Caroline Reid Writes

Meeting Nick Drake, published in *82Review, 21.1 Lately, I've been thinking about what it means to submit work to literary journals, and my process of doing that. At the beginning of 2024, I had grand plans for my submitting my poetry to journals across the world. I would write and submit every single month , update my submission spreadsheet regularly, not delay in resubmitting work when the inevitable rejections came through. etc. etc. How's that going for me? Well, I did submit work to 4 journals in January then wrote a submission for an arts grant in February, and haven't submitted anything since! I planned to get back into this month and was all set to submit to Westerly Mag but I didn't bcs I wrote the wrong date in my diary & missed the deadline LOL. Truth is, I suck at these kinds of plans, and I know I suck at them, so why do I persist in the planning? I think it has to do with intention and process. Firstly, intention. It's a little trick of the mind. ...

Oh yeah, a second print run! It’s been almost six months since the release of my first book of poetry and prose, SIARAD, and it’s an understatement to say that since then there has been a lot of uncertainty and sorrow in the world. For many authors, the resultant cancellation of book launches, tours and presentations has been a big disappointment. But disappointment is not the end of the story. Human creativity and invention has come to the fore, yet again, in troubled times. As a performance poet, my world has been opened up by online events in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Queensland. I know of many other poets who have participated in international poetry events too. Last night I competed in a Slam Final hosted by The Bunker Spoken Word that took place in Queensland . As well as live performers, there was a bunch of us performing via Zoom in W.A., N.S.W., Victoria, S.A. And in the Zoom room with us for the whole event was Holly McNish, drinking tea and eating toast on a Saturday mo...

I've heard many people say (definitely one person, maybe even two) that poetry soothes them in strange and troubled times. Maybe you are looking for some poetry right now? If you don't know where to start, this could be a good place:   In Your Hands, an e-book of contemporary Australian poetry you can download for free.   In Your Hands is published by Red Room Poetry . A brilliant, generous initiative In Your Hands was commissioned and published by Red Room Poetry & Oranges and Sardines. It contains 80 poems by Australian poets who have had a collection published recently, and whose opportunities for performance & promotion have been affected by COVID-19. There are some excellent poets represented in the collection including Jill Jones, Michael Farrell, Ellen van Neerven, Ali Whitelock, Mark Tredennick. I am very grateful and excited that 'Talking Bob Dylan Blues', one of my poems from my collection SIARAD has been included in In Your Hands. Ev...

Image by Shaun Tan Seizure is described as 'a launchpad for Australian writing.' They encourage writers to play around with form and style. They have print editions and online stories; they publish novellas and post juicy podcasts. Definitely worth checking out. I sent them one of my micro stories (they call them Flashers) and now it's up on their website (cool!). One of the editors described my story as hypnogogic, which sent me scurrying to the dictionary. In a nut-shell, hypnogogia refers to that transitional state of consciousness from wakefulness to sleep. Digging further I read that creative types have been know to use this half-sleep state to draw inspiration:   "Dali said that he had learned the “slumber with a key” trick from the Capuchin monks and that other artists he knew also used it. Albert Einstein “napped” this way as well, as have other inventors and thinkers who believed this nap inspired their ideas and creativity. These men were unknowing...

Independent publisher Spineless Wonders is part of this year's Melbourne Writer's Festival and doing something extraordinary with microfiction. Dedicated to diversity, Bronwyn Mehan is at the helm of Spineless Wonders. She is in tune to the many possibilities of 'reading' and getting literature visible in this new era of publishing and it shows in this latest offering. In print, audio and on the big screen in Federation Square,  Flashing the Square    is packed with micro-stories and prose poems.   Lucky me, my short piece 'One Blue Eye' is included and is the third time I've been published by Spineless Wonders. I keep sending my stuff to them because I love what they do and when I'm successful in being accepted (which is not always) I'm in the company of some wonderful Australian writers such as Ryan O'Neill, Shady Cosgrove, Angela Myer, Vivienne Plumb, Jude Bridge, Dael Allison, AS Patric, John Carey and many others. To celebrate the publicat...

sacrificial poet There's something wonderful about having a week off from work (all kinds of work) to stop and reflect and dream. This week has been such a week. But last week saw me being sacrificial poet at the final of the SA Poetry Slam. I was terrified! I can curate and introduce other readers at Spineless Wonders Presents, but when it comes to reading my own work in public, that's a whole other level of nervousness. But I was asked (thank you Indigo !) and said yes before I could say no. The thought of doing was much more nerve wracking than the doing. I was pleased as punch. And it led to me being invited to read at Word Box on Tuesday night (Oct 15th @ 7.30pm), which is a monthly night of readings at The Soul Box, Hindley St. I'm one of two special guests for the upcoming event. Again, I said yes before I thought too much about it. Seems to be my theme at the moment, and it's working. If you're in Adelaide, come along, say hi. There's an open mic s...

need a holiday So, what has been going on? The good folks at Verity La said "thank you for sending us cultural submissions . We enjoyed it and would like to publish it - congratulations." Nothing flowery in that feedback. Still, it's nice to be published. And it's on-line,  Click here  to read. I'm about to have a story published with an American on-line journal, apt .  I loved going through the story making changes assuming that most readers would be American. It opened  things up a little. In other news, my wonderfully talented friend Emma Beech is performing in Melbourne Fringe. Her work is unique, developed from having conversations with people. Emma is all about connecting and reflecting. She actually wants to know what people are thinking and feeling. I know, weird right? Homage to Uncertainty won the Melbourne Tour Ready Award at the Adelaide Fringe, which basically means "Emma, darling,  your show is sooo wonderfully g ood ! People...

Highway One I'm proud to say that my story 'Highway One' is now available for reading at the on-line publication. Verity La . I'm in good company. This excellent on-line journal has published many well-respected Australian writers including Paddy O'Reilly, Ryan O'Neill, Chris Womersley and Irma Gold. In other news, it's less than three weeks until I arrive in SavuSavu, Fiji to take part in a writers' retreat led by the marvellous Margo Lanagan. Spots still available but not many, so get in quick. .