Cell Phones

MOBILES

 

Trendy shades that click to match.

Invisible.

Except for what looks like a hearing aid

turning us all into

business buskers barking at buildings.

 

And it’s natural to turn

when someone says ‘Hello’.

 

You even get a choice now.

Number display.

Answer or reject.

Interruptions.

(Blasted ‘Call Waiting’.)

Choose to ignore the insistent beeping

and inevitably

others can’t resist the burning question.

 

Favourite songs are ruined forever

by ringing interpretations.

 

Courtesy has gone out the window.

Lunch breaks deleted.

Performances interrupted.

Moving movie moments spoilt.

 

Availability questioned

by “This mobile is turned off”.

 

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2001

(First published ‘Hidden Capacity ~ a poet’s journey’, 2003, Cork, Ireland.)

 

@FrancesMForde  #FrancesMacForde  #PHOTO:SunGazing  #POEM:Mobiles  #CellPhones  #Poetry  #HiddenCapacityFMF

 

Read Full Post »

She’s Funny That Way

You’ve convinced me!

Film Mafia

***1/2 (out of five)

Peter Bogdanovich’s She’s Funny That Way feels so much like a Woody Allen movie that you’d absolutely be forgiven for thinking, if shown it in some sort of secret preview, that it was one. In fact, you’d bet on it – your only obstructing thought being that Woody Allen doesn’t make comedies this enjoyable anymore.

Not that Allen has total dominion over screwball farces set amongst theatre-makers and prostitutes in hotels, restaurants and theatres in Manhattan, but he comes close. Bogdanovich, 76, made Noises Off, They All Laughed and What’s Up, Doc? amongst an eclectic filmography that includes classics (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon), oddities (At Long Last Love, Saint Jack) and mainstream studio fare (Mask, Daisy Miller). He is the very epitomé of a movie-loving movie-maker, and his acting rap sheet is longer than that for his direction. He is not afraid of homage,

View original post 338 more words

Read Full Post »

Fiona Palmer on the 2015 RWA Conference in Melbourne

Another fabulous WA Writer, Fiona Palmer reports:

Read Full Post »

To Protect, Serve, And Pledge Allegiance

Roxi makes a lot of sense.

Read Full Post »

Review of Australian Fiction special WA volume: issue 4

Australian fiction.

looking up/looking down

Just out, the new issue of of Review of Australian Fiction , no. 4 in the special volume edited by Laurie Steed, featuring writers from Western Australia.

The first of this issue’s two stories is by dual Miles Franklin winner Kim Scott, author of novels That Deadman Dance, Benang and True Country, and chair of the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project. Kim is paired with emerging writer Liz Hayden, currently a PhD creative writing candidate, whose work investigates the life of a Nyoongar woman’s experience living and growing up in a rural town in Western Australia

Kim Scott’s story, entitled ‘Departure’, introduces a vulnerable teenage girl, Tilly, on her way home from private boarding school to the southern camp that is her home:

Central Bus Station was built upon the principle of a large shed and, except for the large windows on one wall…

View original post 310 more words

Read Full Post »

The Importance Of An Author Platform

Sage advice…

Lynette Noni

In this day and age, as painful as it is to admit, agents and publishers are drawn to writers who have evidence of a platform already in play. This is partly because it means there is already a readership ready to purchase any books that may be signed on, but it’s also partly because it shows a willingness on your end to do some of the hard yards of marketing. And I say ‘hard yards’ because building a following is not easy. It takes time, it takes dedication, it takes vulnerability. So if an agent or publisher can see you already have people interested in your words – whether through blogging or other social media avenues – that tells them that they can consider taking you seriously as well.

I know, I know, it kind of sucks. I mean, what happened to the good old days when all you needed was to write a decent story? Well…

View original post 440 more words

Read Full Post »

We Belong

Enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Listening to Stories of the Second World War Before it’s too Late

What an amazing effort, Mindy – well done!

Read Full Post »

Sharing Africa.

© Sean Austin posted this photo on Facebook today, with these words:

“The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire…”

2015 © Sean Austin

@FrancesMForde  #FrancesMacForde  #AfricanSunsets  #AfricaMyHome  #POEM:AfricanSky   #1968Notebook  #Elephants  #Sunset  #Poetry

 

 

Read Full Post »

Meet the Author: Michael Costello

Q: What would you do differently if you were starting out now as a writer? A: I’d continue writing from an early age and not waste creative years by letting life and work take over.

In Their Own Write

Michael’s top writing tip: Before you start, have a rough idea of the beginning, middle, climax and end. Get the first draft down. Keep going until you do. The craft and joy is in the rewriting. Get your novel in the best shape you can by as many new drafts as necessary, editing and polishing before you send it out. Get a good independent assessment, irrespective of cost. Friends and family won’t/can’t tell you about the smallest of faults. Someone with no fear or favour will. Be kind to yourself. If something isn’t coming, let the world turn a bit then come back to the problem.

Digital StillCamera

Michael Costello is an AWGIE winning playwright, television and screenwriter. His plays have been produced around Australia and New Zealand. Of his award winning play Royal Affair, Chris Mead, the Curator of the Australian National Playwrights’ Conference, stated “… rich, intelligent…

View original post 540 more words

Read Full Post »