Category: value of the arts

Tools for self-destruction – Max Fisher’s The Chaos Machine

Oct 15, 2023

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Pen

in capitalism, dangers of social media, digital technology, Inequality, mental illness, miscarriage of justice, politics, value of the arts

The manipulation of neural pathways The weekly radio co-hosting preparation was swallowing too much time and compelling me to spend most of it on current affairs. I’m doing it only once a month now. Without the radio over-commitment, I limit current affairs consumption to basic knowledge of what’s going on. What’s going on is always…
In the arms of the angels: How To Be An Artist and On Connection

Sep 1, 2023

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Pen

in imagination, leadership, Living creatively, value of the arts, Winston Churchill, writers’ health

Courage and the imagination ‘Every good work of art has courage in it somewhere,’ writes Jerry Saltz in his How To Be An Artist (Hachette, 2022). He also claims that ‘Courage is a desperate gamble that will place you in the arms of the angels.’ (p. 81) Is the concept of courage relevant when we’re…
Alba Donati: a cottage full of books

Jun 12, 2023

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by

Pen

in Alba Donati, Bookshops, Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop, gardening, Living creatively, stress management, value of the arts

Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati. Trans. By Elena Pala. (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2022. 193 pp) People want stories In December 2019 Alba Donati opened her bookshop in Lucignana, her home town, a village of 180 people. The bookshop sat on a two and a half metre site on a craggy hill. Just…
Thirty Two Words for Field and Sand Talk – Irish and Indigenous wisdom

May 12, 2023

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Pen

in arts and health, Australia behind, Blasket islands, Books, capitalism, Common Good, Democracy, Indigenous wisdom, Inequality – Australia, Living creatively, Manchan Magan, mental illness, Nature writing – Irish, rural Ireland, Sand Talk, sustainable living, value of the arts

Connecting with a better world Apart from reading some fantastic books, I’ve been having fun with my new Kick-Start creative writing workshops. They’ve been zipping along with the poetic contributions of talented students, filling the BRAG room on Tuesday nights with laughter and creative verve. BRAG stands for Braidwood Regional Arts Group and you can…
‘You are the author of your own life’ – creative writing workshops to write a bright new chapter

Feb 28, 2023

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Pen

in Living creatively, Penny Hanley’s Creative Writing course, Perseverance in writing, Short stories, Tim Ferriss, value of the arts, writers’ health, Writing – tools of the trade

Risk We tap into our creativity through play. The technique I use in my Kick-Start workshops is a key that smoothly unlocks a door to the side of your brain that’s much less used in our linear, left-brain-dominant society. Under the Neo-Liberal economic dogma dominating every aspect of society no matter which major party is…
Irish secrets: Trespasses and Truth Be Told

Feb 16, 2023

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Pen

in Irish Troubles, Northern Ireland, value of the arts, YA Irish fiction

The intensity of the forbidden Sleeping with the enemy. The intensity of the forbidden. Always a topic to set the mind questioning and the heart racing. The protagonist of Louise Kennedy’s Belfast novel Trespasses, Cushla Lavery (whose given name derives from the Irish phrase A chuisle mo chroi – the pulse of my heart) is…
A hopeful path forward in a fractured world – Sarah Wilson’s new book

Jan 17, 2021

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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…
Why read? Why write? Why bother? On reclaiming our language and our lives and having a laugh

Sep 13, 2020

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Pen

in capitalism, Comedy writing, Democracy, humour as medicine, Living creatively, social capital, value of the arts

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity Because I’ve been writing a new novel (working title: Tumult) I’ve postponed writing a new blog post. Immersed in the world of the novel, it’s only when I feel super strongly about a book I’ve read that I’m desperate to tell people about it. Two small books stand out.…
Gently altering the world – the arts

Mar 30, 2020

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Pen

in art, arts and health, Common Good, creativity, humour, humour as medicine, rural Ireland, Stand-up comedy – Australian, stress management, value of the arts, writers’ health

Returning from a writing residency in Cill Rialaig, in Ireland’s County Kerry – https://cillrialaigartscentre.com/residencies/ – it was weird to be back yet not be able to hop on my bike and see friends, go to tango lessons, films, cafés and libraries or walk around the lake. I watched that ingenious ABC program You Can’t Ask…
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…