S.B. Wright's Blog, page 5

Poetry Says - Episode 56 featuring Me

The wonderful and talented Alice Allan took time out of her busy schedule to interview me about my upcoming, debut poetry collection.

We talk about how I managed to get a manuscript accepted and how we approach submitting for journals, amongst many other things.

So get thee to the podcast page and have a listen

Japan on the horizon

The blog posts have been sporadic but to tell you the truth it's end of Semester and it's been wall to wall work around here. 

And it's occurred to me that in 14 days I will be flying over the Philippine Sea and almost arriving in Japan and if I wasn't so tired I might feel a little bit anxious about that fact.

Today, though, I completed an interview with Alice Allan at Poetry Says and we talked about the Manuscript process and our strategies for submitting to Journals. 

It should be out in the next 2-3 weeks, so keep your eyes open as I'll be restricted to my phone for posting any updates and probably won't be able to promote it until I get back.

This morning I spent a gloriously uninterrupted (and rare) 2-3 hours writing a draft of a poem and then spent another hour or so looking over the first half of my manuscript.

Speaking of the manuscript. It's the first time I have laid it out on the floor and originally I was skeptical about the usefulness of such a process ( I initially arranged it in a Pressbooks file) but I must say, as a result of the process, I did switch the location of 3 poems. So, not without its merits.

So until next time.

またね

Heads Up South Australian Poets and Poetry Lovers

I am a huge fan of South Australia's brilliant library system - a "One Card" system that means I can borrow and return at any library in the state.

I can have access to books that are shelved literally 1000 km away and get them delivered to my local library at no cost, requested from my PC or my phone .

It's brilliant and I understand that usage has gone through the roof.

The South Australian library system also has a digital library (integrated into the One Card system) that allows you to borrow and request they purchase ebooks.

It's this last feature that I liked (until my requests started not being fulfilled) - to be fair, when the service began operating I think I may have been one of the only people requesting poetry state wide.

A survey of my own recommendations shows that 65 books, most of them poetry have been selected since the service started a couple of years ago.

This reluctance to fulfil my desires didn't bother me until I started looking at what poetry was purchased in general over the last 6 months.

Purchases 

All Titles        1066
Poetry Titles   4*

As a comparison in the same period:

Erotic Literature Titles  7
Business Titles              20

*Only two of these are pure poetry collections.

I certainly have requested about 5-6 poetry collections in that period and none of them have been picked up.

My guess is that perhaps some poetry peeps aren't aware of either the ebook service or the ability to request or recommend the consortium purchase books.  To ensure that the collection builds in a diverse fashion I'd like to suggest more involvement from you.

So here's my clarion call to South Australian poets/poetry lovers.  Sign up to the One Card system at your closest library (it's free), this will give you a card number and pin which you can then sign into the Overdrive ebook site .

You can then search by title and or publisher and the page will give you the option to Borrow if its in the library or Recommend if it's not.  The selections are limited to established publishers but you can also choose from a wide range of international companies such as  Faber, Carcanet, Nine Arches, and Seren.

I figure the more people recommending titles the more likely it is the consortium will purchase them. Let me know if you have issues finding or recommending items.

Booktopia Poetry Bargains + Free Shipping

Sometimes I think I am being tracked and directly marketed to.

Last night I spent some time adding poetry bargains to my wishlist at Booktopia so they's be ready next time there was a free shipping coupon - and low and behold there was one this morning - check at the end of the post for the details.

So here's what I noticed was sitting in the bargains category- I had to sift through 800 books for these gems, you can thank me later.

Drowning in Wheat  collects the best of three decades of John Kinsella's astonishing poetry in one volume. 

Kinsella is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest living Australian poets, and arguably the most important 'eco-poet' of the age; however, this collection also reveals a writer of unexpected and remarkable versatility, and one fluent in an almost bewildering range of forms, registers and voices. 

Despite its great thematic range, Kinsella's overarching project emerges all the more clearly: Drowning in Wheat is a clarion call and a call to order, a plea to listen to the earth - and to understand our own place within it while we still can. It is also an ideal introduction to one of the essential poets of the age. 

$16.50 from Booktopia.



The Dead Queen of Bohemia is a journey through a life lived on the edge. With a poetic style influenced by Gertrude Stein and William Burroughs, this collection is woven with surrealistic imagery that is both unflinching and dislocating. 

Fagan's poetry is raw and tough yet beautiful and tender and with themes of loss and recovery, hope and defiance, represents a clarion call from a self-taught poet who started writing at the age of seven and so far has not stopped. 

The Dead Queen of Bohemia documents the progression of a voice and a life written over the last twenty years. It opens with Jenni's most recent work and includes her previous two collections, both now out of print. 

$12.95 from Booktopia.


Small Town Soundtrack continues Brendan Ryan's exploration of place and belonging that resonate in country towns. From the lives of farmers, abattoir workers, and dog walkers to the history of aboriginal dispossession; from a tour of the communities of the Mt Noorat Football League in Victoria's isolated Western District to moments of wonder on back country roads celebrated with gentle irony. 

Here is a view of the country that is both contemporary and wry. Lyrical and rich in narrative power, Small Town Soundtrack is a collection that dismantles the idealised rural pastoral with an empathetic and incisive voice. 

$12.95 from Booktopia.




Now of course you don't have to go to the bargain bin. You can order something new like Alison Croggon's latest - New and Selected Poems 1991-2017.

You don't even have to order poetry - but if you don't, somewhere a poetry muse shrivels up and dies a horrible wasting death.


Booktopia Free Shipping

The Free Shipping promotion code is: SPRINGTIME

  Place an order and spend a minimum of $17 before Midnight, Monday the 11th of September (AEST and NZST) with the promotion code SPRINGTIME, and you will receive free shipping on your order.

The promotion code can be used as many times as you, or your family and friends, want on any orders between now and then.

This offer is only available to Australian and New Zealand shipping addresses. If you are overseas and want to ship to an Australian or New Zealand address then you can use this promotional code too.

 It is not applicable for Australia Post Express Post, eBooks, gift certificates OR magazines. The discount code applies only to the shipping cost of standard delivery to Australia or New Zealand and not to the overall order.