Helen Lowe's Blog, page 178
August 10, 2014
Radio New Zealand “Sunday Morning” Show Interview With Joanna Preston
Joanna Preston
Yesterday, Wallace Chapman of Radio New Zealand’s “Sunday Morning” show interviewed fellow poet and friend, Joanna Preston.
Joanna Preston won the inaugural Kathleen Grattan Award for Poetry, judged by Fleur Adcock, in 2008. Her winning — and first — collection, The Summer King, was then published by Otago University Press in 2009, and won the Mary Gilmore Award for the best first poetry collection by an Australian author in 2010.
The interview is an indepth look at Joanna and her...
August 7, 2014
A Geography Of Haarth: The Leas
The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick
The A Geography of Haarth post series is exploring the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth. Each entry is accompanied by a quote from the books in which the place appears, currently either The Heir Of Night or The Gathering Of The Lost, or both.
This week, we’re still deep in the terrain of “T.” 
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The Leas: a meadow area on Emer’s nothern march and the site of a former village
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“The skylark was singing...
August 6, 2014
Gorgeous Words: “Chocolat” by Joanne Harris
On March 3 of this year, I let you all into a secret [Cue: Drum roll!]: I love writing.
On March 5 I went further, and shared that I Simply Adore Reading!
Since then I’ve begun sharing a gallery of the books and writers that I love.
One of those books is Joanne Harris’s Chocolat.
One of my brothers, who lives in Australia, was very ill with meningitis and I had flown over to be there, as you do. He recovered, which was the fabulous news, but in between hospital visits there was a lot of downtime,...
August 5, 2014
Hsst, “They’re All Fictional”, Plus — Studio Ghibli News
Rebecca Fisher
I said on Monday that one of the things I’d done on my weekend (none of you ever did say what you’d done on yours… huh! ) was catch up with Rebecca Fisher, who *of course* brings us Big Worlds On Small Screens every other Wednesday.
So what better to do this Wednesday, than remind you (in case it’s slipped by you in her bio) that Rebecca has recently started her very own “They’re All Fictional” blog, where she mainly focuses on reviews and the life fan-atique…
But why take my wor...
August 4, 2014
The Tuesday Poem: Refeaturing Rhian Gallagher’s “Butterfly”
We entered a year of slow burn
I stole a line from her eyes
She wrote by hand return
The body awoke to the act of yearn
Moisture met the heat of July
We entered a year of slow burn
A door ajar, could yield or close firm
From colleague to intimate ally
She wrote by hand, I wrote in return
Disclosure inched by turn
A long striptease of send and reply
We entered a year of slow burn
Shining and wild were in
Our lines, barely disguised
She wrote by hand in return
All grew from a pact of adjourn
Overwinte...
August 3, 2014
Uh-oh…
“Uh-oh chungo” it’s Monday!
So what happened over your weekend? Or is coming up for you this week?
I caught up with the local SpecFicNZ Christchurch crew—for the first time in quite some time given the long slog on finishing WALL3—and there was plenty of fun conversation around many things spec fic, including what’s coming up at the WORD Christchurch Writers & Readers festival at the end of the month.
I also met up with Rebecca Fisher who does the Big Worlds On Small Screens column and spec fic...
July 31, 2014
A Geography Of Haarth: Terebanth
The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick
The A Geography of Haarth post series is exploring the full range of locales and places from The Wall of Night world of Haarth. Each entry is accompanied by a quote from the books in which the place appears, currently either The Heir Of Night or The Gathering Of The Lost, or both.
At present, we’re deep in the terrain of “T.”
—
Terebanth: a city of the River
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” “Tarathan of Ar and Jehane Mor, heralds of the Guild,” one of Nhairin’s stewards...
July 30, 2014
“The Gospel Of Loki” by Joanne Harris — Reviewed by Andrew Robins
Book Review:The Gospel Of Loki by Joanne Harris — Reviewed by Andrew Robins
Gollancz, 2014, Trade paperback , 302 pp
The Gospel Of Lokiis a highly accessible retelling of the Norse creation cycle myth.
Much of the source material is derived from the poetic Eddas that are themselves based upon the oral traditions of the ancient Nordic skalds.
If you are familiar with the Eddas, and the stories that derive from them, then most of your enjoyment of this book will be in the retelling of them “slant...
July 29, 2014
Big Worlds On Small Screens Features Miyazaki — & Rebecca Fisher Discusses “The Secret World Of Arrietty”
~ by Rebecca Fisher
Introduction:
It seems fitting that we began Miyazaki May (now Miyazaki July) with the dark and epic Princess Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and now finish with the light and poignant The Secret World of Arrietty. They make for good bookends in regards to their distinct tones, and yet are unified by their protagonists: two inquisitive, daring, friendly and compassionate heroines. And as an added coincidence, they’re both red-heads!
Granted, Hayao Miyazaki did not direct...
July 28, 2014
The Tuesday Poem: Refeaturing Rhian Gallagher’s “Windowpane”
The cat rasps her claws on cabbage tree bark,
a note of bird, full chorus done.
Grasses wear a soft embalm. Twilight
could be ripped with engine roar
or the slam of a door, could be
pre-earthquake crackling. At the window
seeing through then seeing the through
— waved rippled glass
bubbled, a larger lozenge
you press your eye to:
edges fur, earth and tree,
all the old familiar ground
made queer. You live a moment of between
opened in a distraught glass. The glazier
left a perfect tear.
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© Rhian Ga...
