Hooray! I've just found out that the three short poetry courses I pitched for the CPIT Summer School programme have been approved! I can't go into detail yet, but if you fancy dedicating some time to the muse this summer, you might like to pencil the following dates into your diary: ◊ 18th, 19th, 20th …
launching moments in the whirlwind
Saturday was the launch of the 2009 NZPS anthology, moments in the whirlwind. It was an interesting event, as always – a quite different segment of the poetry public to those you tend to see at other Canterbury poetry events. And a decent crowd too – probably a hundred or so people. Chairs were at …
Angels, Demons, and Edward Hirsch
I just finished reading Edward Hirsch's The Demon and the Angel: Searching for the Source of Artistic Inspiration. It's a fascinating read – he draws from all sorts of different sources, from Poetry to Painting to Modern Dance to Jazz, with lots of other digressions along the way. He takes Lorca's idea of the Duende …
NaNoWriMo – the countdown begins (again)
Dear [supernatural-deity-of-personal-preference], it's almost that time of year again. NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, when people all over the world park their lives for thirty days to try and write a novel. I posted about this last year, but for those of you who need a reminder, this is the process: Sign up with the …
DIY Pimping for the New Author
(Slightly risky using the p-word in a blog title, but hey, it might actually snag me some new readers.) I was sent this link to a painfully funny article from The New Yorker, spoofing the whole “authors must be proactive in promoting their books!” thing. At least, I think it's a spoof … Actually, as much …
A Dark Feathered Art 