos, a single one of daisies.

I was lucky enough today to pop into Bunbury Grammar School, one of my local schools, to talk to year 3 and 4 Challenge students about one of my favourite topics: poetry.

The students have been writing poetry, including nonsense poetry, apology poems and limericks, and we had fun talking about poetic forms. The students wrote hay(na)ku, I read from and talked about Queen Narelle and Right Way Down and then shared the ‘My Beach is a Poem’ that I shared here on my blog in February.

We finished up by using that poem as a mentor text to co-construct a poem about George (my dog). This is what we came up with:

My Dog

by Sally Murphy AND Year 3/4 Challenge Students from BCGS

George and Narelle

My dog is a poem:

every morning

he says

‘It’s beach time, Mum!’

My dog is a poem:

a megalodon

snapping at

microscopic flies.

My dog is a poem:

like Godzilla

he reaches skywards

for his favourite ball.

My dog is a poem:

roaring, barking, sirening

as he prances

along the beach.

My dog is a poem.

Can you spot the poetic techniques we were focussing on in each stanza? I love the way that co-constructing a poem can lead to very creative results – I never would have thought to compare George to a megalodon or Godzilla, and the word sirening is a great way to describe his strident barks.

This is why I love visiting schools: I am asked to come to inspire students, but actually it is ME who is inspired.