Loading...

Lawnmowing poetry

Asa Gray wrote Increase Lapham: pay particular attention to my pets, the grasses. — by Lorine Niedecker (1940). This semester, I’m teaching a poetry course for third year undergraduates. I’ve never been one  to divide a semester into the usual kind of weeks (week one: line, week two: stanza, week … Continue reading

Filed under : On Reading , On Teaching
Author : nike

‘Abed the Opportunist’ by Stephen Denham

Finally! A new fairy tale from one of my talented students at USQ. This one is an original tale by Stephen Denham. Stephen is a film-maker/singer-songwriter currently in the final year of a Creative Arts degree at USQ. Doctors determined that writing was in his blood from a very early age … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : One Comment

‘Wisteria’ by Kerina Dearling

Continuing with the festival of awesomeness … another extract from a piece by one of my fabulous students at USQ, Kerina Dearling. Kerina has been reading and writing poetry and fairy tales this semester in CWR2001. Kerina is a young writer who has been developing her skills over the last three … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : 2 Comments

‘Pig Face and Ugly Stump’ by Bronwyn Palmer

My students are awesome! Have I told you that lately? No? Hmmm … I think you are not listening to me. Let me explain. I have these students, and they are FABULOUS. Just read this story by Bronwyn Palmer, and you will see. Bronwyn is currently studying counselling part-time at … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : 6 Comments

The third lesson

Boo and I have been ambling our way through the How Writers Write Poetry online MOOC. The course is presented by Christopher Merrill and Camille Rankine, via the University of Iowa. This week’s lesson was on ‘the line and the page’ and the assignments were to write a prose poem, … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : 2 Comments

‘Celia’ by Ashlyn Butler

So many talented students! I am blessed with a great many talented writing students, and am really pleased when they’re brave enough to allow me to share their work with you. Today’s poem was produced after the first-run of the first half of a course that’s partly about writing poetry. … Continue reading

Author : nike

‘Owlbit’ by Maija Lindbergs

I just wanted to share this gorgeous little snippet Maija Lindbergs wrote in class today, when we were messing about with viewpoint and grammatical POV. Maija is a final-year student of Creative Media, and she’s AWESOME, as you’re about to find out … POV: Third Person Viewpoint Character: Owlbit Owlbit was a … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : 3 Comments
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure , the process is its own reward.

Living (in the) light

Happy New Year! It’s 2015, and I couldn’t be gladder than I am to be welcoming in this fresh new year which, as my old companion Anne Shirley of Green Gables used to say, has no mistakes in it. Not that making mistakes is a problem. One of my favourite … Continue reading

Author : nike

thirty-three (rural romance)

The architect comes into my office smiling, a woven basket on her arm. Greenery – wild and fragrant – spills from the basket. It is a hot day, and she sinks gratefully into the spare chair in my office. I should be clear and say that she is no longer … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : 5 Comments
1 2 3
Page 1 From 3