Going West Henderson Library VIsit

On the 6th November the class went to the Henderson library in the van with Robert.  We were sent a list of authors in the archive.  I was interested in the writers and musicians who have performed their work at the festival - to name a few Robert Sullivan, Witi Ihamaera, Albert Wendt, Nalini Singh, Emily Perkins, Daren Kamili, Chad Taylor, Fiona Kidman, Bill Manhire,Janet Charman, Karen Hay, Dave Dobbyn.

We listened to Hone Tuwhare, Dorothy Butler, Kate DeGoldi, Tusi Tuisala.  They read some of their work out and spoke about their writing.

I am definately going to the festival next year as I think it would be really worthwhile. We can visit anytime we want and the staff were really helpful.  Loved the library which seems really current with it being attached to a Unitec.  Really enjoyed the van ride in with the class.

IKA Journal

At the beginning of Writers at Work with Robert Sullivan we assisted with the editing of different pieces that were being published in Ika.  I got to edit a long poem and a short story and Robert got us all to read each line from the bottom up.  We were asked to check for grammar, spelling mistakes and anything on the page that wasnt working.

The Ika journal is given out to all of us in class after coming out from the printers.  This is exciting as the work of students I have been studying with is in the journal - Thomas Brooks, Barbara Stanley, and Amber Esau.  Has a performance poem in it by Toa that I love, and a cool story by Munro.

We brainstorm the opening of Ika journal and talk about food, venue and when we are expected there on Saturday.  A warm up for our performance is needed and students suggest taking down posters in the room and singers from Performing Arts are invited to join in.

Collaboration with Ali and Leon

Leon has shown me his rough draft last week for our rolling dialogue.  Some cool stuff in his writing.  Wrote my second piece today and Ali and Leon have looked over it.  Stoked that they can cut to the chase and tell me what is not working like the romantic death I describe.....this does not work.

Looked over an extensive part by Leon today and it looks fantastic and works well with mine and Ali's prose.

Working with these two is making me a little more creative and crazy....really enjoying this project.

Performance for Family and Friends

Great night with all the family and friends.  Spent several times getting the mike sorted as it threw me at  times.  Everyone very nervous but I am glad to say we all managed to do our best.
Felt really good doing my poem for the first time and have to say it feels better with a real audience.
Glad for this to be over and done with and now I can enjoy the 10th of November.
Grace really helped me out with the final tweak in my performance.
Feel really proud of this poem...went to see my son perform at school.  His teacher has asked to see the poem and she is sending me some photos of Harry so I good exchange.

Dress Rehearsal for Poetry Reading

Our rehearsal for tonight was great.  Managed to eek out the stuff that everyone was tripping over.  The introducing of people by individuals who had finished their poem was changed and we have been asked to say our name.  Really happy with the way it all went. Is a huge support for us year ones to have the year twos perform their poetry as well.  The mike was not working so we had to improvise and do without it.  I am not sure about the mike for me but am going to have to wing it tonight. I feel proud to be saying my work out loud and hope all goes well.  My daughter/J.Lo is coming to see me perform so my first time will be special.  Break a leg! Huge thank you to Grace Taylor who has inspired us all to put our best foot forward.

Frankfurt Bookfair

Robert said it was a once in a lifetime experience.

There were eleven pavilions and the New Zealand pavilion had stars and lakes-while you were sleeping theme.

Penguin and Random House featured at the fair.

Robert met Richard Taylor from Weta workshop as he was in Germany to promote The Hobbit.

Authors - Nalini Singh, Bill Manhire, Joy Cowley, Witi Ihimaera, Emily Perkins,Courtney Meredith, Catherine Robertson.

Frankfurt Book fair is the holy grail of publishing.

Kate Degoldi, Joe Harawira, Hamish Clayton, Graham Beattie, Jan Kemp.

New Zealand took the Wellington walk poems' over to Frankfurt which featured Patricia Grace, Bill Manhire writing.

Robert's book 'Star Waka' sold out and I loved how Robert said proudly how his arm nearly fell off signing his book.

Annabel Langbein was a huge New Zealand celebrity chef which featured at the fair.

Robert read his poetry on a Berlin boat and said New Zealand was well represented.

We saw some clips of different writers speaking and some highlights.

The Maori haka, kapa haka and Samoan ta tou

My tutor mentioned he had hung out with Chad Taylor who is a novelist.

I have read his collection of short stories: The Man Who wasn,t feeling himself.  It is very modern and edgy writing and I loved these tales. 

Rehearsals for Performance

We have had our rehearsal in the music room where we are performing.  Not really used to speaking into a microphone but I think I managed.  Everyone sounded awesome so should be a good night. Grace has certainly inspired me-her performance is absolutely gorgeous.
Look forward to another practice until then its my hairbrush.

Collaboration

Have been having loads of conversations with Leon and Ali over what we are doing in our groups.

Ali and Leon have come up with a creative idea about doing a rolling piece where we get to all input into a story picking up the last line.

Looking at themes we can all contribute with we narrowed it down to hospitals where we can get creative in the fantasy world.

Wrote a piece and showed them last Thursday.  Have had fun writing this with Ali in mind.

They really like the story so I tweaked it on the weekend and have emailed them my story.

I am thinking Ali is going to use my last line.

Look forward to talking to them about their spin on the story.

Publishing Written Work

This weekend I had a look at the Landfall Journal that I have recently purchased.  I edited my life writing story 'The Consul' and submitted it to the editor David Eggleton.
I have tweaked the story at the end to include some explanation as to why my Dad's old car has been shipped back to Auckland.
I was going to add some details about my Mum's reaction to this but decided against it.
Want to have a story which will honour my Dad's memory and not dwell on the negative aspects of my family.
The editing process included correcting a few grammatical errors.
I have read the Landfall Journal and it seems to have a classical feel, with lots of lovely poetry and art featured.
I have documented my submission in a folder with the others.

Grace Taylor

Really got inspired by her visit to our class.  I am respectful of classmates not wanting to perform but by the end of the session everyone seemed really keen to contribute.  That's obviously a strength of hers getting people to value their work.
I really love her poem she performed and find it inspiring that she can remember such a long piece.
Excited to be performing my poem as it means a lot to me and I am going to do my best.  I have never done this before but here goes.

Sue Orr

Really liked Sue's fresh approach to writing and her admitting that she had got distracted at home writing.
The handouts that we were given gave different perspectives to what a writer does and how they do it.  Made me reflect on how I put a piece of writing together.  I write from home and let the phone and the rest of the world distract me; especially that extra load of washing that needs to be hung out and the cobwebs in the corner of the kitchen.  Her enthusiasm for her craft is very evident and I enjoy listening to her vibrant stories.

Louise Tu'u

Her visit was inspirational because of her commitment to her playwright career.

What struck me the most was her humility and ability to tackle difficult issues like rough sleepers.

Loved her sense of community in the fact that she had people sponsor homeless individuals and had a koha donation to make theatre accessible for everyone.

Great sense of humour when talking about her life and her work.

She was generous with information about applying to creative NZ.

Very warm person.