No 200 words today! That’s because, instead, I’ve written a guest post/piece of short memoir about my time aboard the SS Ming Hua, as a guest post on Rebecca Jessen’s blog. To read about the pleasures of cruising the Pacific aboard this wonder of the 1980s, take a trip back in time to Ming Hua memories…
Category: On Writing
forty-seven (howl)
Today’s guest post brought to you by the beautiful, and talented, Rebecca Jessen. As some of you know, Bec is very dear to me, so I won’t rave on about her talents as a writer, at the risk of appearing prejudiced. BUT, she’s an impressively alert, attentive and tender writer. After you’ve read this small…
forty-six (attired with stars)
— for B– It’s true what they say; that you’re too young for me. And so I’ve decided to stop here, at the age I am, and wait for you. Later tonight, while you’re sleeping, I will walk into the forest near our home, and find a shaded grove with a tree whose topmost branches…
forty-five (spirits of the earth)
Today’s guest post is brought to you by a young performance poet I first met at a strange little poetry gig at Rick’s Garage in Palmwoods. Indie Adams blew the rest of the poets off the stage with her combination of strength and vulnerability. This short piece was inspired by the lovely artwork by the Polish…
forty-four (carried away)
There was nothing, and nobody, left to save. It hurt to look at the emptiness, but it was no good turning away, or closing our eyes; because the absence was also inside us. So we walked away. What else was there to do? We packed our suitcases and put on our coats. Laced our best boots onto our feet…
Conversing about Corpses
This month, I was invited to participate in an online version of the Exquisite Cadaver parlour game, being hosted/published over at The Conversation. I was #7 in a series of ten writers who participated. We each received an email with the preceding entries, and were given about 24 hours to write our 300 word contribution….
forty-three (Scheele’s Green)
Well … yes, I know. I took a little break over the Christmas/New Year period. I hope you did, too. But here’s a little something to kick of 2015. Jane Austen’s Sophia reproached her brother, Frederick, in Persuasion, saying that, “none of us expect to be in smooth waters all our days.” This, after Frederick claimed he…
forty-two (between you)
This piece is the second guest contribution from Maria Arena: you may have already read and delighted in her earlier piece Terminus Pty Ltd. Maria’s most recent book is a young adult horror novel, Sisterhood. You can find out more about Maria and her work by visiting her online. The dressing gown catches your eye first: greying-pink,…
forty-one (grass widow)
Follow me; this is where we were always headed. Into the darkness, into the forest. There is a stone in my pocket, but we have not come here to drown. In the distance, I hear the wolves. They do not howl; their feet pad lightly on the snow.I loved you once, but this is worse. This walking ahead into…
forty (The grave of the Barbie doll)
Today’s marvellously creepy guest post in the 200 words/200 days series is by the fabulous Lucy Sussex. Lucy is a wonderful writer, and a multiple award winner, with Ditmar and Aurealis Awards littering the shelves of her hideaway. In 2003, Lucy was awarded the A Bertram Chandler award, an award for “Outstanding Achievement in Australian…









