Caroline Reid Writes

I recently delivered a writing workshop at The Adelaide City Library aimed at generating new material and drafting a piece of writing using an object or piece of clothing as a prompt. I really love presenting this workshop, and am always amazed at the diversity of work produced. Afterwards, someone asked me how they might develop their work and get better at writing poetry. They were new to poetry, didn't plan on going to university to study but wanted to work at writing and editing poetry. I realised that I didn't have a clear answer, so went away, thought about it and emailed them my suggestions few days later: READ POETRY - there are many websites where you can read free online. Here are a few examples, but there are plenty more: Red Room Poetry (AUS), Cordite Poetry (AUS), Overland (AUS), Poetry Foundation (USA) & Quartet (US). Buying anthologies (or borrowing from the library) is also a good way of getting an overview. Try The Anthology of Australian Prose Poetry , Co...

"Reid's delivery is masterful. This is poetry of the best kind."  Alice Gorman, Adelaide Fringe Review I am so freaking pleased to announce that SIARAD, my one-woman spoken word theatre event, will enjoy a Comeback Season in September at Studio 166, Goodwood Theatre & Studios. With the brilliant assistance and support of theatre-maker Emma Beech, Goodwood Theatre & Studios, Spineless Wonders and Andy Hunt, I'll present 5 shows across 3 days: Friday, September 17th - Sunday, September 19th 2021. Tickets have just been made available through Try Booking. SIARAD pulses with images of stars and stray dogs, highways with no horizon and mothers with fading memories, a blend of poetry and storytelling with a consistent element of humour and surprise.  Here are some responses from those who came to SIARAD at Adelaide Fringe Festival: Such a brilliant show! I loved it!!  I forgot I was even in the theatre. Thank you. If you love words and writing, this is just the pe...

it's a strange time, this time of corona. language, for me, has broken down. often when i speak i'm struggling to find the words, or nouns wind up in the wrong place. and increased hours in front of a screen is making my brain feel overheated. it's exhausting. last week i watched a couple of short videos of my mum that i shot on my phone in February. she is swimming in the deep waters of dementia. i listened to the way she used language, the misplacement of identifiers and objects, the mis-interpretation of words like 'wave' which has more than one meaning. i noticed how she was seeing things that, arguably, weren't there. like little girls in the pattern of a blanket. i wrote down her sentences, weaving two conversations together. here's the poem: a message home from all that place of getting i don't find it dirty but you can get that red coming you can get that red coming that nearly redding redding red when it's been properly red type of th...

SIARAD - Bio One of the  most difficult things I had to write for SIARAD was the biography. The first draft was a dry linear account of where I'm from, what I've published etc. But it felt dull and I wanted something a little different, something that was a little more in line with the flavour of the work. Then serendipity stepped in: I discovered that Margaret Atwood and my mother (who I'm dedicating the book to) share the same names and that gave me a way in to a different kind of tone. So, I have succeeded in writing one of my literary heroes into the bio of my debut collection. I think that qualifies me as some kind of genius. Oh, and the font is Artegra Slab, in case you were wondering (of course you were ). Sexy, huh? C x

There are boxes in my hallway where there shouldn't be boxes. I sleep with my bedroom door open and the cardboard boxes are the first thing I see when I wake up. Sometimes, before I am fully awake, I mistake them for my dog or a statue. But no, they are definitely boxes and inside them are books. My books. All with the same title, SIARAD; published by ES-Press, an imprint of Spineless Wonders . This part of the process of book writing and publishing feels strange. It's the part where ownership of what's inside the books, the poems and stories, no longer feel like they belong to me. Perhaps they never did. It's a little strange and also a little nice. It helps with the slight worry over what people will think of the book. I'm pretty sure this worry is normal and I'm trying to pay it no mind. A debut collection of prose and poetry is not exactly The Da Vinci Code so there aren't hundreds of boxes in my hallway. There are three boxes, actually. It's ...

I thought about getting a writing mentor for a long time. Then I came across two things (well, three) that decided it for me. The first was the Australian Writers Mentoring Program founded by Kathryn Heyman to offer high-level mentoring to new and emerging writers. I read everything on the website and researched the mentors, including Toni Jordan. Then I read an essay over at Writers Digest, How I Stopped Sabotaging My Writing Goals: Confessions of a Late Bloomer by Andrea Jarrell. In that essay she writes: "working with a more experienced writer has been an essential part of my path." For me, that was the clincher. And I knew after reading three of Toni's novels that she seemed a good fit. I just had to find the money. Got a book in you? A mentor can help get it out. I talked to my partner. He agreed that it was worthwhile making the investment in me and my writing. It would mean giving up that annual holiday to the Bahamas (haha .. we don't have an annual hol...

Goal setting. I love it and hate it. I'm a list girl, so I love making long lists of things I intend to do. But I hate it because I know even as I write my list that I'm probably not going to achieve half of what I set out to achieve. I've resisted setting goals the usual way this year. Inspired by author and thinker Mark Manson, I've taken time to ponder how successful my approach to goal setting across different areas of my life truly is. For the most part? Pretty unsuccessful. I usually have too many goals which means I end up with a 50% success rate (or less) which leaves me feeling pretty shit.  This month I read Manson's blogpost Your Goals are Overrated where he discusses why it's more effective for us to focus on changing our habits rather than achieving goals. What he says makes a lot of sense to me, so I'm going to try it out in different areas of my life (exercising and meditation for example) as well as in my writing life. The approach foc...

photo: Noa Gfrerer  It's slam poetry season in Adelaide and Australia. The Australian Poetry Slam competition is in full swing across the country, and I'm super-stoked to be one of two poets representing South Australia in the upcoming national final at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday October 21st. There's a whole lot of open mic events that are going on around town too, so I've been getting along to those. But all this poetry performance, especially the competition, can feel quite ego-driven, which gets uncomfortable after a while. For me, then, it's important to ground myself and there's no better way to do that than to return to my day job with Tutti Arts , where I work part-time as an arts support worker, assisting artists with disabilities to make and create art; visual art, poetry and performance. Ego has to take a back seat in this role, patience is a virtue and humour paramount. But that old question can resurface: Am I a 'real' writer ...

I've been writing poetry for years. Most of it isn't very good. I guess you could say I had a talent that I didn't spend much time developing. It's taken me years to understand, like really understand, that if you want to get better at writing, like really better, then you need to work at it, like really ... you get the picture. For the last couple of years I have been working at poetry; reading, writing and performing. This year I wrote a poem, To Touch and Taste a Comet . I was trying to do something in that poem that I hadn't done before and then it dawned on me ..  perhaps, at last, I was getting a little bit better.   Not long after I wrote that poem a fellow poet and friend told me about Cordite Poetry's call out for submissions to their issue, DIFFICULT. I gotta say that up until then I hadn't ever considered submitting to Cordite because frankly I knew my stuff wasn't good enough. But after a couple of years of working on technique and voice ...

My Introduction to Short Story Writing (short) course is on again. Oh yay ! I hear you shout. Here then, shouters, are the details: The course is focussed on the fundamentals of writing such as character, setting, dialogue, point of view and metaphor. In each session you will read, discuss and write (and probably laugh, or at least groan, at my bad jokes). You will learn to reflect and analyse your own writing methods and style. Learning how to effectively critique the work of others without breaking hearts or egos is also an important element of the course. You will complete extended writing exercises at home between fortnightly sessions.  Or not. Like most courses, you'll get out of it as much as you're willing to put in. At the end of it all you will have completed a short story (or flash fiction) of about 1000 words long. You will also have (hopefully) gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of the elements of writing fiction. Reading will never be the sam...

--> Last time I blogged I was about to compete in a Slam Poetry final. That was a whole lot of nerve-wracking fun and while I didn’t win (the winner was the wonderful Alison Bennett ), it sparked a fire in me. So I performed again at the Goolwa Slam on the Fleurieu Peninsula and, again, made it to the finals. Then, a few months later, I was a finalist in the Summer Slam here in Adelaide. I’ve been performing my poems at other poetry reading nights too. They’re a great platform to try out different things and are helping me get braver in my performances. Lo and behold, the heats of the 2017 state slam are just around the corner, so I look forward to getting in among it all again. Then there's the matter of employment. I needed to work. But first I needed to study. That took 5 months. Now I’ve got my Certificate 3 in Individual Support (Disability and Ageing) and I’m happy to say that it has led to me teaching poetry at Tutti Arts. Tutti describe themselves a...

Slam Heat #3   photo by Luxi Photography & Filmography My posts are becoming increasingly few and far between because I've been focussed on other writing projects and they are taking up most of my time. This is also partly a physical need - when I spend all day at the desk writing, I truly need to give my back and shoulders a break. But here's a quick update: Since July I've been writer in residence at the South Australian Writers Centre, working on my first novel. As part of that residency I've been lucky enough to sit in on workshops by Sam Cooney ( The Lifted Brow ) Rohan Wilson, recent Miles Franklin winner Alec Patric and the prolific and gregarious Kirsty Murray. These workshops have directly fed into the work that I'm doing. They have made me look at where the gaps are in my own writing (where I've tried to get away with taking shortcuts) and as a result I've made big decisions such as changing the pov in which the story is told and cutt...

I've been away from Australia and neglecting this blog but I'm back in the saddle this month, writing from the comfort of the South Australian Writers Centre in the city of Adelaide, where I'm writer in residence until September. Thanks to some funding from Arts South Australia , I'll be more comfortable bcs I'll be less anxious about money for the duration of the residency. I'm also continuing to teach at Mockingbird Lounge , the casual monthly class (first Tuesday of the month from 7-9pm) and, beginning in September, I'm offering the short course in short story writing again, an excellent intensive for anyone who wants a crash course in how to write a story. The small group and supportive environment is well-suited for beginners or those dabbling in writing and want to gain some confidence or simply need a deadline so they can finish at least one story ! Here are the details: Specialising in Story: Short Story writing course Over six sessions writers ...

I'm thrilled to be invited back to Mockingbird Lounge to teach the Creative Writing classes. There are two classes: 1. Casual Writing Group (first Tuesday of each month, 7-9pm) Casual and low pressure, this group is all about generating new work. I'll guide you through two hours of writing and you'll walk away with a whole lot of new stuff plus exercises to practice at home by yourself (or with a writing buddy). Surprise yourself at how much you can get done in 120 minutes. 2. Short Story Writing Course (Closed Group) If you're ready for a more immersive writing experience, then this one is for you. Held over 3 months (6 fortnightly sessions), you'll be guided through the fundamentals of storytelling such as characterisation, point of view, dialogue and metaphor. By the time you finish the course you'll have completed a polished piece of fiction, gained a deeper understanding of the writing process and learnt how to critique the work of others.  T...

Do you ever get to the end of a year and find you've run out of words? I'm feeling a bit that way today. It's been a day of doing, not thinking or writing. I was at the beach before 8am, the sky gloriously high and blue, the dog racing through cool salty water. At home I made French toast thick with egg, slathered it with honey, washed it down with strong Lavazza coffee. I've washed sheets and jumpers. I've cleaned the floors. Set my house in order. These are some of the things I love to do. Later tonight, my love and I will have a drink at the Earl of Leicester before heading to Namaste, our third new year's eve visit to this Nepalese restaurant in a leafy inner suburub of Adelaide. The food is exquisite, the service impeccable. We'll be home before 9pm so we can hang with the dog out the back under newly installed fairy lights. We'll unscrew an old coffee jar which I've decorated with coloured paper, and is  crammed with scraps of notepaper. On...

Specialising in Story: The teacher 'Caroline's guidance allowed me to discover depth and structure that I didn’t even realise was threaded throughout my work. She reads subtext, recognises quality and applies structured technique in order to allow the true meaning of the work to shine through.'  Here's the thing: On September 9th something new is happening in the Adelaide writing scene. For the first time, a small group of  writers are going to meet in one of the cosy rooms at the Mockingbird Lounge in South Glenelg. They're going to explore and play while upgrading their writing skills; connect with like-minded people while deepening their story-writing ability; and they're going to be encouraged by a teacher who invests in people. They're also going to explore the fundamentals of storytelling such as characterisation, point of view, dialogue and setting; how to harness Stanislavski's seven questions when a story doesn't seem to b...

Snowman, chalk on concrete I've recently been spending my Sundays with some wonderful folk in a park in Berri, South Australia. You can read details about the Manifold Project here and here,   but in a nutshell it's spearheaded by the innovative and enthusiastic Alysha, Hermann, and is an invitation for local residents to tell their stories in collaboration with professional artists (I'm one of those). Alysha sees this project as long term (as in, years) so we're only just scratching the surface. What I want to do in this blog is demonstrate how I harness that power of observation I've talked in previous blogs to create new work as part of a project. In this case, the new work is poetry. But first, a little context ... Berri is in South Australia's Riverland, and like everything else in the Riverland, Rotary Park on Manifold Crescent has been affected by the recent, severe drought. Water restrictions meant the council stopped watering the park. Tree...