I’m holding a new creative writing series of workshops soon. See the poster for details and booking. It’s for the usual eight weeks but this time I’m experimenting with a new afternoon time slot of 2.00-4.00 because some people asked for that alternative to the evening one.
I’ve been reading some books on writing and some books on art. I’ve been painting papers, doing basic print-making and making collages, preparing for a couple of group exhibitions this year, one the first week in July, the other not finalised.
The book that really stands out for me is Belle Burden’sStrangers (Penguin, 2026)which popped up on my Spotify account. I don’t know why I clicked on it. But once I did, I couldn’t stop listening. The author’s background and choices couldn’t be more different from mine but I was captivated by this beautiful narrative voice. It’s read by the author and her actual voice is quietly measured and almost hypnotic from the start. I was doing Tai-Chi-walking to it, I was painting the Gypsy van to it, I was walking to yoga to it – and once it was over, I missed that voice. Strangers is a memoir involving the forensic dissection of a marriage with the author examining the unexpected and painful actions of her husband and turning an even brighter light on herself. It’s about identity and forging a path towards a hard-won self-acceptance.
I’m often reading two or three books at a time but haven’t the space to write about those of the past couple of months. An off-shoot of some of my creative writing courses is that people don’t want the fun to end and they form a writing group and meet at a pub or somewhere, buy their drink and then take it in turns to read aloud their poem or story or vignette on that month’s word. So I write a few short poems or stories per month. And I’m still dancing the Argentine tango in Canberra as well as here.
So all my time is taken up, hence fewer blogs. Plus A.I. stealing our writing would take the wind out of any creative person expressing herself on the web. I say, stealing because I won’t use the tech fascists’ euphemism, ‘scraping’. The English language is a beautiful thing and there’s never any excuse not to use it truthfully and precisely. (And so too tech fascists is a precise description, not the ‘bros’ they prefer, which sound nice and cosy)
The ASA (Australian Society of Authors) Newsletter had a link allowing authors to check if A.I. had stolen their work. I looked, through idle curiosity, and they’d taken the first and last things I published, an article on youth unemployment in a late 1980s UK journal and my last novel. I imagine the rationale: best selling and famous authors – take the lot. Not famous – just steal the first and last in case there’s something useful. Whichever way, they do it without consent or payment. This is wrong.
About its use in universities I liked the approach of an English lecturer at an American university, who addressed his students at the beginning of his course: ‘You could use A.I. to write your essays, I could use A.I. to mark them, and we could all go to the beach. – Or you can do what you’re here for – use your imagination and skill to express yourself.’
It saddens me to see what little value our society puts on people’s unique voice. Your particular expression of your experiences and feelings, thoughts and memories with honesty and nuance is a beautiful thing that we would all benefit from hearing. I am uninterested in the regurgitation from a machine. I value what is human. I’m interested in hearing your voice, your slant on your unique story, expressed with your sense of humour and tempered with your values. This is a rare and precious thing and I feel honoured that people write in my classes and then share some of their story with us. If you write about what moves you, your audience will be moved too.
Everyone has a story and it’s an honour to be able to help people tell their story more easily and with more impact. I don’t do it via Zoom so it’s the live performance only. There’s a supportive atmosphere of trust and encouragement and we always have a lot of fun.
Leave a Reply