Tuesday 19 December 2017

Sydney Launch of 'fourW twenty-eight'


The warm weather didn’t deter Sydney Booranga supporters, with almost 50 people in attendance for the launch of the  fourW twenty-eight at Gleebooks.


Michele Seminara’s speech gave a beautiful overview of this year’s edition, and with many writers in attendance it was a rich afternoon of poetry, prose and conversation, with late arrivals sprawled on the floor at the back.

Many thanks to Gleebooks in Glebe for their continued support of fourW.

All photos courtesy of Michele Seminara





An excerpt from Michele Seminara's launch speech.

"Today I am delighted to be launching this year’s fourW anthology, and give thanks to Editor David Gilbey, as well as those from Booranga Writers Centre and Charles Sturt University, for asking me to launch this important literary journal as it celebrates its 28th year of continuous publication.

Michele Seminara launches fourW twenty-eight
This is a watershed year for fourW. As is the case for many literary journals, the economic viability of the anthology has been brought into question as funding to cover the printing of the magazine has this year been withdraw, and the Booranga Writers Centre Committee explore new ways forward.

This hasn’t stopped fourW twenty-eight coming into being however, albeit in a slightly modified form, and the committee are determined that it won’t stop the anthology continuing into the future. As they explore alternatives such as downsizing the print run, printing on demand, or publishing online, one thing is certain – the creativity and open mindedness that shape the anthology will see it continue to adapt and reflect our contemporary transnational landscape, in form as well as in content.

From Russia to Hong Kong to Sri Lanka, from rural to urban and outback Australia, fourW twenty-eight sees its subjects seeking – internally and externally – for meaning; questing, in all the various ways we do, for happiness, and living in states of connection and disconnection that are by turns helped and hindered by modern technology.

...Australians love to travel the long roads, or blue skies, or expansive seas, or more seldom the circuitous pathways of their own minds in search of that elusive connection to self, others, and sometimes even a higher power. It is these connections which make life meaningful and – dare we say it – passable, if not always pleasurable...One thing is for sure: whatever path you might be travelling, it’s a good bet the far-reaching writing in fourW twenty-eight has got you covered. Because ultimately...we’re all just riding the wave of change as best we can. And, just as the creators of fourW are doing, we’re all watching to see what’s next."


Just a few of the many writers on-hand to read their work from fourW twenty-eight.


Les Wicks
Elanna Herbert




Tug Dumbly
Biff Ward

John Carey
Erwin E Cabucos
Carol Chandler

New Year Letter from Booranga President, David Gilbey

Dear Booranga Members and Friends,

The good news, as you will read elsewhere in this newsletter, is that Booranga has received a grant from Create NSW for its 2018 program and infrastructure. This means our excellent part-time staff, Kathryn Halliwell (Creative Director) and Sandra Treble (Office Manager) can continue and will be paid. And that our proposed program of writers-in-residence will proceed …

At our recent Committee meeting, we identified a number of strategies to bolster our profile and our ongoing financial security. In particular we decided to make a concerted effort to attract more/new members. With this in mind we thought we would promote a couple of new inducements for members only:

·        with each visiting writer, we would make available a number of one-on-one consultations/mentorships

·        at the beginning of each writer’s residency we would have a special ‘members only’ meet-the-writer evenings at Booranga

At the end of 2017 there are around fifty paid-up members. Membership begins each new year (or at the fourW launches in November if you’ve already signed up). If we can increase our membership base we can underwrite more projects and secure all of the funding for eg. fourW, and undertake new and more extensive regional writing activities. We also want to increase the funding of the Booranga prizes to $500 each, so more memberships would help with this.

Towards that end, for 2018, membership and workshop attendance fees have been increased:

·        full membership with fourW: $50

·        membership without fourW: $30

·        student/concession (no fourW): $20

·        workshop attendance: $10 for non-members

Already we have cut some of the costs of producing fourW and we are implementing a small submission charge for entries to the 2018 Booranga Prizes – and of course, inclusion in fourW twenty-nine. Submission costs will be: $5 per poem and $10 per short story – this seemed to us comparable with similar submission charges by other journals/anthologies/competitions. This will allow us greater security in continuing fourW into the future.

We are planning to have some fundraising activities in 2018 – a literary dinner and a trivia night have been discussed – if you are interested in being involved in the planning and/or implementation of these, please contact us.

Booranga Writers’ Centre is a unique and culturally significant presence in this region. We link local writers to national and international writing communities. We work with other arts and writing groups to foster creativity in our home paddock. We know we have a significant effect on the lives and amenity of writing-interested people and actively encourage writers in various styles. We need to take, and be seen to be taking, some responsibility for our financial security, above what we receive in grants and in-kind from NSW Government, Wagga Wagga City Council and Charles Sturt University.

Sooo, please do join us – and encourage any other people you know who might be interested in supporting Booranga Writers’ Centre through membership and attendance/participation.

On behalf of all of us at Booranga I wish you and yours all the very best for the Festive Season. I look forward to catching up with you in the New year.

david

David Gilbey
Editor, fourW; President, Booranga Writers' Centre
Adjunct Senior Lecturer in English
Charles Sturt University
Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga
NSW, 2678, Australia




Wagga Wagga Launch of 'fourW twenty-eight'



Booranga Writers' Centre welcomed poet Ivy Alvarez to Wagga Wagga to launch fourW twenty-eight at the Wagga Wagga City Library. A crowd of more than 50 people attended and the winners of the Booranga Prizes were announced. The 'best' poem in fourW twenty-eight is Daniel King's 'King Henry X'; and the 'best' fiction is Mitchell Grabois' short story 'Stinky Cheese'. Congratulation to Daniel and Mitchell.

An excerpt from Ivy Alvarez's launch speech.

"What always strikes me about fourW, as a literary publication, is its boldness of position, its openness to fun, adventure, experimentation and the raw original voice. I value fourW as an Australian journal unabashed in its outward-looking perspective, one unbound by location, while prizing writing that resonates, whether it is from Wagga, Australia, or beyond.

                                              Ivy Alvarez                          (Photo Claire Baker)
I like to imagine what larks the editorial panel gets up to when it comes to making their selections — maybe sitting together, paper everywhere, poems and stories scattered every which way. There would be laughter, and impassioned arguments, as people campaign for their favourite line of poetry or short story. Someone would bang on the table so hard, the glasses clink and the pizza slices leap out of their boxes. Then they’d laugh some more. (I don’t want to know if this scenario is untrue, by the way.)

According to the Booranga Writers’ Centre’s page, twenty-eight contains “more than 50 poems and nearly 20 short stories stretching the boundaries of writing in multi-layered, allusive writing that engages, challenges, seduces”[1] so I urge you to reserve your copy, whether as a last-minute standby present or as a beach-reading treat — for the season of gift-giving is well and truly upon us.


David Gilbey
I can think of no better way to honour the work that goes into stitching together this journal, number twentyeight, by writing a cento in dedication. The word cento comes from the Latin word for patchwork. The cento, or collage poem, is a poetic form made up of lines from poems by other poets.[2] For this cento, I am lifting the gate, and have included fiction writers, too.



Please join us in celebrating local, national and international literary achievement — through the hand-stitched quilt that is fourW — as we declare fourW twenty-eight launched into the world."


    
Joan Cahill (photo Claire Baker)

Our thanks to Ivy for her wonderful launch speech and for contributing to the success of this year's launch. We are greatly indebted to the Wagga Wagga City Library for allowing us to use this wonderful public venue for the launch and for the staff for their invaluable assistance in preparing and setting-up and for their assistance on the day.




[1] David Gilbey, Booranga Writers’ Centre FB page, 15 November 2017, www.facebook.com/Booranga/posts/1664426170274189
[2] poets.org, Cento: Poetic Form, 21 February 2014, www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/cento-poetic-form
  
Ivy Alvarez and David Gilbey






The fourW28 cento
by Ivy Alvarez

with thanks to the authors in this edition


By the way, did you know / rain is the buzzing of bees vertically landing on flowers? Even bliss        has its palsy to yank. The river of ghosts / spatters over rocks   the young man shifted about, as though trying to coax more comfort from the chair                                             beer in hand, sack open.
                                                                     kay okay lang kami, don’t worry about us, we are fine here. Drugged icy air, dazzling light      we climb knuckled fault lines / when we find anything following through with sharp attacks // on sensitive parts of the body                 another memento from when things were more in control.         He is my third eye, my spinal rod.                         Suffocation and empty lungs
                                 and a hundred men blinded by your charm
But the real estate man was looking at his clip board and gave no sign of hearing.     Mare and foal gaze through cicada haze
                        though I doubt you’ll remember details of the affair
Want your miracles / fat, loud & obvious?
              the itch goes away, but not the
              itches in her brain
                                 allowed to recreate Philadelphia from its
insides out                its bourgeois interior rich with brocade and (suggestion)           Her goats have breasts.
                                                                     though I know I’m
currently employed   at Kentucky Fried Chicken
my mother was born in a town like this       in creek water shallow
sometimes oddly neglecting to mention       whatever the clock
Where are the people / In the cars, in the glass       if I said where
would you be there?                  “But we were speaking of oysters,”
cos I’ve got that bearded brown face?    Dissolves under erasure’s X
In the other lounge a fire has been lit, but no one is present. My balcony is their dining table!          I dive into a clarity
Beneath the waves is hot and silent
                                                      stretching to match the murders
The woman pregnant / with a skin of health      “I’m not dressed.”
Katerina brushed back her long black hair      Vanya felt in a stupor, unable to take it in      Stiff quiffs, soft cocks, shit music.
before its lines / were said        i’ve encountered three irish accents
Summer seeps through flannelette.  The jetty burns with fireworks
Begin with a verb     escaped from a London winter   Writing pretty letters   windows leaking life    she pauses. like lightning.
a holy & blessed ascension               a hundred respectable denizens
I feel slightly sick   A drink of water.           A hole in the ceiling
She and I / are getting to know the puddles     dewdrop of longing
he’s under the filleting knife                        A boot was kicking
the heat & itches you must shed    blood fixed      an extended wing
escape, a reverb under                                 to grant saintliness


Sources: Sofial Azam’s To a Gunman, Christopher Barnes’s Lord Byron Joins a Dating Site, Robert Beveridge’s The Poetry Bowl, Craig Billingham’s The Messenger, Julie Briggs’s White Christmas, Erwin Cabucos’s Lights of Different Colours, Joan Cahill’s One-Eyed Trust, Chloë Callistemon’s X, John Carey’s Post Truth, Carol Chandler’s Watched, Sue Clennel’s Frida, Lucy Coughran’s Hera, Michael Crane’s A Café in Marrakesh, Louise D’Arcy’s Alex and Max Go for a Walk, Sally Denshire’s after Horses, Michel Dignand’s Next Door to Charles, Tug Dumbly’s Incredible, Claire Feild’s Palpable, Adam Fieled’s Nights I Staggered Drunkenly, David Gilbey’s ‘To Speak of the Woe ...’, Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois’s Stinky Cheese, Jonathan Greenhause’s I am a God, Rory Harris’s road, Elanna Herbert’s Road to Gallipoli : between Cappadocia and Pamukkale, Matt Hetherington’s Seidel’s, Ross Jackson’s Waking something, Jill Jones’s Undoing, Christopher (Kit) Kelen’s practice of a disappearance, Maryanne Khan’s Sideways, Zohab Khan’s Untitled, Daniel King’s King Henry X and The Astrological Coasters, Vanessa Kirkpatrick’s The balcony, Andy Kissane’s Caught, Mran-Maree Laing’s The raw faces, Gary Langford’s p154, Wes Lee’s Airbnb Weekend, Alison Lesley’s Weightless, Rosanna Licari’s All Saints’ Eve, Natalya Lowndes’s The Professionals, Julie Maclean’s Joel and Jess on the Verge, Alex McKeown’s qu’est-ce que c’est qu’un sansonnet?, Derek Motion’s birds poem, Jan Napier Kennels’s The Black Dog, Damon O’Brien’s Catching the Last Wave, Mark O’Flynn’s (Missing)(The)(Point), Nathanael O’Reilly’s (Un)belonging, Liam Perry’s Fool’s Gold #1, Andrew Purches’s Individual Cities, Caroline Reid’s the kid, Graham Rowlands’s Absolutely, Rajith Savanadasa’s To Keep Pace, Steven Sharman’s The Kill, Dorothy Simmons’s In Your Face, Ali Jane Smith’s Christmastime!, Barnaby Smith’s Docklands, Ian C. Smith’s Mixed Fruit, Rob Walker’s Tommy Ru, Biff Ward’s To the West, Les Wicks’s The Mad Book, Gail Willems’s Woman Holding Roses Standing Between Two Springs, Jena Woodhouse’s Wild Geese Migrating, Mark Young’s or part thereof, Robyne Young’s Afternoon Tea  

Extension 2 Study Day


Recently Booranga collaborated with the Wagga Branch of the English Teachers’ Association to host what has become an annual Extension 2 Writing Day.

Presenters included Shaun Ellis, President of WETA (Mater Dei College), Corrina Hawke (Wagga Wagga High) and David Gilbey (CSU). Students came from several Wagga high schools and focussed on both strategies for writing and on developing their particular project for Extension English 2018.

Students found the day a lively and stimulating set of challenges about the nature and focus of writing and worked through ‘speed-dating’ sessions to refine and critique their projects. It was evident the networking amongst students was a creative and productive aspect of the day.


English Teachers Association Extension 2 study day at Booranga Writers Centre at CSU.

Poetry Book Collection Donated to Booranga



A very generous donation of books has been made to Booranga Writers' Centre by member and long time supporter Ian Stewart.

David Gilbey and Ian Stewart


With the closure of his store, On the Shelf Second Hand Books, in October a new home was needed for the remaining stock. Booranga Writers' Centre is now custodian of this wonderful collection which Ian collected over many years.

"As my second-hand bookshop developed, from its beginning in 2003, I accumulated a growing collection of Australian Poetry, both recent and late 19th/early 20th century.


A major contribution to this collection I bought at an auction in 2006. The bulk of that came from the library of a former University of Sydney academic, Harold Oliver. Now that the bookshop has closed I have decided that the best place for this collection is at Booranga."



The collection in includes anthologies of Australian poetry, literary theory, as well as volumes of poetry by individual poets. These include many famous Australian poets such as Bruce Dawe, Kenneth Slessor, A.D. Hope, Grace Perry, Lesbia Harford, Gwen Harwood, Dorothy Porter and many more too numerous to mention.


We thank Ian for entrusting Booranga with this diverse range of Australian Poetry.

Monday 13 November 2017

Competitions & Opportunities


Booranga Literary Prizes
Closes 30 June 2018
The Booranga Prizes, of $500 each, are awarded to the best poem and the best short story submitted each year and are published in our annual anthology, fourW.
https://arts-ed.csu.edu.au/booranga/booranga-prize



EJ Brady Short Story Competition
Entries close Wednesday 28 February 2018
https://mallacootaartscouncil.com.au/ej-brady-short-story-competition/


The Neo Perennial Press 
Heroines: An Anthology 
Closing date 28 February 2018
call for contributions
http://sarah2.newcastleweb.net/wordpress/?page_id=444


Nature and Place Poetry Competition 2018
Entries close 1 March 2018
https://www.therialto.co.uk/pages/nature-poetry-competition-2018/


International Women's Day Writing Competition
Entries close 1 March 2018
Theme of 'Progress' accepting poems up to 40 lines and short prose up to 750 words.

Submission fee of $5
Submit to IWD Competition Submission to director@southcoastwriters.org.au


2018 Woollahra Digital Literary Award
Entries close 12 March 2018
http://woollahradigitalliteraryaward.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/t/B80A7BE183FB1E46/71C73322660192140CC2E775D3CF5869


The Stringybark Open Theme Short Story Award 2018
Entries close 18 March 2018
http://www.stringybarkstories.net/competitions/open-competitions.html


Sheila Malady Short Story Competition
Entries close Tuesday 20 March 2018
In 2018 the theme is "For the love of..."
http://www.stratfordshakespeare.com.au/short-story-competition/


Inaugural Sutherland Shire Literary Competition
Entries close 30 April 2018
http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Library/Sutherland-Shire-Literary-Competition


The Best of Times Short Story Competition Autumn 2018
Closing date 30 April 2018
http://wildthoughts.com.au/comp25.html


Sutherland Shire Literary Competition
Entries open 5 February 2018
Entries close 30 April 2018
The inaugural Sutherland Shire Literary competition aims to promote the diverse cultural heritage of the Sutherland Shire whilst contributing to the rich tradition of literary practice in Australia.
http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Library/Sutherland-Shire-Literary-Competition


Eastwood Hills Literary Competition 2018
Entries close 15 May 2018
https://hillsfaw.wordpress.com/competitions/eastwoodhills-annual-literary-competition/


Copyright Agency Cultural Fund CREATE Grants 2018
Applications close 18 June 2018
CREATE grants offer opportunities for mid-career and established creative writers and visual artists to create and develop new work by providing time to write and create.
These grants are not intended to support academics with scholarly or academic works.
Applications are assessed by a panel of independent peers from the writing, publishing and visual arts sectors.
https://www.copyright.com.au/culturalfund/individual-grants/create-grants/


Himalayan Writers Workshop
Beyond Words
Join a 10-Day Writers Workshop & Life-Changing Journey in the Himalayas
http://www.himalayanwritersworkshop.com/


Varuna’s Publisher Introduction Program 2018
Varuna's unique Publisher Introduction Program (PIP) is one of Australia's most dynamic literary partnerships, opening important doors for exceptional new writers in a creative, collaborative process that aims to deliver finely honed manuscripts to leading publishers.
http://varuna.com.au/varuna/index.php/programs/residential-programs/pathways-publication/item/177-varuna-s-publisher-introduction-program-2017


Monday 2 October 2017

Claire Baker On a Winning Streak

On a Winning Streak
by Claire Baker


After the upheaval of 2016, my New Year’s resolution was to focus on my writing. Various competitions and opportunities for publication were included in the first Booranga Newsletter for 2017, and I decided that the Jugiong Writers’ Festival would be my first poetry submission. And it paid off, in more ways than one. I was delighted to win the Adult Open Section with my poem “Dinner with Family”. As a surprising bonus I also won the raffle ($100 to spend at the Curator’s Corner, at Jugiong). But that wasn’t all. At lunch, I started chatting to some friendly people, and realised that one was a distant cousin from Young that I didn’t know I had…small world!
Claire Baker

One of the organisers of the Jugiong Writers’ Festival emailed me a little while later and suggested I might like to submit my poem to the editor of Award Winning Australian Writing 2017 (published by Melbourne Books), as this publication was calling for entries. My poem made it through the selection process, and I was thrilled to be included. It is great to be in such a publication alongside some past writers-in-residence of Booranga Writers’ Centre too. 

Armed with a bit more confidence in my writing ability, I decided to have a go at obtaining one of the five places at the Strictly Poetry Writing week to be held at Varuna, the National Writers’ House in Katoomba, under the facilitation of Vanessa Kirkpatrick. An expression of interest, publication history and ten current poems were required, and I spent a week assembling this information. The stars must be aligned for me this year, because my application was successful. What a luxury – a week thinking, discussing, studying, and writing poetry in the Blue Mountains. I feel truly blessed.

        
Varuna Writers' House
Sometimes it pays to take a chance and put yourself out there. Even if you are a bit hesitant and unsure of the quality of your work, you’ll never know what other people think if you don’t show them, either during workshops, family and friends, or places that hold writing competitions. I hope my experiences encourage others to have a go and take that chance.

Thank you to my writing friends at Booranga Writers’ Centre for the stimulating workshops that are so necessary for improving and developing my writing skills, and the encouragement and enjoyment expressed at my successes this year. 





Varuna, Claire and Me 
by Joan Cahill   
    
Who would have thought back in 2008 when I was awarded a Litlink Residency at Varuna, The National Writers’ House in Katoomba, that this week, the years would seemingly evaporate?

 I was chosen as one of the five writers for that magical week of writing and critique, and today, my friend and fellow writer, Claire Baker, telephoned me with the news that she had been accepted to take up a week of  residency in October this year. The excitement in her voice, her questions and enthusiasm, brought back delightful memories.


 Varuna is a creative retreat and writers’ network for Australian stories and ideas.  They ‘support bringing rigour and commitment to the writing craft; building a respectful and inclusive community; valuing of heritage and place; and making writing and creativity matter’. Varuna is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council for the Arts and by the New South Wales Government, Arts NSW.

Joan at Varuna

 It took me some years to produce the culmination of my work and my first collection of poetry ‘Buddha’s Left Foot’ was launched just last year and included some of the poems I wrote during that week. Recalling our stimulating discussion evenings with the group in front of a roaring fire, I felt a little frisson of yearning for that turning point in my writing life and Peter Bishop’s mentorship.

 Congratulations Claire. May you continue to aim high and we look forward to your first collection of poetry.  

Photos by Joan Cahill


Booranga Prize Short List




Congratulation to all the successful writers who have been selected for the short list in the poetry and prose categories in the Booranga 2017 Prizes.

We look forward to the announcement of the winners at the Wagga Wagga launch of fourW twenty-eight at Wagga Wagga City Library on Saturday 18 November. 
Please join us RSVP 

Poetry:
Adam Fieled ‘Nights I staggered drunkenly’
Elanna Herbert ‘Road to Gallipoli: between Cappadocia and Pamukkale’
Matt Hetherington ‘Seidel’s’
Kit Kelen ‘Practice of a disappearance’
Daniel King ‘King Henry X’
Andy Kissane ‘Caught’
Derek Motion ‘Birds poem’
Graham Rowlands ‘Absolutely’

Prose:
Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois ‘Stinky Cheese’
Maryanne Khan ‘Sideways’
Alison Lesley ‘Weightless’
Julie Maclean ‘Joel and Jess on the Verge’
Dorothy Simmons ‘In Your Face’

Updates from Booranga Cottage




The writers’ flat at Booranga will continue to be well utilised for the remainder of the year even though our Writer-in-Residence program for 2017 is complete. 

Over the coming months the flat will be utilised by several visiting writers including PhD candidate Monique Shephard while she attends a writing retreat at NW&GIC on Wagga Campus of CSU. 

Zohab Khan will again be in residence in the lead-up to Wagga’s multicultural festival Fusion17. His residency is part of a joint project between Wagga Wagga City Council, The Red Room Company and Multicultural Council of Wagga Wagga which will see Zohab conduct school workshops and mentor a local young poet. This will culminate in performances at Fusion17 festival on Saturday 21 October at the Victory Memorial Gardens in Wagga Wagga.



Arriving mid-November will be poet Ivy Alvarez who has been a previous writer-in-residence at Booranga. While in residence Ivy will officially launch fourW twenty-eight on Saturday 18 November at the Wagga Wagga City Library. 

Charles Sturt University Facilities Management team recently visited Booranga Writers' Centre and carried out a review of the emergency procedures and equipment at the cottage. The staff were taken through and emergency evacuation drill and, as a result of the review, there are now updated diagrams in all the zones of the building showing exit points and assembly area to be used in case of an emergency. Next time you are at the Centre please take note of these diagrams which are located inside the entrance to each zone of the building.

 Ongoing maintenance has also been carried out by the Maintenance Division of CSU which included the repair and replacement of rotted timber on the front verandah and the cleaning of the gutters on the building to remove build-up of leaf litter. 





 We acknowledge the ongoing in-kind support given by Charles Sturt University which allows us to continue to run our annual program for the benefit of the local community.



Biff Ward Writer-in Residence



Biff Ward, August Writer-in Residence

Biff Ward

Memoirs were the focus of Booranga’s final writer-in-residence events as we hosted author Biff Ward at Booranga. Biff gave a reading at the Historic Council Chambers in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 24 August where she shared excepts from her award-winning memoir In My Mother’s Hands


Maurice Corlett
The evening commenced with local poet, Maurice Corlett, reading several of his new works. Maurice said “It was a pleasure to be the opening reader to Biff Ward’s Booranga Writers’ reading, and a joy to hear Biff read from her recent work and share with us her history and inspiration.”


Biff expressed her gratitude to Booranga for the rare opportunity to read to an audience, as when attending literary festivals the format runs to a very brief reading which is then followed by a panel discussion which doesn't allow for the luxury of an extended reading by the author.

Biff Ward and Maurice Corlett
Holding a writing workshop on Saturday 26 August allowed Biff to share her writing and teaching expertise in the field of creative non-fiction with aspiring memoir writers. 


Participants were asked to think of a memoir project and to then writer a ‘beginning’. This exercise was followed up with another which challenged the writers to ‘delve deeper’ into their chosen project and resulted in new directions being explored from the original intent of the writers.



Biff also conducted a workshop for a group of Year 12 Extension English students from The Riverina Anglican College who attended Booranga Writers' Centre on Monday 29 August. Six students and their teacher, Paul Chigwidden, spent several very productive hours with Biff as part of their HSC Life Writing studies.



David, Ingrid, Maurice, Biff and Pat

Biff's residency rounded out Booranga's very successful residency program for 2017 and we look forward to continuing our program in 2018.




We gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from Create NSW which allows Booranga to continue to run the annual Writer-in-Residence program.

Zohab at Sonder





Zohab at Cafe Sonder
Café Sonder accommodated a capacity crowd on Friday evening 21 July when Booranga’s poetry performance event was held there featuring writer-in-residence Zohab Zee khan.

The audience of more than 60 people was firstly entertained by local poet Nutmeg Jacqueline who presented a strong and engaging set of original poems which set the tone for Zohab to take the stage. Performing works from from his current publication, I Write, as well as treating us to a sample of a new work-in-progress, Zohab kept the audience enthralled as he covered ground from love poems to hard-hitting slam poetry.

Zohab Khan and Nutmeg Jazqueline

The timing and venue for Booranga’s July event deviated from the usual format, and our thanks go to the proprietors of Café Sonder, Adil Khan and Tanya Hardwick, for contributing to the enormous success of the evening. We also thank Raw Roar Poetry Slam for the loan of their PA system for the event.



The following afternoon Zohab attracted a gathering of 25 writers when he presented a poetry writing workshop at Booranga Writers’ Centre. He took the participants through some of his approaches to writing poetry and everyone had the opportunity to share their efforts in the writing exercise set by Zohab.


Zohab’s residency also included a performance reading, and open mic for local poets, at Griffith City Library which was well supported by the local community. 
Thanks to Western Riverina Arts for their role in securing the Griffith event.


Booranga workshop with Zohab
Part of the large crowd for Zohab at Sonder




We gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from Create NSW which allows Booranga to continue to run the annual Writer-in-Residence program.
Photos by Booranga