'Bilarni' House Concert with Jan Wositzky 2014

We opened up our house for a house concert on the weekend. Storytelling friend Jan Wositzky has a new show and a small invited audience came along for a preview. I can think of no better use for our capacious sunroom!

Jan has been researching and writing about Australian author, bushman and raconteur Bill Harney for twenty years. The result is a one-man storytelling show. For 70 minutes, Jan weaves personal anecdote, song and recitations of transcribed oral texts into a tale that is moving, funny, absurd, raw and at times tragic. 

Bill Harney ‘Bilarni’ (1895 – 1962) was born of

English parents and grew up in Queensland. At 12 he took off droving and what followed was a rich and richly recorded life. Largely self-educated, he was poetically articulate and throughout the 40s 50s, in Australia, his voice was heard and his stories familiar on radio, and his books devoured. Bill Harney was famous in his day and remains a legend in Queensland and the Northern Territory where his relationships with Aboriginal people ran deep.

In ‘Bilarni’ Jan examines the man and the myth; the story as he tells it is neither sentimental nor uncritical. He brings great depth to the telling with

rich layers of information, multiple Aboriginal languages, Australian dialects, and ‘Englishes’ superb evocations of characters that could only be encountered in the north of this continent. Jan’s musicality is evident throughout, particularly so when it comes to the mastery of Harney’ rhythmical speech patterns. Lovers of language and literature will be seduced by Harney’s depth of feeling and perceptions, expressed so eloquently. This a storytelling at its best!

‘Bilarni’ will be enjoyed by anyone who loves a good yarn and a wild ride.

Sign up for Jan's e news HERE

Facebook HERE

Catch the show at the National Folk Festival Saturday 19 April HERE

Storytelling in Bacchus Marsh

What a way to end the week!

It’s raining in Melbourne – at last. It’s been dry, dry, dry for months.

Today I headed out of the city to a small town called Bacchus Marsh, about an hour away on the M8. Its school holidays and I was expecting to tell stories to a group of primary age children. My storyteller’s instincts kicked in and I packed my story box, the full kit and caboodle. When booked by a library, expect the unexpected. My listeners were aged between 6months and 5 years of age. I dumped the shark jaws in the car (great story to go with by the way), threw away my plans and rejigged the brain.

I had a wonderful time with the children, their families and carers. I can recommend Montomery Kelly’s book Out of the Storyteller’s Hat. This book is a treasure trove of ideas for stories and songs for the very young,

 pic: I had to pull over an take a photo of the Avenue of Honour. This is the entrance to Bacchus Marsh - majestic and moving.

The Australia Wild Project

On Sunday I took a train ride up to 'the hills', to Belgrave. I was invited by the Australia Wild Project to talk about the story behind the story of Lyrebird! A true story. This project 'seeks to increase awareness of our unique native flora and fauna through art and through seminars on environmental topics in conjunction with community environmental groups'. As always, when I talk about the research behind the book, I come away having learned more and with a deeper respect for the folk who work to protect the habitat of wild animals.


The seminars and workshops are taking place in Sherbrooke Art Society Inc's beautiful gallery. It was explained to me that this gallery was a restaurant back in the 1920s and 30s. I have no doubt, Edith Wilkinson might have enjoyed a meal at the 'Red Mill'. 

Its well worth taking a moment to check out the coming events listed on the Australia Wild Project website. There are events for children, the Lyrebird Survey Group and Field naturalists Club of Victoria will be making presentations and so much more.

And the cream on the cake are the glorious works on display in the gallery.

 

100 stories at The State Library of Victoria's Children Book Festival 2014

The State Library of Victoria's Children Book Festival once again drew crowds from around Victoria. The State Library was founded in 1854 – a beautiful building, famous for it domed reading room.

I work as a volunteer with 100 Story Building, a centre for young writers based in Melbourne’s inner-west and our contribution was an all-day activity set up in the Queen’s Hall. 

When one child became overwhelmed by all the activities, I said, ‘You don’t have toparticipate, you can just lie on your back and enjoy the ceiling. Its so old and beautiful.’ And she did!

We evoked the 100 Story Building with some very long sheets of paper marked out with all 100 stories. Then we invited our curious guests to explore the 'lost property' suit cases, find an object, work out on what floor it had been found, then draw and write a story to explain the whatever!!! Then the story was placed on the building. 

Does that make sense? Course it does! Well ... maybe you had to be there. It was chaos but brilliant. We made a 100 Story Building!!!! 

100 Story Building

World Storytelling Day: Monsters and Dragons

I love the way the internet enables folk to build communities across countries and languages. My storytelling friends and I celebrated World Story Telling Day along with Singapore, Alaska, Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico, India, Norway, Sweden, England ... its a long list!

It was a small beginning, something I hope will grow. In my universe, World Storytelling Day will find a place in forests, libraries, homes, schools ... (I'm listing again!) all around Australia. Such a wonderful way to bring people with diverse languages and cultures together.

A big thanks to The Boyd Community Hub at Southbank, part of the City Library cluster and especially Natalie who made us so welcome.

It was an honour and a pleasure to celebrate alongside other Vic Storytellers, Niki na Meadhra, Anne E Stewart, Hakan Mapolar, Kate Lawrence and Teena Hartnett.

World Storytelling Day HERE

FRAMED at 100 Story Building 2014

My day began with a short ride to Footscray to the 100 Story Building where I volunteer when I can.

As word spreads about the fun to be had at 100 Story, more schools are booking workshops. There are many to choose from: DIY Universe, Comic BOOM, 100 Stories Down but today the students were ready to be FRAMED!

 

FRAMED is a collaborative workshop involving, drawing, talking and embodying story. The participants find themselves using the language of film, comics, third person narrative and direct speech. With two ‘actor volunteers’, the young writers, explore character and relationships as well as physically directing the action while putting speech into in the mouths of their living protagonists.

The primary school students this morning chewed through the activities. 

Its difficult to explain so I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

Lachlan has drawn the setting (under direction). Its a tall building and we can see a light on in one of the windows.

Zoom in for a close up of someone reading a book. Its 'Lola' and she doesn't want to be disturbed.

What the pictures don't show is the adventurous 'Kylie' (because she was taking the photos). 'Kylie' has found a rare and valuable wombat skull. Very mysterious! The more thoughtful 'Lola' has a book about secret paths and strange places. Could this book solve the mystery of the skull?

100 Story Building brings together young writers and members of Melbourne’s creative community, and encourage them to share in their skills and understandings through creative writing excursions, publishing programs and after-school activities.

Learn more about 100 Story Building HERE

Stephen Whiteside: The Billy That Died With Its Boots On

Stephen Whiteside was thrilled to be able to bring an advance copy of his soon-to-be-released collection of poetry for children to the Port Fairy Folk Music Festival. Titled "'The Billy That Died With Its Boots On' and Other Australian Verse", it is being released by Walker Books Australia in May.
The book is targeted to primary school children in grades 5 and 6, but Stephen says he likes to see it also as a book for parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, godparents, etc. Stephen writes in the tradition of Banjo Paterson and C. J. Dennis, and believes the book will be great for adults who are keen to introduce children to Australia's rich heritage of rhyming verse.
Many of the poems in the book relate to the Australian outdoors - the mountains, the snow, the beach, the ocean, native birds and animals, etc. However, there are also poems about dinosaurs, sport, the weather, and suburban living. There is even a poem about Martians!
Stephen has been writing rhyming verse for over thirty years. He writes for both adults and children. Many of his poems have been published in magazines and anthologies, both in Australia and overseas, or won awards. He received a Golden Gumleaf for "Children's Poem of the Year" at the Australian Bush Laureate Awards in 2013 for his poem "The Sash", which features in the book.

Stephen works as a medical practitioner (GP) in the suburbs of Melbourne and you can read about him HERE