Chris Wallace-Crabbe

Stopping all Stations is coming around fast, so pencil Saturday August 21 on your calendar. This month Chris Wallace-Crabbe is featuring and it's an opportunity not to be missed. Come along and enjoy some great poetry, short story and spoken word in general. Who knows - maybe someone will burst into song? It's a friendly atmosphere with great door prizes and food.

See you there.

Chris Wallace-Crabbe was born in 1934. After leaving school he worked at the Royal Mint, Melbourne, then, at diverse jobs. . He was Harkness Fellow at Yale University, 1965-67, Professor of Australian Studies at Harvard, 1987-8, and Visiting Professor at the University of Venice, 1973 and 2005. His first book of poems was published in Australia in 1959, but in the eighties he began to publish with OUP, with The Amorous Cannibal. Has given many readings of his poetry around the world, but never in Africa. His most recent books of verse include By and Large (2001), The Universe Looks Down (2005), Telling a Hawk from a Handsaw (2009 )and the bilingual Each Line of Writing Still Is to be Done (2006 ). He chairs the Australian Poetry Centre at the Wheeler Centre. Also a public speaker and commentator on the visual arts, he specializes in "artists' books", and all that might mean. Read It Again, a volume of critical essays, was published in 2005. Among other awards he has won the Dublin Prize for Arts and Sciences and the Christopher Brennan Award for Literature. Since his retirement he has been Professor Emeritus in the School of Historical Studies, University of Melbourne. Chris draws, plays tennis, and has penned the couplet, "Consumption of Australian wine/ Is a large part of my design."

July

What a great afternoon of spoken word - poetry, short story and a blog post! Earl Livings treated us to a fine selection of poetry which had everybody listening intently. Thanks Earl. And thanks to all our open readers. It was a feast. And as always, a great atmosphere to boot - even in the middle of renovations!

Earl Livings

Stopping all Stations is on again Saturday July 17 with Earl Livings as feature. Come along and enjoy  great poetry, great atmosphere and great lucky door prizes.

EARL  has had poetry and fiction published in journals and anthologies around Australia and also in Britain, Canada, the USA, and Germany. He has also read his work on national and community radio and at many public venues. He is the current editor of Divan (www.bhtafe.edu.au/divan), Australia’s first all-Australian online poetry journal. His first book of poetry, Further than Night (Bystander Press), was published in 2000. In 2005 he won the Melbourne Poets Union International Poetry Competition. Earl teaches in the Professional Writing & Editing course at Box Hill Institute. He holds a PhD in Creative Writing and is working on a novel and his next collection of poetry.

June

We had a terrific time last Saturday with just enough space to accommodate everyone. Catherine read from her poetry collection Marriage for Beginners in the first half and then some Rapunzel from her new collaborative work with Matt Ottley after the break. It was very well received.

Congratulations to Angelina Mirabito for her winning poem, ‘Alone together', which will be published in the coming issue of Page Seventeen. The judges certainly had their work cut out for them. (Speaking of the judges, check out Tiggy’s new poetry collection. You can order them from her blog.)

And to think while all this was going on it was raining in my house! When I got home from Stopping all Stations later that night my house was awash. The cistern in our upstairs toilet cracked and gushed out onto the floor, then kept trying to refill. It was a shocking thing to come home to. My legs were jelly. No lights either – trying to discover the extent of the damage with torches. About 60% of the house will now need renovating! The carpets have already gone and it is a very sad sight downstairs with cold concrete floors scattered with little tufts of red fibre remnants and dripping ceilings. All my clothes are scattered around friends’ houses, drying out. I’m sleeping at the local motel!

It’s a Stopping all Stations I won’t forget in a hurry!

Check back for details of next month’s gig with Earl Livings as feature.

Catherine Bateson

The June 19 event is going to be extra special. Not only do we have Catherine Bateson as feature, one  lucky open reader will have their poem published in Page Seventeen. Better start writing …

Catherine Bateson’s third collection of poetry, Marriage for Beginners, was published by John Leonard Press late last year. She is an award-winning writer for children and young adults. Currently she’s working on a collaborative music theatre piece with Western Australian based composer and picture book writer and illustrator, Matt Ottley. Catherine also teaches in the GippsTAFE Professional Writing and Editing course.

May

Skimbleshanks reports that apart from the batty MC and her menopausal memory malfunctions, all is well. And he particularly enjoyed the singing. In fact he found himself humming a little tune all the way back to the luggage van. He was particularly moved by Kristin’s poem about the string in the night-time. He thinks he’ll remember that one for some time to come. Quite a touching image – a mum and her young son joined up at the wrists with a piece of string to keep them connected.

Thanks to all the open readers, who helped make the afternoon so enjoyable.

Not as many pics this time as the photographer was a tad zealous with her flash. The good news is next month Helen will be back - with camera-toting Carl.

Stay tuned for news about the June event.

Kristin Henry

Start dusting off your poems and stories or get writing. Stopping all Stations is on again on Saturday May 15 at the Station Street Cafe. Come along and hear

Kristin Henry 

who thinks the human condition is one big musical. Don't be surprised if she bursts into song!

Kristin is a Melbourne poet who loves connecting with a live audience. She has read and sung her poetry in many venues throughout Australia, the UK and her native America over the past 25 years. She has published two non-fiction books and four collections of poetry, one of which was shortlisted for the N.S.W. Premiers Award. Her poems have appeared in many journals in Australia and overseas. She is working on a new collection and a verse novel. Kristin currently teaches advanced poetry and short story writing as part of Holmesglen Institute's Professional Writing and Editing course.