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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
