News

Diana Brooks Named Cafe Poet Residing at Orange's Cafe Latte

A Café Poet will take up residence in a local coffee shop as part of the Australian Poetry Centre’s Café Poet Program. Poet Diana Bell Brooks will be a regular sight at Orange’s Café Latte located at 173 Summer Street on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am – 12 noon.
The National Café Poet Program aims to raise awareness of poetry and encourage people to try writing their own poetry, talk about poetry and read poetry.   The program has been running successfully since 2009 but this is the first time a café and poet in the Central West has participated. The Café Poet Program began February 2009 and has been a huge success, placing more than 20 poets in cafes all over the country.  Poet Diana Bell Brooks said she was thrilled be selected for the Café Poet Program. “I’m really pleased.  This will help me as a writer to be more of a social creature and feel part of the flow of life in the community and hopefully motivate me to write more for my own poetry collection,” Diana Brooks said. Café Latte proprietor Aaron Wright said it will be unique for the people in the café to see a poet at work.
“We think it is a fantastic concept and will host a poetry reading and display poetry while our café poet is in residence.  I think a lot of people will be curious to see a poet at work,” Aaron said. There will be a feedback box for people to leave their poetry for the café poet and to give their comments about the Café Poet Program.  Congratulations Diana and Aaron (pictured) at Cafe Latte.
 

2010 Banjo Paterson Writing Awards Winner by Category

Open Poetry Winner

Brenda Saunders, Randwick - "Wonderland"

Prose Winner
Jacqueline Winn, Possum Brush - "The Dangers of Swimming"

Bush Poetry Winner
Ron Stevens, Dubbo - "Behind the Flag"

Children's Category Winner
Chris Frith, Baradine - "The Downpour"

This year 151 entries were received in the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards with 60 Prose or Short Story entries, 53 in the Open Poetry, 22 in the Bush Poetry and 16 in the Children’s section.  Orange City Librarian Elizabeth Barry said bushfires, drought and animals were recurring themes across all the sections of the competition.
This year bushfires, drought and animals were recurring themes across all the sections of the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards. We are pleased to announce the following winners:

Prose: Jacqueline Winn, of Possum Brush NSW, for The Dangers of Swimming, Greg McFarland, of Orange NSW, for Roadside Memorial and Kate Rotherham, of Allans Flat VIC, for Shelter.

Open Poetry: Brenda Saunders, of Randwick NSW, for Wonderland.
Bush Poetry: Ron Stevens, of Dubbo NSW, for Behind the Flag and Ellis Campbell, of Dubbo NSW, for The Toll and Ellis Campbell, of Dubbo NSW, for A Dynasty's Demise.

Children's Writing Awards: Chris Frith, of Baradine NSW for The Downpour, Eleanor Delaney, of Orange NSW for The Last Dee Why Day - A True Story and Chester Fitzhardinge, of Balgowlah NSW, for The Dream Protectors.

The Yvonne Zola Encouragement Award goes to Elise Sinclair, of Orange NSW, for her story, Tommy in Trouble. 
Pictured above is local winners Greg McFarland and Elise Sinclair with Orange Mayor John Davis and ABC Radio Regional Content Manager Brooke Daniels at the ABC Local Radio Children's Writing Awards presentation.

Past events

Public Talks Celebrating the Bicentenary of Lachlan Macquarie's Governorship

 

More than 130 people packed Orange City Library on Friday 16 July to hear Paul Brunton, Senior Curator, Mitchell Library, share little known facts about the state's fifth and longest serving colonial governor Lachaln Macquarie who turned a penal outpost into a free society.   The State Library of NSW partnered with Westpac Bank to commemorate the "Father of Australia" and bring to regional NSW a selection of unique historic documents and artefacts which reflect the achievements of the Macquarie era.    The items included the recently purchased Septimus Roe letters, the holey dollar, original artworks and extracts from Macquarie's journal. A large crowd of 45 also enjoyed the talk and display of items Mr Brunton brought along with him to the Cowra Library. For more information about the State Library of NSW's Exhibition titled The Governor Lachlan Macquarie 1810 - 1821, go to the website: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/exhibitions/2010/governor/index.html
Pictured above is Mr Paul Brunton with Westpac Bank Orange Branch Manager, Julie Nipperess, who introduced Mr Brunton to the crowd on Friday and people viewing the historic artefacts at the talk.

Past Events

All That I Am Book Lauch with Myra Lim-Hurt

Orange schoolgirl Myra Lim-Hurt collaborated with a South Australian artist to produce a 16-page picture book, All That I Am, which launched at Orange City Library on 23 June with friends, family and school colleagues.   In All That I Am, a little girl, accompanied by her dog, contemplates the world through all her senses, and dreams of growing up. The narrative is at once carefree, introspective and as layered as the beautiful illustrations by Sally Heinrich.  Twelve-year-old Myra Lim-Hurt wrote the poem as part of a class project at Kinross Preparatory School last year. She was born in Singapore and now lives in Orange. Artist Sally Heinrich has illustrated more than 20 children’s books, published four picture books and a novel. She has lived in Singapore, Malaysia, Sydney and Darwin and now resides in Adelaide, South Australia.
 

The Inconvenient Child Authors Tour Central West

Storytellers Sharyn Killens and Lindsay Lewis (pictured) shared the story of heartache and ultimate triumph in their book The Inconvenient Child. Sharyn spoke about foster homes, institutions, struggles with her mother and unknown father while Lindsay was the narrator filling in the background and details to give a deeper understanding of these difficult times. The authors impressed the audience at Orange City Library on Monday and continued their tour of the Central West with talks at Forbes Library, Victoria Lane, Forbes  and Cowra Library, Darling Street, Cowra. The authors have been friends for more than 20 years and worked together as entertainers so it was no surpirse they sang at the end of thier talk. 

Shannon Lush and Trent Hayes authors of Stainless

More than 50 people enjoyed an evening of lively discussion about stain removal with the authors of Stainless - Trent Hayes and Shannon Lush.  Shannon works as a fine arts restorer in 27 mediums and has expert knowledge about what to use to remove stains safely, efficiently and with little expense.  At Orange City Library on Thursday 27 May the authors opened the floor up to questions from the audience.  Many people had brought in pieces of clothing, linen and heirlooms to see if they could be "saved".  It was a fun and informative night supported by Angus & Robertson Bookstore.

John Flanagan author of the Rangers' Apprentice Series

John Flanagan called into Orange on April 30 to talk to groups of school children about writing.  He explained that he had been writing fiction for many years and had been rejected nine times and almost gave up.   He said the highly successful Ranger’s Apprentice series started out as a series of short stories for his son Micheal.  He would write a story each week for his son to show him that it didn’t matter what size you were that you could be skilful and good at something.  The lead character is an archer called Will.  But these stories were filed away and did not make an appearance until years later which his daughter said – what ever happened to those stories?  He sent them off to his agent and they loved it but said it needed to be one story – not a collection of 20 stories.  And that‘s how the Ranger’s Apprentice series began.  Now it is being printed worldwide and he is up to his 10th book in the series with Chinese versions next to be published.  John talked to budding writers about how to plan their stories from beginning to end and how to keep it interesting by continually asking questions such as “What if”.  John’s visit was made possible by Angus & Robertson Bookstore.

Nicole Alexander launches The Bark Cutters

We hosted a visit by author Nicole Alexander in April.  Nicole grew up on her family’s agricultural property north-west of Moree in northern NSW. She has spent half her life in the bush with The Correspondence School providing her early education, followed by six years at boarding school in Sydney. She has a BA from the University of New England and a Master of Letters in creative writing from Central Queensland University. A fourth generation grazier, Nicole returned to her family’s mixed agricultural property (cattle, sheep, broad acre farming) in the late 1990’s. She is currently the business manager on ‘Murki Station’ which was selected by her great-grandfather in 1893.  A typical day for Nicole could include mustering cattle and/or sheep on a quad bike, checking crops with the property’s agronomist, driving heavy machinery (planting/harvest) or working in the station office. Nicole’s first novel, The Bark Cutters came from a desire to write about the emotional attachment that generational farmers feel towards their land. Nicole is currently working on two projects, Wangallon the sequel to her recently completed first novel, and a contemporary novella set in Australia. Nicole is represented by the literary agency Curtis Brown (Australia Pty Ltd). Her talk gave a fascinating insight behind the scenes of publishing and how she finds time to run a farm and write.  This event was supported by Book City.

Freedom From Fear Exhibition

The Freedom from Fear photographic exhibition celebrated refugees who have found a sense of belonging in NSW and who are helping to shape their new communities. The official launch was held at Orange City Library with the Welcome to Country by Julie Armstrong, Civic Welcome by Mayor John Davis, interview with Orange residents featured in the exhibition Lucy Grzejskczak and Fathi Shouma Koko and a big thank you goes to photographer Vince Lovecchio and Liz Edwards, Jenny and Sam Grosvenor for assisting with story writing and to organiser and Migrant Support Worker Anni Gallagher. The exhibition of images and stories was on show untl the end of April and continues to tour around the State.

Banjo Entries Close
 

A total of 151 entries were received across the categories Prose or Short Story, Open Poetry, Bush Poetry and Children’s Section.  So stay tuned, we’ll be announcing the winners on Monday June 21.

Books on the Menu

Our Books on the Menu event for Orange F.O.O.D. Week in April was a busy night with more than 90 guests enjoying local produce prepared by the dynamic Orange City Librarian Elizabeth Barry. Guests asked questions of special guest speakers – Geoff White – pie maker extraordinaire, Hanne Hoeless – Norwegian dinner party hostess, Scotsman and former chef Gordon Muir and gourmet food doyenne Kathy Snowball. 

Local pastry chef Geoff White (of Whitey's Pies on Sale fame) entertaining talk started off about promising the kids they would go to Disneyland once he sold the Mountain Teahouse - they ended up in Tennessee following Geoff's love of God, Country Music and Fried Chicken so of course he picked up Hillbilly Cookin with a choice recipe on how to cook a possum on a shovel.  And he also showed the audience his tried and true recipe book from Ireland's Bakery that used by located at the fiveways. He still refers to it today. Geoff also talked about growing up near Mt Canobolas and trapping rabbits with his Dad and helping his Mum out in the kitchen.

Guests not only heard about a Norwegian Garland cake – there were able to sample it courtesy of local home cook chef Hanne Hoelass (pictured top).  She spoke of elegant dinner parties while growing up in Norway which her mother would spend days preparing for, decorating the table and the dining room with seating for up to 26 guests. She showed off a much loved cookbook by Norway's first culinary star Henriette Schonberg Erken and published in 1921 (pictured). Hanne spoke of the challenges for cooking for a vegan son and found she could adapt recipes and skip any vegetarian meat substitutes. Among her favourites now are Donna Hay's cookbooks. The Garland Cake looked fabulous and Hanne explained it was plainly decorated – they are usually much more elaborate. It was served by cracking off the base rings at the bottom of the cake and breaking into pieces and serving.

Former chef Gordon Muir (pictured middle) said he'd actually given a whole lot of his cookbooks away but could not be without the French Escoffier cookbook which is a tiny thin book but holds thousands of recipes – some only one line. For example it lists pages of variations for chicken – just vary the sauce. He also praised Stephanie Alexander's tome The Cook's Companion. Gordon deftly demonstrated how to groove a mushroom – it makes them look quite posh and Gordon did it so easily. He also talked of spending thousands of dollars buying fish per week when he worked at a resort, said he had tried to get rid of swearing in the kitchen but this was all undone when Gordon Ramsay came along and entertained the audience with a self penned poem about a chef's life.

Kathy Snowball (pictured bottom) spoke of her career change from merchant banking to packing up and heading off to culinary school in England to follow her dreams of working in the food industry. She now writes for a variety of publications. Here is the list of books that have inspired Kathy and note the Harold McGee book which she said helped explain your cooking disasters: A Book of Mediterranean Food, Elizabeth David (plus any other books by Elizabeth David); On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee (the technical one); Roast Chicken and Other Stories, Simon Hopkinson; A New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Claudia Roden; and Where the Heart Is, Karen Martini. Kathy said the best cookbooks were the ones covered in cooking splatters and well thumbed and used and much loved.

Cloudland Poetry Launch

The Kiosk Poets celebrated the launch of their contemporary poetry collection titled Cloudland at Orange City Library on Sunday afternoon.  The seven poets meet regularly in the Blue Mountains to workshop their writing and the group includes Orange poet Diana Brooks and facilitator and published poet Deb Westbury.  The poets read from their works which ranged from heart breaking images of love and loss to nature, travel, train trips and the title of the collection Cloudland.

 Emma Brazil read Smoke, Frangipani night, Belfast, 98 and the powerful Your Father’s Hands. Kathy Hale read the 6.18 from Leura which was inspired by a train trip where passengers were a mix of commuters and day trippers and the moving Mud and Salt about untold grief.
Arlene Harvey read The Guitarist’s Travelling Guide (for Guido Topper) as well as Atlanta, Snow White and the title of the collection Cloudland.   Lisa Seckold read Holes in the Sky of Me and Page the Blind Words and explained her experimentation with words.
Local poet Diana Brooks read her poignant poems included in the modern collection: The well, Dark Branches and An angel at Waterloo Station.  She said the group had been meeting regularly for the past two years.
“We began at Varuna at an intensive poetry course and elected to keep going on our own.  We usually meet once a month and Deb is our facilitator and taught us about workshopping poetry.”
Deb Westbury said there “are few greater pleasures than sharing a passion for poetry – it’s been exciting to discover the potential in every early draft, and how much there will always be to learn, especially from each other.”
Cynthia Hallam, whose poems have appeared in magazines, anthologies and ABC Radio, and Vanessa Kirkpatrick, whose poems have been published in Avernus and Yellow Moon were unable to attend.  

Inspirational and Practical Books Launched at Library:

Mary Brell for a chapter in Lifting the Lid on Quiet Achievers by Kerry Phipps and Fiona and Paul Rossiter pen Growing Great Families

Books to inspire and encourage on the work and home front were launched at Orange City Library on Wednesday evening by Member for Orange Russell Turner.  Local writer and entrepreneur Mary Brell penned a chapter in Lifting the Lid on Quiet Achievers by Kerrie Phipps which goes behind the scenes to discover secret thoughts of successful entrepreneurs in regional Australia as they reveal their growing pains and greatest moments.  The book highlights tips and ideas to increase your success.  Mary Brell has been a professional educator, learning and development consultant, and trainer for 30 years.  She has worked internationally in South Africa, the United States and Canada and is an excellent speaker on learning, leadership and effective communication topics.

Fiona Rossiter, with help from husband Paul, have written Growing Great Families - a book filled with ideas and tips about starting or being a family, time management, budgeting, health and much, much more.  It is a valuable book for all those in a family role drawing upon real life experiences, recipes, tips and practical ideas where everyone can benefit and learn something new.
Fiona is a mother to six children, stepmother to two and has fostered numerous children along the way.  She is registered theatre nurse, Orange City Councillor, business partner and member of the Australian Rural Leadership program and community worker. 
Bruce Buchanan from the Business Enterprise Centre spoke on how both women had followed the BEC process to start up and grow their businesses and the centre was there to empower people. Cr Tina Reynolds, of Dubbo, talked about the important role women have in not only local government but with their families and thanked Fiona for her insights into helping bring families closer together.

 Russell Turner officially launched both publications praising the authors for their practical and inspirational efforts as more than 60 guest enjoyed the evening and refreshments.  The evening was supported by Book City. 
 

Author Photographer Trisha Dixon Talk on Slow Gardening

More than 65 people gathered at Borrodell on the Mount to enjoy lunch at the vineyard and hear from leading garden design writer and photographer Trisha Dixon about her thoughts on a new movement called Slow Gardening.  The event was presented by Orange City Council and the Central West Writers’ Centre as part of Slow Summer celebrations.

As welcome rain poured down outside during the lunch, Trisha used images from her travels overseas, around Australia and her own garden to explain the Slow Gardening concept. "Our lives are getting crazier and busier, the garden needs to be a place of relaxation, not another 'chore' to be done on the run and ticked off,” Trisha said.
“Enjoy your garden for what it is - an outer sanctum to retreat to and one that is in tune with the rhythm of the seasons - growing fresh organic produce, not using a lot of noisy power equipment, and prune when you want to.”
 “Garden for the senses – fragrance, food and sound of leaves, the light at different times of day, the seed heads as decoration and encourage birds to your garden with water bowls.  It is a call for gardeners to relax, take their time and follow seasonal rhythms – a philosophy – to follow your own instincts as opposed to what you think you have to do as a gardener,” Trisha said.
Her artistic images showed simple touches like painting garden stakes bright red and tying them up with blue string, curving driveways, adding a pond for the beauty of a reflection, including sculptures or textural elements of bark and seed pods, casual seating and even gates for decoration.

Trisha said gardening was about relaxing and enjoying the space from walking around it to sitting back and sipping wine, lunching with friends or taking photographs.

Trisha has travelled extensively throughout Australia documenting historic gardens and has published books including Under the Spell of the Ages: Australian Country Gardens, Vision of Edna Walling and Little Book of Australian Gardens.

Stories From Palliative Care Evening

Every now again we meet people who through their writing, observations, kindness and generosity of spirit have a long lasting effect.   Recently we hosted a visit by one such person with readings by Dr Frank Brennan from his work Standing on the Platform: Stories and Reflections from Palliative Care.  The book’s introduction explains that of all the medical disciplines Palliative Care is perhaps the least understood.  The collection of stories draws upon narrative, reflection and literary criticism to describe this area.  Dr Frank Brennan is a Palliative Care physician who currently works in Sydney at Calvary Hospital. During the evening he read from his stories titled The Woman from County Meath, The Bells of Kwazakele, Silence and Words.  Some of his stories have been published in the Griffith REVIEW or broadcast on ABC Radio.

A young girl signing the doctor’s words for her deaf parents, the repetitive words of an Irish woman who would never leave her husband’s side, a community in East Timor helping a cancer patient, a family wishing for their loved one to wake up and speak to them again and an African nurse hiding her tears from HIV/AIDS patients.  Dr Brennan’s stories from around the globe resonated with compassion and humanity.  His visit was organised by Clinical Nurse Consultant for Palliative and Supportive Care: Greater Western Area Health Service. (Southern and Eastern sectors) James Daley to raise awareness of Palliative Care.

To read more about the evening and Palliative Care go to: http://wavingnotdrowning1.blogspot.com/ The blog is part of the Greater Western Area Health Service Palliative Care and Cancer Services Supportive Care program serving rural NSW (Australia) communities such as Bathurst, Orange, Parkes and Forbes and their surrounding districts.  The development of the site was supported by Arts OutWest NSW Regional Arts and Health program.

And if you would like to hear Dr Brennan's stories you can follow this link to the ABC blog
http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/central_west_mornings/index.html
Pictured above are Dr Frank Brennan and James Daley at the Stories from Palliative Care evening held at Orange City Library. 

Black Dog Institute Guest Speaker Anne Riches

 

Orange City Library hosted volunteer community speaker Anne Riches from the Black Dog Institute (pictured).  The Black Dog Institute is a not-for-profit, educational, research, clinical and community-oriented facility offering specialist expertise in depression and bipolar disorder.  The Institute's mission is to advance the understanding, diagnosis and management of the mood disorders by continuously raising clinical, research, education and training standards. In so doing, the Institute aims to improve the lives of those affected - and in turn - the lives of their families and friends.  Anne spoke about mood disorders, signs of depression, causes, genetic risks, supporting friends and family and tips on how to stay well. The Library is also a resource for Black Dog Institute publications.
 

The Black Dog Institute has also launched its annual Writing Competition.  The focus is Late Onset Depression: Finding Answers for Older People and their Carers.  The 2009/10 competition invites entries from the Australasian region. Prizes will be awarded for the three best essay entries. Essays are to be no more than 1500 words. First Place: $2000; Second Place $1000 and Third Place $500.
The closing date is 31 December, 2009. Participants are required to complete an application form and forward, where possible, an electronic copy of their essay to blackdog@blackdog.org.au plus an original copy of the essay on A4 paper (paper clip/not stapled) by post, addressed to: Black Dog Institute Writing Competition, Black Dog Institute, Hospital Road, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, 2031. To obtain an application form: Download from the Institute’s website www.blackdoginstitute.org.au or call (02) 9382 4523.  In view of  the nature of the competition, the Institute will also accept hand-written entries.

Author Libby Gleeson and illustrator Freya Blackwood Latest Book Project

Award-winning author Libby Gleeson and award-winning illustrator Freya Blackwood spoke to school children about writing and illustrating books at Orange City Library.  More than 300 school children were thrilled to meet well known children’s author Libby Gleeson and local illustrator Freya Blackwood at Orange City Library when they spoke about their latest book Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House launched this month by Hare Books. 

It tells the story of a little boy called Clancy who has moved to a new house that is huge and unfamiliar. He is missing his old house terribly - the new house is much too big and much too lonely. How will he ever make it his home? As despair takes hold Clancy hears a small voice. Soon, Clancy with the help of his new friend Millie is building towers to the sky and trains to the street outside, and together they build the home that Clancy thought he had lost forever.

Children from Orange Public School, Sacred Heart Infants School, Orange Anglican Grammar School and Glenroi Heights Public School attended the day organised by Boomers Bookstore and ABC Centre. 

The children asked lots of questions about what it is like to be an author, an illustrator, how long it took to write and illustrate the book, where their ideas came from and what the pair were working on next.

Libby has written more than 30 books and this is her second book illustrated by Freya.  The first being Amy & Louis which won the 2007 Children’s Book Council Picture Book of the Year for Younger Readers and has been published in Australia, the US, Germany, France and Korea.  The children were also read this story by Libby and took great delight calling out the “Coo-ees” just like the Amy and Louis in the book.

Freya carefully explained how she prepared her drawings for the book, starting with small “practice” sketches to the final illustrations.  She went on to tell how colours, cloud shapes, towers of boxes and aspects such as a bird’s eye view can show further elements of the story.

Freya Blackwood now resides in Orange and won the Crichton Award in 2004 for Two Summers and the book was shortlisted for the Picture Book of the Year Award in the Children’s Book Council of Australia 2004 Awards.  She has also written and illustrated her own book Ivy Loves to Give and is now illustrating her 12th book.

Heavenly Bodies Galileo and Monteverdi A Feast of 17th Century Italian Genius

 

Pictured above are musicians John Barry, Alina Zborowski, Doreen Cuming, Senior Curator State Library of NSW Paul Brunton, Andrew Baker and Orange Regional Conservatorium Director Graham Sattler.

Central West Libraries and Orange Regional Conservatorium hosted a special event to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Italian astronomer Galileo's development of the telescope by presenting Heavenly Bodies - Galileo and Monteverdi: A Feast of Italian Genius last month.  This unique event combined a talk by State Library of NSW Senior Curator Paul Brunton (Galileo expert) and the romantic compositions of Monteverdi performed by the Orange Regional Conservatorium professional musicians: Graham Sattler, Andrew Baker, John Barry, Alina Zborowski, and Doreen Cuming.

Director of Orange Regional Conservatorium Graham Sattler took to the stage and explained that Galileo and Monteverdi were friends and “hung out” together in Florence.  Paul Brunton spoke about Galileo’s life and this was interspersed with beautiful music. Paul said Galileo was a man with more wine in his cellar than books on his shelf and detailed his extraordinary life.

It was also an opportunity for people to see the rare Galileo book Dialogo dei massimi sistemi [Dialogue on the two chief world systems], Galileo's celebrated defence of the Copernican system, published in Florence in 1632. It led to his house arrest and the banning of his books in Italy.  The only copy of this book in Australia is held by the State Library of NSW and it had never before left Sydney. Pictured below is the first page of the book.  Please note the candle-singed pages on the bottom right.

 

Trisha Dixon Combines a Love of Art, Writing and Gardens

Photographer - author Trisha Dixon was the special guest at the opening of the Orange Blossoms Exhibition at Orange Regional Gallery on Saturday 19 September and also gave a talk about gardens at Borrodell Vineyard, Orange on Sunday 20 September presented by Ornage City Coucnil, Orange City Library and the Central West Writers' Centre. Trisha talked about the landscapes and properties that have inspired some of our leading writers and artists including architecture, gardens, social and cultural history, art and design.  People such as our Nobel Prize winning laureate for literature, Patrick White, who jackerooed on a high country property, Bolaro Station and wrote his first novel there.  He subsequently bought and burnt every copy he could find of it.  Poet Banjo Paterson wrote his last poem in memory of this property as well. “Another example is Micalago Station garden - said to be the only garden that Edna Walling saw that couldn’t be improved on and it was also the scene of artist George Lambert’s iconic The Squatters Daughter painting which now hangs in the Australian National Gallery.  The wonderful little jottings and poems Lambert wrote in the Micalago visitors book tell as much about the artist as the property,” she said.

She also spoke about poet Betty Casey-Litchfield's dog Happy who drove her car in busy Cooma CBD and about the life of General Chauvel's daughter Elynne, who married ski champion grazier, Tom Mitchell and lived her life overlooking the Murray River at Towong Hill and wrote not only the Silver Brumby books for children, the playscript of The Man from Snowy River  and The Lighthorsemen, but also some amazingly insightful books into caring for the land in her groundbreaking books Speak to the Earth and Soil and Civilisation. The audience was also fascinated by her concept of slow gardening - sounds perfect for Summer!  Pictured above is guest speaker Trisha Dixon at Borrodell Vineyard and below is local photographer Barrie Flakelar dipping into Trisha's book Under the Spell of the Ages: Australian Country Gardens. It is a lavishly illustrated book which showcases 25 of Australia's most elegant and exquisite historic gardens. Trisha, a leading garden design photographer brings to life the beauty of gardens such as those of Brindabella Station, Elsey Station, Wallcliffe House, Heide and The Cedars, locating them in time and place as she draws on the work of writers such as Banjo Paterson, Patrick White, Miles Franklin, Mary Gilmore and Louisa Meredith, as well as on a wide variety of memoirs, diaries and letters. Trisha will return to Orange to talk about Slow Gardening at Slow Summer celebrations in February 2010.

 

Andy Griffiths Just Total Madness Laughs and Unmentionables

 

Robots, apples and others things quite unmentionable were topics discussed by best selling children’s author Andy Griffiths and his fans at Orange City Library on Thursday 17 September evening.  Andy is pictured abouve with Kaleb, of Orange. Children asked lots of questions about where his ideas come from, how he came up with his book titles, details about his characters and what’s coming up next.  The author was in Orange to promote his latest book Robot Riot and he encouraged children to tell their own stories, getting them to generate ideas throughout his talk and even calling on volunteers to perform a robot showdown.  It was all in good fun as he took time to sign autographs, shake hands with fans and learn from them their favourite things about Orange.  He suggested a name change was in order because the city was known for apples but no one in the large audience voted yes.   The event was a joint presentation with Angus & Robertson Bookstore.  Pictured below is Orange City Librarian Elizabeth Barry who couldn't resist getting close to Andy's bus.

 

 

 

4 Ingredients author Kim McCosker Shares Recipe for Success

 

What a night! Can you believe Orange City Library was fully booked with 100 people coming along to see Kim McCosker – 4 Ingredients cookbooks author.  Unfortunately co-author Rachael Bermingham couldn’t make it but as girls do – Kim called her beautiful mum Jennette and she did a fantastic job helping with food preparation and supporting Kim.  The 4 ingredients team have such an inspiring story to tell.  They are both busy mums but believed in their idea to provide simple recipes with 4 ingredients or less to get people out of the kitchen and spending time with their families – and who doesn’t want that?.  Kim spoke enthusiastically about the whole writing recipe and book production process.  The audience asked questions and sampled Gluten Free recipes from their latest book - including dips, fruit cake and biscuits.  F A N T A S T I C !  Kim McCosker is pictured signing books at Orange City Library.

Peter FitzSimons Entertains with Storytelling at the Pub

 

We laughed, were a little stunned at times but we were thoroughly entertained with words.  Journalist and author Peter FitzSimons was in full storytelling mode as he told yarn after yarn at the Hotel Canobolas on Friday afternoon (11 September). Visiting Orange courtesy of Angus & Robertson Bookstore and Orange City Library to launch his book Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men, the ex-Wallaby couldn't resist a few rugby tales, some choice French phrases, anecdotes from his experiences writing biographies and of course the amazing story of Smithy. Most of the large crowd took time out to enjoy lunch and had the opportunity to ask a few questions learning about his research and work on the book. Thank you to everyone who came along for a unique literary lunch in the pub. Peter is pictured above signing books after his talk.

 

Publishing Opportunities Hot Topic at Les Wicks Poetry Workshop

Participants at this workshop held on 30 August learnt the nuts and bolts of poetry with Les Wicks.  He went through his 17 step guide to poetry and time was also spent workshopping poems. He said poetry was about getting across to an audience what you want to say and doing that in an interesting way.  He also shared tips for entering competitions, getting your poetry published and finding outlets that suit your style as well as internet opportunities for publishing.   Les Wicks is widely published both in Australia and overseas with 8 collections to his name.  He’s also been involved in dozens of editing projects over his 30 years as a writer. Les is pictured reading from his latest work titled The Ambrosiacs.

 

Author Catherine Jinks drawcard for Frost Fost

More than 50 enjoyed the author talk by experienced author Catherine Jinks when she spoke at our Family History Fact or Fiction event held as part of Frost Fest and National Family History Week.  Catherine spoke about how the idea for her book The Dark Mountain, came about, how she planned the novel, undertook research and structured the book.
It was an insightful talk into the world of a writer interested in family history.  Her research uncovered the fascinating lives of Charlotte Atkinson, later McNeilly, and her sister Louisa, brother James and of course, her mother – a talented literary and artistic family that found themselves in having to surmount difficult circumstances.  Thank you to everyone for coming along and making it such an enjoyable event.   Catherine is pictured here with a painting by Charlotte McNeilly, the main character in her book.

 

Bathurst and Cowra Poets win Poetry Slam Regional Heat 09

Poets Josh Simpson, of Bathurst, and Alan Fragar, of Cowra edged out Frank Daniel, of Canowindra, to win a place in the Australian Poetry Slam State Final held in Sydney on 13 November. Frank Daniel, Alan Fragar, Kim Core, Matthew Ryan, Seamus Leyland, Dimas Bakini and Josh Simpson, of Bathurst, performed well and entertained the large crowd at the exciting theatre sports style event held at Cowra for the first time. Matthew spoke about being True Blue, Frank Daniels told the story of Martha Mary Regan, Dimas talked about life after leaving Sudan with some great rhymes involving kangaroos, Seamus told a funny story about UFOs - The Truth is Out There, and Kim Core implored us to tell real stories in her rhyme. Josh won the crowd over with his thought provoking poem Let us picture a world and Alan also won with his take on poetry slams incorporating an amusing topical limerick. The scores were close with five judges, chosen randomly from the audience, scoring each performance. The Australian Poetry Slam 09 is an initiative of the State Library of NSW, and is supported by state, territory and public libraries and festivals across the country. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding & advisory body. Pictured above is Frank Daniel, 3rd place, host Miles Merrill, and Poetry Slam winners Josh Simpson and Alan Fragar. Pictured below is the performers goofing around with host Miles Merrill.