On ‘Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery’ this week Marcia Hines described her mother as having a wise saying for every occasion. ‘Wise sayings’ became the prompt for our icebreaker – the stories shared were precious!
We moved on to read a beautifully written Facebook post by writer Arnold Zable which began ‘Election Day. May 21, Mid Afternoon. I make my way to Canning Street, Carlton North…’. Bev explained how using Arnold‘s post as a prompt and model had encouraged her to write in a more creative way for this month’s topic ‘Causes’ -- ‘Election Day. May 21. 7.45 am. I make my way from Benalla to the Tatong Polling Booth, …
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Carmyl’s ‘Cause’, ‘The Multi-Cultural Program’ was triggered when chatting to a young Japanese woman who had married a local and had lived in her town for four years - “I walk down the street and nobody notices me. They think I’m a tourist. It’s as though I’m invisible.”
Jenny’s ‘causes’ related to activism in fighting for the staff ‘Car Park’ at the Benalla Hospital and, as a parent of primary age school children, acting when ’The Raison d’Etre for 15 Mile Creek Camp was threatened’.
New member Graham combined ‘Causes’ and the alternative topic ‘Rebellion’ in ‘A Rebel with a Cause’, a story about conscription set in the Vietnam War era which left us all desperate to find out ‘what happened next’! Ray’s story of rebellion involved his adhering to ethical principles despite a power imbalance. Bev then delved into the archives, sharing Elizabeth Kearns’ delightful story of a childhood rebellion in Ireland.
Catch up stories were also shared, Jenny reading her poem ‘Trees’ and Bev Morton her ‘prose poem’ on ‘Community’ with the mysterious title ‘We Only Meet On Dark Nights’. We look forward to more catch-up stories being shared in July, including Marg’s ‘Causes’ story on refugees and Barry’s story of ‘Rebellion’.
Our topic for July is ‘Ritual’… “Write about a memorable ritual event in your life (or in which you were involved)- it could be a 21st, making a debut; engagement, wedding, child ‘s christening, first communion, confirmation or other cultural milestone Why did you choose this particular ritual to write about? What is there about it that is so memorable for you”.
The alternate topic is ‘Memories Treasure Chest’ (1) Create/Draw upon an ‘Memories Treasure Chest’ in a shoe/other box containing objects and artefacts such as maps, menus, theatre programs, an old report card, vials of perfume, a garment, treasured photographs, a souvenir, an expired passport…(2) Select two items from the treasure chest as creative prompts – what do they mean to you? What were you doing, why; what were you thinking at the time this object related to your life? (250 words for each object)
On a final note, during the session we shared Carmyl’s excitement at her son Michael Winkler’s shortlisting for the Miles Franklin Literary Award for his book ‘Grimmish’. We wish him well!
Bev Lee
We moved on to read a beautifully written Facebook post by writer Arnold Zable which began ‘Election Day. May 21, Mid Afternoon. I make my way to Canning Street, Carlton North…’. Bev explained how using Arnold‘s post as a prompt and model had encouraged her to write in a more creative way for this month’s topic ‘Causes’ -- ‘Election Day. May 21. 7.45 am. I make my way from Benalla to the Tatong Polling Booth, …
’
Carmyl’s ‘Cause’, ‘The Multi-Cultural Program’ was triggered when chatting to a young Japanese woman who had married a local and had lived in her town for four years - “I walk down the street and nobody notices me. They think I’m a tourist. It’s as though I’m invisible.”
Jenny’s ‘causes’ related to activism in fighting for the staff ‘Car Park’ at the Benalla Hospital and, as a parent of primary age school children, acting when ’The Raison d’Etre for 15 Mile Creek Camp was threatened’.
New member Graham combined ‘Causes’ and the alternative topic ‘Rebellion’ in ‘A Rebel with a Cause’, a story about conscription set in the Vietnam War era which left us all desperate to find out ‘what happened next’! Ray’s story of rebellion involved his adhering to ethical principles despite a power imbalance. Bev then delved into the archives, sharing Elizabeth Kearns’ delightful story of a childhood rebellion in Ireland.
Catch up stories were also shared, Jenny reading her poem ‘Trees’ and Bev Morton her ‘prose poem’ on ‘Community’ with the mysterious title ‘We Only Meet On Dark Nights’. We look forward to more catch-up stories being shared in July, including Marg’s ‘Causes’ story on refugees and Barry’s story of ‘Rebellion’.
Our topic for July is ‘Ritual’… “Write about a memorable ritual event in your life (or in which you were involved)- it could be a 21st, making a debut; engagement, wedding, child ‘s christening, first communion, confirmation or other cultural milestone Why did you choose this particular ritual to write about? What is there about it that is so memorable for you”.
The alternate topic is ‘Memories Treasure Chest’ (1) Create/Draw upon an ‘Memories Treasure Chest’ in a shoe/other box containing objects and artefacts such as maps, menus, theatre programs, an old report card, vials of perfume, a garment, treasured photographs, a souvenir, an expired passport…(2) Select two items from the treasure chest as creative prompts – what do they mean to you? What were you doing, why; what were you thinking at the time this object related to your life? (250 words for each object)
On a final note, during the session we shared Carmyl’s excitement at her son Michael Winkler’s shortlisting for the Miles Franklin Literary Award for his book ‘Grimmish’. We wish him well!
Bev Lee
