Living Life Twice

  At the conclusion of each school year, I feel compelled to write, urging teachers to quarantine a little of their well deserved holidays break time for some writing.  As we rapidly approach the end of another challenging year, my message remains unerringly simple.  If you are a teacher who writes, it is easier  to present as a writer who teaches.  Will you be embracing the challenge of keeping your own writer’s notebooks in 2022? Well, that notebook will greatly benefit from some early feeding and the summer presents as a potential feast… I am aware of the level of exhaustion that exists in schools at year’s end. It is probably more so following the unerring demands of these Covid years.  The need to tie up a multitude of loose ends prior to school closing for the summer holidays remains.   The final days of school seem to take the longest time of all the many school weeks. School becomes the epicentre of fatigue for both students and staff. I am als...

UPDATED January 2021 The first entry in a new writer's notebook is most important… It sets a tone and can be viewed at a statement of intent. It might aim to say this notebook is my special place to gather special thoughts and ideas.  This opening entry might be in the form of a letter to one’s self about what you intend to do as a writer in the days and weeks ahead. John, a fifth grade writer wrote the following poem as his initial entry. It’s a Place Why am I keeping this notebook?                                                                                                                           Because it’s a place where I can keep track of my life...

All that ‘raw stuff’ I paste into my notebooks includes an array of what is often referred to as ephemera. The printed or written matter, not necessarily intended to be retained or preserved. tickets and tabs, brochures and other bits and pieces of paper and card.  By preserving such items in my notebook I am changing their intended destiny. Imagine the power one feels in such considered action? Hold on Ephemera, I've arrived to save you from recycling hell! When I secure these items in my notebook, it’s because I want them to last. I am consciously extending the life of these items.   Their preservation is important to me. I want them to act as memory markers. We writers are magpies; collectors of ephemera. The stuff we rescue may turn out to be important records of life and social customs, popular culture and national events and issues. Who knows?    And while it may also be viewed as treasure by the gatherer, it may seem insignificant to ano...

The first  notebook entry is most important… It might be a letter to one’s self about what you intend to do as a writer. John, a fifth grader wrote the following poem as his initial entry. It’s a Place Why am I keeping this notebook?                                                                                                                           Because it’s a place where I can keep track of my life                                                                        ...

On numerous occasions of late, I have found myself taking down a book from the shelves within my bookish world and making quite unexpected discoveries involving hidden treasure. This is treasure within treasure. Treasure additional to the author’s message. Secreted within the pages of some of my books, I have chanced upon ephemeral items that delight and intrigue me. Cards, tickets and assorted pieces of paper have suddenly revealed themselves hiding among the pages. On each occasion, strong connections to my personal family history have immediately arisen. It feels like these tiny treasures have been patiently awaiting discovery. ‘At last, you here,’ they sigh. Questions have arisen. Who placed them here, between the pages, and why? Some of the answers are quite obvious, others somewhat less so. While browsing through a rather chunky and ancient copy of ‘New Standard Cookery’(published 1933)    I chanced upon a plethora of cards, news cuttings, letters, tickets, add...

Yesterday I had the opportunity to share a collection of my writer’s notebooks with a group of young writers from Sunshine Heights Primary School in Melbourne's West. Two groups of Grade 3 and 4 writers and their teachers gathered in the library to undertake a close examination of the Writer's Notebook.  I have shared my notebooks many times across the years and given that I have been using  Writer's notebooks for 32 years, I have acquired quite an array. I impressed upon the students that my notebooks reflect my way of operating as a writer and that it may not necessarily be the way they choose to develop a notebook. It is one way,not THE way. Every writer must find a way unique to them when using a notebook. However, each notebook should reveal something about the writer you are, and something about your personality and interests. I challenged students and teachers alike to become text detectives and explorers. I was inviting them to delve into my collection...

  My writer’s notebook   is a place where I frequently clip and copy artifacts to stimulate my collection of writing ideas. It is a collection zone. I am constantly recording passages and extracts from my reading. These are words I wish I had written. These are words that make my heart sing. They are words that stretch across the emotional spectrum. Loving, tender, insightful, biting and honest words speak to me.   I add my responses to these words. They evoke reaction. My eyes, my ears, and my heart are engaged in this ongoing search. I copy down poetic lines. I paste images from newspapers, magazines and my own photographic experiences. These images inspire more ideas. I combine images and words. I eagerly embrace the rich possibilities that present when text and image connect. I clip powerful descriptive passages into my notebook. I want these words to soak into me. I am inspired to greater effort by the words of fellow writers. If I tap into t...