April 2018 ~ Helen Hagemann

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Prose poem: Souvenirs

Souvenirs

There is a whole collection made. Three boards and there is a filling, no delay with the right measure. There is pleasure in fired clay, artefacts of cork and country. They are little gifts of language, too, to be kept and mounted. Ladies will be sales of beautiful, beautiful! Very likely it is a passion and can speak of reckless spending, eyes on wristwatch, a parcel nicely and no ribbon. Some might be dearer but in any case there is a bargain. The best thing to do is to take it away and register its purpose with gratitude. Its place will be a revision of time.

Prose Poem: A Fountain

A Fountain

A fountain is a point of return if lost. The heart will embrace the sound of water. So pure is the flow that nearly all of it shows pearls of light. It’s remarkable when the basin is level and not an inch over, one spout covering the work of two. It’s a spring of hope if hot or cold but does not mean soap. Unprecedented change and the whole thing blackens, is broken, so the mending shows the culture is Portuguese. The blue and gold tiles can cause the whole thing to be a church.

Archways

Archways are charming places when it’s raining. Umbrellas are out and this

shows direction. Looking into its space it’s hanging, a shape heavy above

with melody. It leads to sweet singing, a stage of learning and it’s not

disappointing when a ticket is entry. Returning, there is semblance where

shadows are darker and there is no dust and no dirt within. Stones are

arranged in splendour, stone on stone and cheaper and not shown by marks

or by wetting. A statue is looking into this place and seeing a statue means relief,

it does, it certainly does not cause frustration. Through the archway there are

courtyards, a line of life and stairways to an amusing side, a little dog holding

a cup to a tuneful accordion. An archway will take you to all this and coffee,

and short orders, waiters and cooks.

MY WORK ON THESE PROSE POEMS

It's amazing the amount of writing you get done while away from home. I have really enjoyed Portugal (although only partially seen), but as a writer-in-residence I have been able to lock myself away from life's distractions, haven't had to do housework and therefore there is this intense concentration on your work. I have finished editing my asbestos novel, have ideas for a fourth and have enjoyed writing several prose poems inspired by the environment, landscape and objects around me in Lobao da Beira, in Tondela, and in Coimbra - a Medieval town.

The prose poetry (I feel) is taking a new course. In the past I have written about my life, etc. and I felt it was time to move on to something more challenging - prose poetry that doesn't get bogged down with figurative language ie. metaphor and simile, but works to subvert the image. I'm inspired by Gertrude Stein whose poem Tender Buttons describes things and objects in an artistic way, a little sklent, often leaning to the obscure, yet her intention was to challenge the reader to make meaning for themselves. I like this idea, and I am currently working on a collection titled "Random" - using objects and things sometimes overlooked, sometimes not interesting enough to be worthy, yet these inanimate objects can create "art" and imbibe different ways of using language.

The images I'm currently using from Portugal have been a different and interesting landscape from my own country, Australia. I guess mainly it's because one is out in the world and this brings new experiences and challenges. I am really enjoying creating this new form.

"The Sisters' Song" by Louise Allan reviewed

The Sisters' Song by Louise Allan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Book on a Grand Scale
Every now and again a book comes along that is exceptional, a story that allows you to sink beyond the page into the lives of the characters, their heartaches, failures, warmth and sincerity. Such is The Sisters' Song a debut novel by Louise Allan.

It's a family saga, set in Tasmania in the 1930s-90s and looks at the lives of two women, sisters Ida and Nora. These two women's lives are created as binary opposites. Ida is the traditional woman married to Len and wants children, while Nora longs for fulfillment in a singing career. However, their ambitions are thwarted by circumstance and both sisters' dreams and aspirations remain unfulfilled throughout the novel. Ida has three miscarriages never bearing a child full-term, while Nora's talent (in its infancy) is waylaid by falling pregnant to a dashing Italian "Lothario" named Marco. Being subjected to the wiles of the Italian who is married, it is career over for Nora! She returns to Tinsdale, to marry Alf (pre-stepfatherhood to Marco's son Ted), and to a lonely farm life in isolated Tasmania. With all her hopes and dreams dashed Nora remains embittered throughout most of her life. We can put this down to the temporal climate of the mid-twentieth century when a woman was objectified - her only role and status - of being there for pleasure, marriage and or pro-creation.

To my mind, The Sisters' Song is an important feminist text for the 21st Century, a template for the GenYs and GenZs to imbibe an era when women were mainly stereotyped in roles of housewife and mothers (although there were exceptions to the rule). Granted, this novel does not set out to make a cultural statement, yet at the same time the song rings loud and clear. As contemporary readers we are taken back to a time of pre-women's liberation, to Nora, a woman who wasn't fully encouraged, who wasn't given hope or familial support to be different, to be independent or career minded. And we are taken back to the familiar tune of the many, like Nora's family, who failed her talent. I shudder to think of where we would be today if we didn't have the current advantages of career, equal workplace and educational opportunities.

As a reviewer, I don't need to tell you the whole story that is for you to read. I also prefer not to repeat the accolades of another four to five prominent reviewers, including Nicole Melanson (NSW) and Monique Mulligan (WA) as I see this exceptional novel as a gift to women. It is a reminder of the woman's struggle, the dark ages of electric shock therapy, of mental illness, of unrecognized depression, and of an unflinching bond between sisters, created by Ida.

There are many other layers in this novel: themes of love, courage and forgiveness, evocative figurative language, well-drawn protagonists and minor characters, a strong emotional engagement for the reader, and last but not least, a music and singing motif that is so heartfelt you can almost hear it.

Louise Allan grew up in Tasmania, a relatively underpopulated, rugged and cold island off the south-east coast of mainland Australia. She studied Medicine at the University of Tasmania and went on to become a GP, before moving across the country to Perth. She worked in the field of breast cancer until she ceased practising medicine in 2010 and took up writing. Allan’s novel came from a short story she wrote in 2010, which she knew had a much longer story attached. In 2012, she picked it up again, and it took six years and countless drafts until in 2014, her novel was awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship. In the same year, the manuscript was shortlisted for the City of Fremantle—TAG Hungerford Award.

Alongside her characters, this major effort by Allan has been justified; a woman finding her vocation as a writer, securing an agent and publisher Allen & Unwin (2018).

Disclaimer: My thanks to Allen & Unwin for giving me the opportunity to read a great book and likewise to review.

Helen Hagemann (c) 2018

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