Writing – Page 2 – LARSEN

Resilience for writers

Over the last year, I transitioned from literary-helpmate to trade-published poet. Suddenly, many of my own writing dreams have come true. Seeing my book in a bookshop. Launching it at my childhood library. Hearing authors I adore say nice things about my work. Doing so surrounded by friends, colleagues and writerly comrades from all parts and paths of my life.

This has been both an extraordinary privilege and a sobering induction into the realities of writerly life, much of which I had previously experienced only from one step removed – from the industry’s reliance on an author’s personal ability to hustle to the level of work versus the level of (financial) reward.

Digital poetry in Australia, China and Hong Kong

Over the past three decades, digital platforms have become a significant global player in the development and dissemination of poetry.

Like other online art forms, the creation and consumption of digital poetry has grown further and faster since the COVID-19 pandemic—as more people turned to poetry to make sense of the changing world and shared that poetry through one of the only platforms available to them during that time.

And another thing: on profiles and platforms

Preparing to teach a recent workshop on building an artist or author brand made me realise how much my approach to my own brand and online profile has changed over the last several years.

That feeling has been exacerbated over this last awful month, in which the social media spaces I have held in such esteem have become sites for both community making and lonely making, action and distraction, truth-telling and shadow-banning, finding and losing of trust.

It’s been a timely reminder that our online profiles are political – regardless of whether we using them to share political content or politicise our silence.

National reading symposium wrap-up

Australia is a nation of readers, with reading the second most popular way we engage with art, culture and creativity (after listening to recorded music). Yet 44% of us have low or very low literacy, 25% haven’t read a book in the last year, and recent research shows a 7% drop in the number of young people reading for pleasure.

Nearly double the number of Australians engage in reading every week than playing or watching sport, but sport takes place in the public realm and is so is seen as more integral to and defining of the Australian identity – including receiving significantly more investment.

Poetry lesson plans

Poetry is EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE can read, write and enjoy it.

To coincide with the launch of Public. Open. Space., I released four short videos for teachers, librarians and workshop leaders on how to incorporate poetry and technology activities into your workshops and lesson plans.

Public. Open. Space. on The Garret podcast

“I think it’s important for writers to bump up against our level of comfort and to question the assumptions and the privilege that we carry with us. That’s not always a comfortable process.”

I had a lovely chat with Astrid from The Garret pocast about poetry, arts funding and The Relationship is the Project following the launch of Public. Open. Space. in June.

Don’t give up your day job: why poetry has bad PR (and why you read more of it than you think)

When I signed my publishing contract with Fremantle Press last year, my partner immediately started joking about resigning from work – to wave celebratory pompoms at my book events and writers’ fests, soothe my perpetually poetically-furrowed brow, and make sure my favourite brand of poetry-inspiring beverage is always close to hand.

Tag: Writing