January 2018 ~ Helen Hagemann

Monday, January 29, 2018

Review of Extinctions by Helen Hagemann

I usually support a same state writer and I also like to read prize winners. In relation to this book Extinctions, a Dorothy Hewett ms award winner and the 2017 Miles Franklin award, I am going to stick my neck out, and say sorry folks! but I thought this book was disappointing :(
It was mainly driven by backstory, ie all the relies of Frederick Lothian and Jan's - Fred's neighbour thrown into the mix. The surface level (ie. the literal level) was more interesting, two people meeting in a retirement village, both having adoptees in the family. Or as they say in academia the inclusion of "the other" or those on the margins. I wanted more of this interesting story than finding out about the characters' past lives. I also wanted a better ending of Callum, Morrison, Jan and Fred finally moving into Fred's family home and how they coped nicely (or not) with each other. I felt bogged down reading all the backstory and, at times, skim read to get to the surface action/problem/quest/whatever! And the title? Extinctions? It would have been better if rather than an engineer/lecturer Fred, per se, might have been an archaeologist/scientist/paleontologist, and even though retired still interested in anything worth saving, or on the danger list. Okay, so Caroline was into studying the end of certain species, but did that have any effect on the two main characters who were driven towards each other? I don't think so. All I can say is the "pictures" helped me whiz through the pages much quicker. On a positive note, the writing was excellent...er...to a point...so many similes...like, like, like, like. Are they supposed to make a good book? Obviously the judges of the Dorothy Hewett and the Miles Franklin thought so.

Poetry and Fiction Reviewer
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Sunday, January 21, 2018

Instagram Poem: Beach

This is an Instagram poem @ https://www.instagram.com/evangelynepoetry/
I started using Paintshop Pro, but that proved difficult and so lucky for me a fellow online posted an article how to upload Microsoft Image Composer. I did have the discs ie. for Front Page and also Image Composer, but these days working on a laptop I do not have one that has a CD/DVD drive. Often there are extremely good programs on older versions of Windows and for some unknown reason Microsoft chooses not to include them. They get lost in the ether. You can imagine how thrilled I was to find Image Composer again. It is so easy to use!
Image overlaid with text is very challenging. You can't have the background image too dark, and of course, the poem needs to convey the picture, but doesn't have to make sense. The poem also needs to be a stand-alone piece of art, and I'm less inclined nowadays to spell things out. It's up to the reader to interpret the text!
I am now following 160 poets on Instagram, some of the poetry is very basic, some of the artwork + poetry combined is excellent. Many of the writers post every day, and I don't think they give their work enough time to mature. That said, it is very pleasing to the eye to see how young people are using Instagram as a vehicle for their art and also it is a medium that is bringing about change.
Being an artist is not only a challenge to be published but also working with new platforms, such as social media is good for your creative bent and also great for your health and well-being. When I comment on an Instagram poem/artwork the writer is usually very grateful for the feedback. I am tempted to edit some poems, and say, I think the poem ended at the fourth last line, but I hold back as this is not what it is all about. It's about Spilled Ink aka Spilled Poetry, Spilled Words and Images that entertain.