Blog posts

A literary gathering

On Saturday 2 December, Margaret McCaffrey hosted a small literary gathering at her home – she’d invited fellow Elwood Writers Helen McDonald and Barry Lee Thompson to join her, and to read short pieces of their work. Margaret wanted to dedicate the afternoon’s event to Elwood Writers co-founder Jennifer Bryce, who died earlier this year.

Mindful of the health and safety of her guests, Margaret kept the numbers low (and the windows open) – the event was lively and entertaining, and copies of the new edition of 20 Artists, featuring all three members of Elwood Writers, were available, hot off the press, having only been released the day before.

The readings included poetry and haiku from Helen, short fiction from Barry, and memoir from Margaret herself. Tony Thomas was invited to read from Jennifer’s body of work, and he presented a short piece from her trove of oboe-themed stories, as well as an extract from Lily Campbell’s Secret, Jenny’s debut novel. The only thing missing was Jenny, but it felt as if she were there, watching, smiling; at times, if you listened carefully, you’d swear you could hear the sounds of her beloved oboe …

At this week’s Elwood Writers meeting, the final of 2023, it was agreed that the event had been a success, and more importantly had rounded off the year in a hugely positive way. Thank you to Margaret for asking us along, and for inviting us to read from our individual work. It was clear that a lot of thought and preparation went in to the very elegant afternoon – it shone through and was much appreciated.

It’s given us a taste for public readings again, and we discussed how we might take that forward. The last Elwood Writers public soiree was held at St Kilda Library on 25 August 2018, over five years ago. Where does the time go! Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about another event in the not-too-distant future. Anyway, we’re sure to return to this topic when we reconvene in February for our first meeting of 2024.

The holidays might have begun for Elwood Writers, but this isn’t our last blog post of the year. There are one or two more to follow before 2023 is out.

For now, have a peaceful weekend.

EW

Elwood Writers feature in 20 Artists Handwritten Issue

Within these pages, you’ll find a rich tapestry of short stories, satire, touching poetry, local snapshots, heartfelt memories, and even contemplative spiritual prose. These stories reveal the profound roots of creativity, which run deep within our community.

20 Artists | Handwritten Issue One

We were delighted to be approached earlier this year by 20 Artists in Melbourne, Victoria, to contribute to their first ever literary edition of the magazine. This issue is their fourth publication – previous magazines have featured visual arts and photography. 20 Artists is supported by the City of Port Phillip Cultural Development Fund.

This is a wonderful way to cap off the year for Elwood Writers, and we’re thrilled to be included in this beautiful publication.

More information on the 20 Artists project, including biographies of the contributors, will be available soon at the 20 Artists website, here.

Happy reading!

EW

oxygen6

Congratulations to Elwood Writer Margaret McCaffrey, whose piece ‘Waiting for Beckett’ is published in the latest issue of oxygen.

Poetry can be whatever we need it to be. It can be a place of peace. It can be a place for breathing in the oxygen of new ways of looking, new ways of feeling, new ways of understanding.

from oxygen website

It’s a wonderful piece, Margaret – great to see it in print.

To find our more about Margaret’s work, visit her website, here.

Have a safe and peaceful weekend, everyone.

Happy reading.

EW

Elwood Writers shares the celebration: 500 Cover to Cover episodes

This Friday marks the 500th edition of Vision Australia Radio’s weekly literary program Cover to Cover. Produced and hosted by Tim McQueen, the program delivers book readings and short stories to an audience not just in Australia but across the globe.

Elwood Writers has a long history of contributing to Cover to Cover, starting with our very first dedicated broadcast – appropriately titled ‘Starting Over’ – back in January 2015. That was episode 38 of Cover to Cover. Our latest program was a tribute to our much loved and missed co-founder Jennifer Bryce (episode 484), which aired on 4 August this year.

Many congratulations to Tim and the entire team at Cover to Cover. Happy 500th episode! We’ll be listening.

EW

under the same moon

Alive with birds and frogs, suffused with the threat of bushfire and flood, these haiku sing with the uniqueness of Australian life. The skill on show is breathtaking, as distinctive individual voices lay bare moments of joy, loss, awareness and connection to inner and outer landscapes. 

Esther Ottaway, Winner, Tim Thorne Poetry Prize, Arts Tasmania Literary Awards, 2022
under the same moon | Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology

Congratulations to Helen McDonald of Elwood Writers on having three haiku included in under the same moon: Fourth Australian Haiku Anthology (eds. Lyn Reeves, Vanessa Proctor, Rob Scott).

Each poet in the book is “helping to form and shape a unique Australian voice, whether that is through haiku with distinctly Australian kigo or through senryu which explores the human element of life in this country from its cities, suburbs and rural towns to the natural environment”.

Published by Forty South in Tasmania, this beautiful book is available directly from the online shop at the publisher’s website. Simply click here for more information.

Well done, Helen. We can’t wait to read this!

Happy reading to everyone.

EW

Margaret muses on writing friendship

We six friends shared our Melbourne convent days together, later taking a deep dive into the buzz of early seventies’ London. 

‘Writing Friendship’

Earlier this year, The Human Writers published a story by Elwood Writer Margaret McCaffrey about her friend Jane – or, more particularly, about her friendship with Jane. A short time later, The Human Writers asked Margaret to record an audio of ‘For Jane’ to feature on their website.

Margaret then wrote a blog post about about how ‘For Jane’ came into being. The post, ‘Writing Friendship’, takes her relationship with Jane as a focus, reflects generally on the nature and peculiarities of friendship, and is rich in wonderful observations and references about writing and friendship. Here’s a quote from sculptor Louise Bourgeois that strikes a particular chord with us:

We either die of the past or we become an artist.

Louise Bourgeois

Maybe by sitting in our spaces, clicking away at our keyboards, drinking too much coffee and occasionally fretting about how the current book or story or essay or blog post or what-have-you is faring, we can take comfort in knowing that at the very least we’re staying alive. And perhaps we might be making a friend or two along the way. And maybe that’s really all that matters.

You can read ‘Writing Friendship’ below – be sure to check out Margaret’s story ‘For Jane’ while you’re there:

 Writing Friendship

Happy reading, listening, and writing!

EW

American Writers Review 2023

Congratulations to Barry, with two stories in the latest issue of American Writers Review from San Fedele Press. Elwood Writers has a formidable history of contributing work to AWR, and we’re thrilled that the group continues to be represented in this year’s issue.

Hot off the press
barryleethompson.com

We had the pleasure of sighting Barry’s contributor copy at the last Elwood Writers workshop, and I think we all agreed that San Fedele Press have outdone themselves – it really is a beautiful book, containing wonderfully compelling stories and artwork. Info about how to get your hands on a copy can be found in Barry’s blog post, linked just over to the left.

Happy reading!

EW

Podcast: Cover to Cover Ep. 484 | Tribute to Jennifer Bryce

The Elwood Writers tribute to colleague and friend Jennifer Bryce was broadcast on Vision Australia Radio’s Cover to Cover last Friday, 4 August 2023 (repeated Sunday 6 August). If you missed the program, or if you’d like to listen again, it’s now available as a podcast at the link below:

The recording can also be accessed via the MP3 audio-file below:

We hope you enjoy this celebration of Jenny’s life and work.

Best wishes,

EW