Category: optimism

Wide windows and a wet, wet spring – Creativity flowering in Braidwood

Nov 16, 2022

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by

Pen

in art, arts and health, Australian novels, creative cross-fertilisation, creative synergy, creativity, gardening, Inequality, media negativity, optimism, Simplifying, sustainable living

Why garden? Why write? … ‘Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.’ American writer Edith Wharton said that and I think of it often since moving to the country. These days, still in La Nina, our well overflowing and the creek rushing and rising as rain continues to fall, drinking the day can…
A hopeful path forward in a fractured world – Sarah Wilson’s new book

Jan 17, 2021

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by

Pen

in capitalism, Democracy, health, Living creatively, optimism, politics, sarah wilson, Simplifying, sustainable living, value of the arts

An adventurous heart Sarah Wilson’s This One Wild and Precious Life navigates through the problems facing us all right now: coronavirus, climate change, racial inequalities, political and economic polarisation, as well as loneliness, in an accessible, thought-provoking way. The author spent three years pondering these issues and she takes us on her travels over that…
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Feb 23, 2020

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by

Pen

in mental illness, miscarriage of justice, optimism, Simplifying, wild camping

Nothing left to lose I’m travelling through Ireland, en route to a writing residency in County Kerry and the bookshops here are brilliant. A favourite one is Charlie Byrnes Bookshop in Galway. My favourite book from there is The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (Penguin, 2018). Sitting before roaring log fires in Shankill Castle’s drawing…
Drinking the days: biographies and oysters

Jan 28, 2020

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by

Pen

in Australian memoir, Christina Stead, Democracy, Dennis Glover, Kay Schubach, Living creatively, mental illness, optimism, value of the arts

‘Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.’ American writer Edith Wharton (1862-1937) wrote that. I love it and would often think of it after opening the curtains first thing. But her words took on a tragic tone in the mornings after the bushfires began. We could no longer open windows. Canberra’s air quality…
Reinventing our lives: surviving with the help of literature

Dec 28, 2019

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by

Pen

in Andrea Goldsmith, Australia behind, Bookshops, capitalism, Charlotte Wood, creativity, depression, Inequality – Australia, mental illness, optimism, value of the arts, writers’ health

When I was in Dublin in September I bought some wonderful books. A favourite is the intriguing, personal and beautifully written Hidden City: Adventures and explorations in Dublin by Karl Whitney (Penguin, 2014). (I’ve lent it and others to friends and can’t take a photo of its cover or some other favourites at the moment!)…
Thinking women, hope and regeneration

Jun 12, 2019

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by

Pen

in Andrea Goldsmith, Australia behind, Australian novels, Democracy, Living creatively, Movies, optimism, Toni Jordan

Am I advocating escapism? It’s been hard to find anything uplifting to say in the last few weeks. The last time I read John Milton (1608-1674) was in English (Hons) many years ago. But I just came across a quotation from Paradise Lost that seems like a sanity-saver in the world we’re enduring now. ‘The…
Optimism in a world of degradation

Apr 22, 2018

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by

Pen

in cooperatives, Inequality – Australia, optimism

Quality control I’ve been writing some brief biographies for an organisation and before I interviewed some of these high achievers, I wanted to note down some basic facts about them. So I nipped up to my local library, chained my bike and went inside to the Reference Section for Who’s Who. They’ve rearranged the library…

Category: optimism

Wide windows and a wet, wet spring – Creativity flowering in Braidwood

A hopeful path forward in a fractured world – Sarah Wilson’s new book

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Drinking the days: biographies and oysters

Reinventing our lives: surviving with the help of literature

Thinking women, hope and regeneration

Optimism in a world of degradation