sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Reviews Flying In

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With two days to go until the official release of Fly-In Fly-Out Dad, the reviews are starting to arrive. Unlike waiting for Dad to get home, waiting for reviews can be pretty nerve-wracking, so I’m really pleased to say that so far, it seems that reviewers like the book. Better still, they are understanding the intent of the book.

Dimity Powell at the Boomerang Books blog says Fly-In Fly-Out Dad: “is relevant and light-hearted yet intrinsically sensitive to the FIFO dynamic.” She has written a very thorough analysis of the book, which you can read here.
Another wonderful review is from the team at Collins Chirmside, who describe the book as: “A must have for any family where mum or dad have to stay away from home for their work.” You can see their review here.

It was also wonderful to see   on a list of 15 books which celebrate the diversity of family life at Readings on the weekend.

As an author, you can’t write for reviewers (just as, as a reviewer, you shouldn’t be writing for the authors), but it always wonderful to know that a reviewer appreciates what you were trying to do.

 

Poetry Friday: The War Poets

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Welcome to Poetry Friday.

During my time in residence last week, I had a request to focus on war poets for one of my sessions. Because Stanley, in my book 1915, writes poetry, the teacher felt I might have some insigh1915t into the war poets and their work.

This got me thinking about war poetry and the people who wrote (and still write) it.

Often when we use the term War Poets, we are referring specifically to the poets who wrote during and about the first world war. In fact, writing about war has a longer history than that, with poems about experiences of war being written throughout history and still being written today. Still, since world war one was a time where a great body of such poetry was produced and published, and since looking at one era can help shine light on others, focussing on world war one poetry is useful.

The war poets of that time came from a range of backgrounds, and also served a range of roles in the war. Though many were soldiers, others were civilians, or journalists. Many, but not all, were male.

The poems they wrote also varied, from upbeat and inspirational, to poems of loss, of indignation, of despair.

And, of course, the war poems we study and read today are only a portion of what was written, because unless they were published, or kept by family members, many would have been lost in the century that has passed.

So why did these poets write about war? Probably for a range of reasons, but I think that a major reason was as a means of coping. When you are faced with great adversity, great turmoil, confusion, emotion, you need an outlet. Some will vent to their loved ones. Some will pray. Some will write diaries. Some may try to escape through reading. And some will turn to the arts, and create.

The war poets wrote about their own experiences, or the experiences of their friends, their family. Some, particularly in the early days of the war, wrote with patriotism and fervour. Others, especially as the war progressed, and in the years that followed, wrote of their despair.

Some of the poets created before the war, others took it up during and after the war. Some may have written just one or two poems, others wrote volumes.

Who were the war poets? People like you and me, who picked up a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote poetry about their experiences of the time. Why is their poetry still relevant? Because it is a powerful way to connect with the reactions of people of the time to the events of the time.

One of my favourite war poems, is nice and short, and powerful because of this brevity. It is Siegfried Sassoon’s The General:

“Good-morning, good-morning!” the General said

When we met him last week on our way to the line.

Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,

And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.

“He’s a cheery old card,” grunted Harry to Jack

As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both by his plan of attack.

 

Not a cheery topic this poetry Friday, but I guess an important one. And, though it’s sad and serious, I think War Poetry works because it makes us feel.

The Poetry Friday round up this week is at Carol’s Corner.

A Visit to Joondalup

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What a week I had last week!

I spent four days as writer in residence at Lake Joondalup Baptist College, where I was treated like a star and had an amazing time speaking to students in years 7, 8, 9 and 11.

I talked about all kinds of things, including:

1. My life as an author, including how and why I became one.

2. Why I  write about tough topics including war, death and illness.

3. How to get started with building a story.

4. Ensuring that there is enough conflict in a plot – and countering that conflict with plenty of light.

5. War poetry and why poetry was (and continues to be) written in dark times.

6. Science fiction and how it isn’t all that different from historical fiction in that at its heart should lie strong characters, a strong conflict and believable scenarios.

On Thursday I had lunch with the school Bookclub, with a lively discussion about topics including the importance of good covers and diverse characters, and on Friday I signed a stack of books for keen readers. I was pretty chuffed to find a year 12 student in the line – I hadn’t spken to any year 12 classes. She was buying a copy of Pearl Verses the World, because she feel in love with it several years ago.  Awwwww.

Being in residence is fun, enlightening, inspirational and also slightly exhausting. I love my job! this week I’m back at my desk working on two articles about poetry for my doctoral studies and revising my work in progress, a new verse novel.

 

 

 

 

Poetry Friday: Singapore, Salad, and Sally’s Stance on Poetry

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It’s Poetry Friday and I’m glad to be back. Last week I missed posting on Friday – but I had a really good excuse. I was in Singapore, attending the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), as well as checking out this amazing city, which I had not visited before.

At the AFCC I participated in two panel sessions, ran an eight hour masterclass (on the subject of book reviewing) and also presented a one hour session on the value of poetry and verse novels. So, because it’s Poetry Friday, I thought I would share a poem which I shared in that session, and talk a little bit about why I shared it.

This is my first published poem for children which appeared in the School Magazine in 2002:

Summer Salad

Cool

Crisp

Crunchy

Carrot

 

Luscious

Leafy

Lacy

Lettuce

 

Delicious

Delectable

Delightful

Dressing

 

Summer Salad

     (Copyright Sally Murphy)

I shared this poem in my session for two reasons: firstly, because it is special to me as my first published children’s poem, and secondly, because I was talking about why we share poems with children.

My feeling is that, even in the educational setting, poetry should be fun. Summer Salad could be used for lessons on healthy eating, or alliteration, or even to begin a writing exercise (crafting a list poem).

But, when children read it, what I hope is that first and foremost they will enjoy the way it plays with words, using vocabulary which is interesting and, perhaps, unfamiliar. Words like ‘luscious’, and ‘delectable’ might be new to child readers, and so the poem invites them to find out what they are, to enjoy playing with these words.

If all we want to do is use poetry to teach stuff, then I may as well have written:

Eating healthy salad

Is very good for you

You should go and find

A lettuce leaf to chew!

(copyright Sally Murphy)

Bleh. Writing poetry (and sharing it with children in or out of the classroom) should not be a cynical exercise in force feeding them poetry OR salad.

If we write poetry that invites readers to connect with the topic, with the language, with the emotions expressed, educational benefits are likely to follow. But the pleasure should be foremost!

Have a great Friday. You can see more poetry posts at the roundup, which this week is hosted at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.

Singapore!

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If you visit this blog regularly, I must apologise for my recent lack of posts. I do, however, have a great excuse: I’ve been in Singapore!  I’m not sure one post is enough to cover everything that I did there, but I’ll start with one and see how I go.

The purpose of my trip was to attend (and speak at) the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), a wonderful annual conference organised by the National Book Development Council and bringing together authors, illustrators, publishers, teachers, librarians, parents, the media and children from across Singapore, across Asia, and across the world. I thought I would have a wonderful time, but nothing could have prepared me for just how amazing the festival, and Singapore itself, would be. I think I’ll post separately about Singapore and what I saw beyond the conference, but, for today: the festival.

Day 1 opened with an amazing opening address by Candy Gourlay.  I already knew of Candy through the online world, but as she spoke, I fell in love with her! She is witty, insightful and very intelligent. And she was singing my song. She reminded us all that books – and reading – should be about pleasure first and foremost. She was concerned about the perception in Asia that  reading should be for education, stating very firmly that this is wrong: reading should be for pleasure, and when children read for pleasure the educational benefits volume. (As an aside, I have been working all year on a journal article which attempts to say the same thing far less eloquently about children’s poetry).   Candy also reminded us that every child needs to find herself/himself in a book and, as a result, the popular hashtag #weneeddiversebooks needs an Asian equivalent: #weneeddiverseasianbooks .

I could write a whole post about Candy’s talk. But after that I went to lots of other wonderful sessions, including a session about Nonsense by Michael Heyman, the launch of friend Tania McCartney’s new book Peas In a Pod and the amazing chance to meet new people too numerous to mention – in sessions and in breaks in the trade fair.

Then, in the afternoon, my first session. I was part of a panel discussing how and why we address difficult topics in children’s books. Fellow panellists were fellow Aussie Steve Heron and US writer/illustrator Fred Chao, and our moderator was the delightful Don Bosco . Our session was full – in fact some people were turned away, which was sad, but also showed how important people found our topic. The session was wonderful: we talked, we laughed, we cried.  Here we are after the session being very serious:

That’s Fred in the back, Don in the middle, Steve in the front and, of course, me.

Day 2 included more amazing more sessions, more talking, meeting people, listening to people. In the afternoon I had a solo session about the importance of children’s poetry, an particularly why pleasure comes before education, echoing what Candy had said in her session.  I was blessed with an amazing audience and, though it sometimes seems wrong to choose a favourite audience member, I must confess I had one: amazing illustrator and all round nice guy David Liew. David completed this life-sketch of my session, summarising my main points and capturing me sooooo well:

Day 3: more wonderful networking, talking, laughing. I attended Wendy Binks‘ session in the mazing Pod venue. This must the most amazing place to present in the world. Look at the view:

and yet Wendy had us all enthralled:

In the afternoon I was again part of a panel, discussing the role of the reviewer, alongside the wonderful Genevieve Loh.

The closing night was called China Night, because China was the featured country for this year’s festival. Marking the closing of the festival with speeches, music, food and wonderful company was lovely. For me the highlight was perhaps the music of the Teng Ensemble. Although this video is not from the night, you  can get a glimpse at what they do and how amazing they are.

Although the festival was officially over, I still had a full day’s work, because on the Saturday, I presented a full day masterclass (to 30 participants) about reviewing children’s books.  I have never  given such a long class, and was a little nervous but had an amazing day telling the class pretty much everything I know about book reviewing and also learning from them.

There is so much more I could tell you about the most amazing festival ever, and, time allowing, I will do so soon. But in the meantime, suffice to say I had a ball. The best bit was the wonderful people I met from all over the world.

Life is good.

Poetry Friday: Poems about Poetry

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It’s  Poetry Friday and I am thinking about metapoetry. Did you know that metapoetry is a fancy name for poems about poetry or about trying to write poetry?

Anyway, the reason I am thinking about metapoetry is because my fabulous poet friend Rebecca wrote a fabulous metapoem.  At our shared blog, Poetrytag,  I gave Rebecca  two words  and challenged her to put them into a poem (that is how Poetrytag works).

The words I gave her, were: birth and together.  Her response blew me away. You can read it here.

The image of a an idea being cocooned and cosseted like a baby is just so fabulous..

Of course, this got me thinking about other metapoems. Another favourite of mine is this  Billy Collins poem, which expresses a quiet dismay over the way poems are over-analysed:

Lastly, I remembered a poem about poetry as an opening blossom, and found it after a bit of searching. It is Naoshi Koriyama’s Unfolding Bud which I think echoes what Collins’ is saying – that a poem is something to be treasured, held up to the light, watch unfold, rather than something to be nailed down. You can read “Unfolding Bud” by Naoshi Koriyama on Genius.

Why do poets write about poetry? Because we love poetry – and writing about something you love is pleasurable, enriching.

In the light of the genius above, I almost didn’t share any of my own poetry here, but then I remembered that my character Pearl is also a metapoet. She loves poetry, but isn’t enjoying the poetry unit they are doing at school, because her teacher wants all their poetry to rhyme, so Pearl writes this limerick:

There was a young lady called Pearl
Who was not a rhyming type girlPearl Verses the World
She said “I’ve no time
For poems that rhyme”
Which made her poor teacher go hurl.

Do you have a favourite poem about poetry?

The Poetry Friday roundup this week will be over at Refections on the Teche. Enjoy!

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