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Pelican book review: “The Kid on the Karaoke Stage”, May 2011

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This review was published in the Books section of Pelican magazine’s latest edition (Ed 3, Vol 82). Find Pelican at all good street press outlets, or read it online.

The Kid on the Karaoke Stage & Other Stories

Edited by Georgia Richter

Fremantle Press

The Kid on the Karaoke Stage & Other Stories is an anthology of short stories from new and emerging Western Australian writers (including the 2009 ‘Best Young Novelist of the Year’ Alice Nelson, and several luminaries from Perth literary/arts journal dotdotdash).

This is one of the best books I’ve read – of any genre – and that’s coming from someone who normally avoids short story collections. I had the idea in my head that such books were the refuge of experimental literary tossers; what an articulate friend termed ‘art-fuckery’. But not anymore.

Each story in this collection has at its heart a life-changing moment, and they’re not always the obvious moments. Some are fiction, and some are creative non-fiction, but every single one resonates like an epiphany. They’re quirky, often hilarious, and always compelling; this reviewer was moved to tears quite a few times.

Although written in nearly thirty different voices, the collection is arranged so coherently that each story flows naturally into the next. One story ends with a Korean woman escaping her war, and the next story begins with a young Australian soldier returning home from Kabul. The landscapes and the voices change, but the sentiment follows through.

I’m not going to say ‘go out and buy this book because you’d be supporting Western Australian literature’ (although that’s a fair reason to do so). Go out and buy this book because it is exquisitely beautiful.

(Oh, and this may or may not influence you, but there’s not a trace of Tim Winton in this book.)

A+

Kaitlyn Plyley

NYWM interview: “Why I Write: David Vincent Smith”, May 2011

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Today I posted my interview with David Vincent Smith (the man known as DVS) on the NaNoWriMo blog – we discuss writer’s block, David Wenham (swoon), and being poor.

Have a read:


DVS

I’ve just sat down for a chat with Perth writer and filmmaker David Vincent Smith, also known as DVS (pronounced ‘Devious’ – see what he did there?). DVS is one of Perth’s best performance poets, as well as one of the founders of Seventh Continent Productions. He has been featured at poetry and spoken word events around Perth (including Cottonmouth just last night), and was invited to be a guest at the 2011 Bali Emerging Writers Festival. And he’s twenty-three years old. When he saunters in with his scruffy beard and wide grin, you might mistake him for a bad Gen Y stereotype – but this is one of the hardest working young writers in Perth. READ MORE…

In preparation for National Young Writers’ Month (June), I’m running two Young Writers’ Workshops in WA. They’re aimed at anyone aged 12-25 who’s interested in writing and wants to kick-start their writing projects.

The first workshop is in Bunbury (eeyeah BunVegas!). Deets:

WHEN: 5pm, Monday 16 May

WHERE: Bunbury City Library’s Activity Room

HOW MUCH: Nada. It’s free.

The second workshop is in Perth (woo Perth!).

WHEN: 5pm, Friday 27 May

WHERE: Katharine Susannah Prichard (KSP) Writers Centre, 11 Old York Road, Greenmount WA

Places in each workshop are limited, so if you want to come along, pop a comment down below and I’ll get back to you.

Huzzah!

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Poem: “The Self’s Prayer”

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As performed today at the Perth Poetry Club.


My Self, who art in my head,

hallowed be my name.

My wisdom come,

my will be done

in life as it is in my head.

I give me today my daily fun.

Self, forgive me my sins

as I forgive those who sin against me.

Lead me sometimes into temptation

and deliver me a cheese pizza.

For my person,

my power,

and the glory are mine,

now and forever.

Ah, me.

Had a lovely time (as always) as the Perth Poetry Club today. Chris Arnold and the Scrutineer of Splodge were very entertaining as MCs, and Jamie MacQueen made sure that nobody missed out on the wordy goodness by streaming everything live onto the web. He streams a lot of spoken word events on his livestream channel, Perth Live – brilliant idea, because you can’t always get to everything, but this way you don’t have to miss out.

Jamie – when he’s not Facebook/Myspace/Twitter/texting at a speed that would put sixteen-year-olds to shame – also takes photos, and (finally) showed me his photos from the 2010 WA Poetry Slam finals. Here’s one:

Kate Wilson, Kaitlyn Plyley, David Vincent Smith, and half of Belowsky's face.

DVS, me, Kate Wilson, and ol' Pintface Belowsky.

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Spent last night putting the finishing touches on a new hip hop poem I’ve written – I felt very inspired after interviewing DVS the other day. It’s always energising to talk to someone who lives, eats and breathes writing like that dude. (The interview will be going up on the NYWM blog next month.)

Although I will never be gangsta and I generally abhor thuggery, I also spent about an hour browsing on ThugFashion.com. I may have purchased a few items. I can only hope that I wasn’t funding some kind of gang violence. (I assume that the website’s thuggery is as real as their ‘fake gold’ grillz.)

I do love me a bit of rap, and I find that writing in a hip hop style helps me find a rhythm in my poetry that I never managed to find while ‘counting feet’ in English tutorials. It’s also super fun to sling on my shiny golden jacket.

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