Out of the Asylum Writers’ Group Inc invited Andrew to judge their 2010 Spilt Ink Short Story Competition. Andrew delivered his judgements at an awards lunch at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Firday 24 September. His Judge’s Report is reproduced below:

I would like to thank Josephine Clarke for inviting me on behalf of OOTA to judge the 2010 Spilt Ink Short Story Competition. I am honoured by the confidence and trust implicit in such an invitation.

I am pleased to report that the great majority of the stories entered in the competition were competently written. Most were tightly focused and expounded a single occurrence or followed a central line of events. Most had believable characters, interesting plots, and satisfying climaxes. Most had consistent style, tone and point-of-view. I commend the entrants for the quality of their stories.

The overall competence of the entries made judging the competition difficult. A judge’s work is always made easier when a number of the entries are poor. These entries can be spotted easily and quickly ruled out of the running. There is nothing subjective about this. Poor stories identify themselves because they fail to meet objective literary standards relating to characterisation, plot development, point-of-view, balance, restraint, consistency, originality and plausibility.

CLICK HERE TO READ ANDREW’S FULL REPORT

The Peter Cowan Writers Centre invited Andrew to judge the 2010 Patron’s Prize Literary Competition. Andrew delivered his Judge’s Report at a prize giving ceremony on Sunday afternoon, 12 September. The following is the text of his report:

I would like to thank the Peter Cowan Writers Centre for inviting me to judge the 2010 Patron’s Prize Literary Competition. I am honoured by your trust.

Seventy-eight poems were entered in the competition and they varied greatly in subject, theme, style and tone. They also varied considerably in literary quality. However, almost all the entries were intelligible and accessible, which is a commendable quality in poetry, or any other literary work. There was little evidence of poets pretending to be profound by being deliberately obscure.

Before announcing the prize winning and commended entries, I would like to make some comments on the entries generally.

I could not help but notice a recurrence of certain problems in many of the poems, and it may be useful to mention these. …

CLICK HERE TO READ ANDREW’S FULL REPORT

Andrew’s poem “In from the Garden” has been published in Dear Dad: Poems by Australians about Fathers, an antholgy published jointly by the Australian Poetry Centre, Relationships Australia and designers/publishers Gracia and Louise.

Celebrating dads, this attractive alternative to a Fathers’ Day card, includes the best poems about dads from poets across the country, as well as contributions from Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, esteemed poet, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, as well as TV and radio personalities Alan Brough and John Clarke.

Order a copy of Dear Dad for $15 (plus $3 postage) by emailing admin@australianpoetrycentre.org.au

Andrew has been invited to read his poetry at The Gods cafe at the Australian National University in Canberra on Tuesday, 10th August. The poetry reading will start at 8.00 pm.

Dinner: Light meals are available from 6pm. Please book at The Gods on 6248 5538. Patrons intending to eat are asked to arrive by 6.30 to ensure that the readings can begin at 8pm.

Seating is limited to 80 people. To be sure of hearing a particular poet it is advisable to eat at the venue beforehand but ‘listening only’ ‘non-eating’ seats can also be booked.

Organiser Geoff Page – book directly by phoning the Gods Café/Bar Tel.6248 5538 — or email Geoff if you want to join one of his tables at gpage40@bigpond.net.au

Quadrant magazine published two of Andrew’s poems – “Every Cell” and “Timphony” – in its July-August issue. “Every Cell” is reproduced below:

Every Cell

 

While women try to leap it,

the gorge between the genders,

men mostly stand and gape.

O, that gorgeous otherness,

wider than ideology’s lies!

 

Breast, larynx and brain,

hip, heart and thigh—every cell

in every part of every woman

is female, feminine, familiar-foreign—

every cell is chromosomed double-X.

 

O! No wonder men stagger

with attraction and astonishment,

all their cells and senses

calling, yearning, crying,

The second X is the reason Y!

 

© Andrew Lansdown

“Every Cell” can be viewed on the Quadrant website at http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2010/7-8/every-cell

Andrew’s poem “Timphony” is also posted on the Quadrant website at http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2010/7-8/timphony

The Weekend Australian has published Andrew’s poem, “Kimberley Cattle”. The haiku sequence appeared in the newspaper’s Review magazine on 26-27 June 2010:

Kimberley Cattle

 

i

Low beam, high speed—

the cattle on the highway

too black, too close.

 

ii

They keep on staring,

the cattle on the road, as

we keep on skidding.

 

iii

Taking the smells

of burning rubber with us

thanks to the bulls.

 

          © Andrew Lansdown

The Canberra Times has published Andrew’s poem “Music Haiku”. The haiku sequence appeared in the newspaper on 22 May 2010:

Music Haiku

 

i

The jazz drummer—

one wire bent up on the brush

as he scuffs the beat.

 

ii

The jazz soloist—

scatting first with the guitar,

then the saxophone.

 

 

iii

Irish fiddler—

even seated he can’t help

jigging his jig!

 

iv

Celtic vocalist—

between the phrases, that rasp

of her indrawn breath.

 

 

v

Blues guitarist—

the capo slightly crooked

between the frets.

 

vi

The blues singer—

how did he know ‘right now is

the needed time’?

 

          © Andrew Lansdown

Andrew’s poem “Boat” is one of 22 poems recorded on a newly released CD titled “22″. ”Boat”, from Andrew’s book Fontanelle, is read by Andrew himself.

Produced by writingWA in collaboration with the Western Australian Department of Education and with investment from the Western Australian Department of Culture and the Arts, “22” is a poetry resource that has been developed for use in secondary schools in Western Australia.

The resource comprises an audio CD featuring 20 Western Australian poets reading selected works.

The CD is supported with an accompanying text publication, in addition to individual lesson plans relating to each of the 22 poems featured on the CD.  The lesson plans have been developed specifically to assist teachers to make maximum use of the resource in the classroom.

The Lesson Plans can be downloaded as a pdf from the writingWA website here.

The May 2010 issue of Quadrant magazine contains a review by Hal Colebatch of Andrew’s latest poetry collection, Birds in Mind: Australian Nature Poems. The review, titled “Resonance in the Natural World”, begins:

Andrew Lansdown is one of a very small handful of West Australians who, for more than 30 years, has committed himself steadfastly to writing, with poetry a major part of his output. His many books include the popular series of children’s adventures beginning with With My Knife, and collections of essays. He has recently launched a website and has an impressive collection of literary prizes. He has, from his first work, established a distinctive and individual voice.

Birds in Mind, a very substantial collection of 224 pages, consists mainly of “nature” poems, of birds, fish, flowers and animals, often with a Japanese cast to them. “Lansdown spices the world with pinches of finches,” according to Les Murray. However many of these have deeper resonances behind them, such as the grim “Poised on a Premonition” and the equally grim “Blowfish” …

The full review can be found on this website here. It can be read on the Quadrant website here.

The Australian Poetry Centre has invited Andrew to be a guest of the Salt on the Tongue Poetry Festival in Goolwa, South Australia. Andrew will give two readings at the Festival, which will run over the ANZAC weekend, from 23-26 April.

Festival details can be viewed on the APC website at http://www.australianpoetrycentre.org.au/?page_id=846

The full program can be viewed/downloaded at http://www.australianpoetrycentre.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/full-goolwa-program.pdf

Quadrant magazine has published four of Andrew’s poems in its April 2010 issue. One of the four is a choka titled “Creators” and is reproduced here:

Creators

 

Having created

the bamboo, God created

in His likeness

human beings, and seeing

bamboos growing

they straightaway imagined

xylophones, wind-chimes and flutes!

© Andrew Lansdown

The other three poems an be viewed on Quadrant Online at: http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2010/4

Studio magazine has published Andrew’s tanka, “Azure”, in its latest issue (No. 116, 2010):

Azure

 

Surely a piece is

missing from the azure robe

of the Madonna

in some ancient mosaic

because of that fairy wren!

 

            © Andrew Lansdown

Andrew has been invited to read poetry at Voicebox on Thursday, 4 February 2010.

Voicebox is a monthly poetry reading run by Josephine Clarke at the Tropicana Cafe in High Street (near the Victoria Hall), Fremantle. The readings start at 7.30 pm.

Andrew will read from his new collection of poetry, Birds in Mind. Come and hear him!