To understand me

To understand me, perhaps a few tangibles may help.

If I were the sky, I would be a cloud drifting, reshaping, reinventing, but always enigmatic. If I were the earth, I would be a rock, bathing in the rush of a waterfall. If I were a tree, I would be a willow, that soft lacy wandering in the whims of beezes, dreaming quietly by water.

If I were a place, I would be Sheffield in Tasmania; coloured with murals whispering of other lifetimes; wrapped in the mystery of blue mountains flecked with snow.

If I were a shop, I would be Berkelouw's rambling magic of a homestead, alone in serene farmland, in Berrima NSW; graced with an intimate cafe, window boxes of vibrant geraniums and a wonderful log fire hosted by an old armchair. And of course, those books forgotten by the mainstream bookworld.

If I were a garden, I would be Mount Annan Botanic Garden south of Sydney NSW. A healing place, where forested boardwalks gently lead to sanctuaries of old songlines and a sundial on a hill waits for human shadows to cast time.

If I were a bread of life, I would wink impishly from the exotic worlds of a chocolate box.

If I were to be a season, I would be Autumn; that mystical limbo raining in color.

If I were to be an element, I would be Water, the paradox of a variable constant; sometimes plains of blue leading to silken road horizons; sometimes lapping charms by those coastal sands of decision; sometimes cleansing, healing hands; sometimes drowning rebirth.

But, I am none of those things, for now.

For now, I am just some eerie etchings on a white slate, trying to drift in a tiny bark through tai chi skies.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It is about learning to dance in the rain."

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Captured in Print
* A series of Literacy Books for Australian and New Zealand High School Students. The publisher is Blake Education. Some of my poetry has been included.
* Teachers' notes and activities for a wide range of educational videos on ancient and modern history, poetry and art. The publisher is Learning Essentials.

Captured in Time
* Passionate activist to enhance boys' education in high school years.
* Initiated high school electives such as History Mysteries and Myths and Legends. These courses challenge and stimulate the curiosity of the "I'm bored" teenager!
* Initiated workshops to stimulate a higher order of creative thinking in 6th graders, to prepare them for high school.
* Co-authored a play called "Riff Raff" (may be published!) Students will perform the play for Queensland school audiences in June 2008.
* Somewhat eccentric co-ordinator of the English faculty (so they tell me!)

My passion is ...

Writing and teaching teenagers! I don't know which is the most challenging AND the most rewarding. Writing is my life, my escape from life, my soul, my very breath. But teenagers inspire me to "change the world for a better place". Teenagers may twist you in knots one moment, but then, there is nothing more precious than a teenage rebel quietly saying "May I help you, Miss?" That's when I melt, and the agony of teaching seems all worthwhile.

I know too much about ...

Nothing! Just when I think I am getting together a huge mass of trivia, there is always something to surprise me! Did you know there is an underwater waterfall near the south east coast of Australia? This is my latest crazy finding!

My parents always told me ...

My dad always said "Amor vincit omnia".

My childhood ambition ...

To be a nurse...until I had my appendix removed

My favorite memory ...

Living in the Western Tiers in Tasmania

Why I write ...

To feed my spirit! My spirit is rich with the hype of writing! The body needs a 'real" job!

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

If there is a singer of my soul, it must be Loreena McKennitt. If there is a writer of my mind, it must be Margaret Atwood. Strangely, they are both Canadian. Maybe there is some message for me here.

My first job ...

Worked in the theatres in Sydney to support university days

My best moment ...

Meeting my love, my spirit, my husband PLUS being asked to do freelance work for an educational publisher PLUS writing a play for teenagers with another teacher PLUS...

My inspiration ...

Life in all its colours and tapestries, lights and shadows

Arts & Humanities > American Literature How the Harlem Renaissance inspired a national community of black writers

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The Harlem Renaissance, of the 1920's to 1930's in the U.S., celebrated the fact that Harlem existed. Harlem symbolized a concept: the exciting birth of a black cultural space, inspiring other black artists to join. Harlem was, in reality, a city within a city; spiritually, it was a black world within a white world. It was a cultural and psychological oasis. It was an inspiring space, particularly for writers. The Harlem Renaissance symbolized a concept too. It was like a collective consciousness called Harlem, producing a bank of writing and a community of black writers well beyond Harlem...

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