The Poetic Me!

I am now happily retired and in between grandchildren and occasionally writing my own stories, I’m no longer available to conduct workshops or give talks. 

My experience includes:

• writing poetry
• writing short stories
• self-publishing print & e-books (Kindle)
• finding inspiration for novels & chapter books
• scripts for shorts and features
• scripts for television (series or telemovies)
• direction & production of short films
• working with actors for stage and screen
• writing for the stage
• directing for the stage
• producing Community theatre
• judging competitions (AFI Doco, AWGIES, WASA etc)

As a Full Member of both the Australian Society of Authors and the Australian Writers Guild, prices were structured according to  ASA  or AWG  depending on the service required.

• author talk
• writing workshop
• one-on-one or small group mentoring
• short or long term writer-in-residence
• festival appearance
• readings

Other memberships previously held: Children’s Book Council of WA (CBCWA), Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCWBI), Film & Television Institute (FTI), Fellowship of Australian Writers WA (FAWWA) and the KSP Writers Centre, amonst others.

EXPERIENCE with Community Groups:

Committee member WA Folk Festival 80’s, filmed the Hills Folk Club in Kalamunda and initiated and ran The Wanneroo Folk Club in 1986 – 1987 which is still meeting every month nearly 30 years later.

As a founding member of New Endeavour Theatre Group between 1989 – 1992 I directed, produced, costumed and ticketed their productions.

I left that group to start one specifically for 12 – 25 year olds.  I initiated and ran Northern Youth Theatre between 1992-1998 as Artistic Director overseeing productions every three months.

As the Writing and Theatrical representative on the Wanneroo and later Joondalup Festival Committees, I was instrumental in re-housing Peter Cowan’s house by the lake on ECU Campus.  The result was for the famous writer’s house to become the first community writing center housed on a university campus in the Southern Hemisphere; Peter Cowan Writers Centre.  I also served on their committee.

As a committee member I wrote administrational guidelines and the constitution for PCWC, plus helped with the constitution for an amalgamated committee to facilitate and co-ordinate funding applications for KSP, FAWWA and PCWC, which eventually evolved into WritingWA.

In 2002 I traveled to Ireland for 14 months attending inspiration workshops.  I also published my first book of poems ‘Hidden Capacity ~ a poet’s journey’ with a preface by Prof Glen Phillips from ECU.

  An Irish Review:    

In 2005, after I returned from Ireland I initiated and hosted Poets Corner @Pages Cafe in the State Library until October 2008 with more than 80 poets participating in monthly readings.  I compiled and published a very limited edition Pages Cafe ’05, an anthology to thank the poets who had participated in Poets Corner readings, in 2005.

     

As Co-director & one of 3 Festival Organizers of the 1st WA Spring Poetry Festival in 2005, I ran many events during National Poetry Week.  Later we produced of the first magazine ‘The Word Is Out’ magazine to record many successes of our first festival.  The following year, the same team successfully ran the 2nd WA Spring Poetry Festival 2006 and again published ‘The Word Is Out’, this time to showcase the poetry of participants.  I resigned from the WA Spring Poetry Festival committee once we had acquitted funding to focus solely on my Poets Corner @ Pages Cafe.  

Please note: my previous personal [francesmacaulayforde.com] and professional [poetscornerwa.com] websites are no longer active.  This is currently my only active blog.

In 2012 I published ‘Love’ a book of romantic poems for my appearance as the featured guest at the inaugural Avon Valley Writers’ Festival held in Northam and Toodyay: 

         

I have appeared at other festivals, run workshops, small writing groups and participated in the 2013 Australian Poetry’s Cafe Poets program as resident poet at Burns Beach Cafe for 6 months.

Many of my poems have been published in various anthologies, magazines and on the net but a favorite is My Life As A Sari which appeared in Indigo, available from Fremantle Press.

   Fremantle Press also interviewed Frances about the poem.

   My poems appeared in ‘Sun & Sleet’ the Poets Union Inc., anthology published in 2006.

  ‘Desertification’ published in ‘Lines in the Sand” FAWWA 2008   /  Also read at John Kinsella’s launch of ‘Shades of the Sublime & Beautiful’

      I participated in the 2007 and 2008 CREATIVE CONNECTIONS with poems written to the exhibited art of the disabled which also appeared in chapbooks sold to support their association:

Toodyay was published in LANDSCAPES – Sustainabilia Issue by Edith Cowan University, School of Communications and Arts, Centre for Research in Entertainment, Arts, Technology, Education & Communications.
Landscapes Vol 4 Issue 2 Summer 2010-11 Sustainabilia – Editors Glen Phillips & Andrew Taylor ISSN 1448-0778 80
‘The Boffin’ was a finalist in the 2005 Inner City Life Poetry Competition  

bookshops are like lovers 
they numb in black & white
then seduce you with colour

titillate and tempt your soul
until you finally let go
find the courage to close

the book ~ pages which leave
you gasping ~ the breath of air
on your face feels like a slap

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2004