Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Month: December 2019

Art Is Everywhere

Whenever I travel I like to visit art galleries. It's so inspiring and uplifting to be surrounded by beautiful works of art. Even though I'm a poet who paints pictures with words, I'm a visual person who draws strength and inspiration from seeing beautiful objects such as rocks, trees, paintings and sculptures. I like to keep a foot in both worlds – man made and natural.

When I was in Deloraine in November, I visited an incredible gallery on the main street. It's in a huge old warehouse and is divided into mini studios / galleries each one featuring a different artist. There was a range of art and craft including: weaving, jewellery, paintings, sculpture, beads, photography and more. I fell in love with these beautiful oil paintings by self-taught artist, Larry Berg.

You can even see the artists at work on their projects. For a process fiend like me, this was the coolest thing. I like to peek behind the scenes and get an insider's look into the process of creating things and the way other people work.

When my daughters were young, I did a lot of hand sewing. I used blanket stitch to make lots of little felt toys for them to play with. I still like hand sewing and think of it as a foundational craft. It can be used in so many different ways for so many different projects. I use it to make leather boots and to mend my clothes. More recently I have been hand sewing little bags out of silk I have eco-dyed.

These gorgeous pieces were created by members of the Stitching and Beyond Inc group from the Hobart area. They are textile artists who explore innovative approaches to the fibre arts. And their work, as you can see, is stunning.

There were some amazing fabric pieces by Leanne Ames using rust in interesting ways. Leanne uses knotting, natural and eco-dyeing processes to create her beautiful pieces. I still have a fondness for eco-dyeing even though my mania for it seems to have abated somewhat.

I'm feeling very inspired by all the beautiful makers I met through their incredible works. Thank you!

December 30, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Fifty-One

Week 51 words from @melizarani: lemon, owl, torrent, cower and sting.

the sting of her words

is a lash of raw hide

and the acid of her bile

a torrent of vitriol

flooding my lungs

I cower from their truth

as the lemon seeps

into the cuts

bitter on my tongue

no wing of owl's wisdom

no beat of tree's heart

no kiss of wind's breath

no feathers. no leaves

no air

no, not here

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the fifty-first week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

This one was easy until I got to the word owl. All the others fit in neatly with what I was trying to say but squeezing in a bird was a bit tricky. I can't believe there's only one week left of the Challenge.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

December 27, 2019
Making Shortbread

Every year my daughters make Christmas presents to give to friends and family members. This year we were a bit stuck with what to make. After all, there's only so many tea towels, aprons and bags someone can use. Ditto with bookmarks and art work. We were stumped until Miss 13 came up with the idea of baking something for the grandparents. Genius! Who needs more stuff when you can have scrumptious, homemade baked goodies?

Once we tasted our friend's amazing shortbread, we knew that was what we wanted to make. As promised, the recipe was super simple with lots of fun of rolling out dough and cutting shapes. The house smelt amazing and although I can't eat the shortbread I can admire it from afar.

I hope you've had a wonderful festive season, whatever you celebrate.

December 26, 2019
Christmas Magic

I'm not sure how much longer I can keep doing our annual Christmas windows celebration. Every year since my first daughter was born, I've taken my girls into the city to see the holiday windows created by a major Australian department store. The store spends about nine months creating a wonderland for children and adults alike. It's a magical and beautiful way to tell a story and who doesn't love a good story?

I still love seeing the windows and revelling in the magic, however, Miss 13 isn't so sure anymore. She's getting too old for childish things. Luckily I convinced her to come along this year and we got to see the windows. I'm so glad because this year's theme was based on the beautiful gumnut babies characters created by Australian author and artist May Gibbs. When May Gibbs died in 1969 she left her estate to UNICEF and the copyright in her works to charity.

It's lovely to see an Australian summer theme reflecting our bush landscape. Although I was glad they decided not to include the Banksia men. Lots of kids over the years have had nightmares about them!

We make a day of it. Pack our lunches and take the train to the city. Visit Haighs to buy chocolate and celebrate the end of another year of learning. Go to our favourite bookshop and check out the latest titles. I always say I won't buy them a book and I always do. How can you resist the promise of a new story?

December 23, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Fifty

Week 50 words from @jus.warner: necessary, hands, naive, true and daydream.

she hands me a daydream

a world in which we can be kind

where what is true

and what is necessary

don't have to be

on opposite sides

is it naive of me

to believe in the dream?

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the fiftieth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

When I receive the words for the week on Instagram, I write them down at the top of a piece of paper along with the number of the week and the sender's name. Underneath is where I begin to scratch out what will become the poem for the week. After a while it gets to the stage where the paper is all messy with crossed out bits, arrows all over the place and scribbles in the margins. At this stage, I transfer the whole mess to the computer so I can see it all clearly again. Rarely, I will write the whole poem on my phone.

As I was writing down the words for this week I was struck by their order. I'm not sure what goes through the sender's mind or if they already have an association that affects the order. But the order in which they come definitely affects the associations that begin to occur in my mind as I write the words down on paper. Similar words pair together and the poem starts to take shape.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub. If you're not on Instagram, post your finished poem in the comments below so we can all read your masterpiece.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

December 20, 2019
Craft Morning

I was in craft heaven on Saturday. Surrounded by felt, fabric, wool, paper, paint, wood and tools. In a hall with lots of families including my own. And we all were there to craft beautiful things for our homes and our loved ones out of natural materials. I ask you, does it get any better than that? The morning was the perfect antidote to the Christmas consumerism that was beginning to infect my soul.

The craft morning was run by Carol, Ed and Nikki and their angel helpers. It began with a circle, a song and story. You could then hop from craft station to craft station as the mood took you, sampling the many different crafts available. The crafts included origami, paper marbling, wood work outdoors with hand tools and fallen branches; the sewing table with zippers, needles, threads and pieces of hand dyed wool blankets; and the felting area where you could make a candle holder or an angel for your Christmas tree.

My first stop was the wood working station. I had been wanting to make a wooden holder for my beeswax candles for a while. Last week I pulled out sheets of beeswax to make some more candles and discovered a stash of dipped candles we made a couple of years ago. They had been waiting for a holder all this time. Ed had brought along some beautiful pieces of wood from a fallen branch. I was so excited to turn it into a candle holder using a hand drill for the first time. I muddled along, not really knowing what I was dong. I wasn't sure which way to turn it or how to make it work. I started getting impatient and frustrated. It was when I decided to let go of my impatience and embrace the process that the drill bit into the wood.

I was keen to whittle a crochet hook but the other crafts were calling so I headed back into the hall where I met up with Miss 13 and her bestie. They were trying to turn pieces of felt into a woven heart. We didn't know what we were doing but had a lot of fun trying to work it out. Eventually my girl went and asked for help and came back and taught me. It was perfect timing – it's one of our family traditions to gift the girls with an ornament each year and when they were little I used to make them felt decorations. The other day I pulled out the box of decorations and realised it had been some years since anything handmade was added to the collection.

The paper marbling table was busy so I decided to make a felted candle holder even though I'm not a huge fan of the process of wet felting. By the time I got to the wet and squishing stage, time was beginning to run out. I panicked and abandoned my felting and headed to the marbling station. Luckily for me, while I was gone, Nikki finished it of for me.

Marbling was amazing. Swirling the paint on the surface of the water then laying down the fabric or paper to reveal incredible patterns. The whole family was obsessed with marbling and we've come home with quite a stash of fabric and paper. I'm sure it will come in useful for a future project.

I haven't been in such a beautiful setting with my family since the girls were little. It was so wonderful to be back in that beautiful, heart-warming space surrounded by other families all intent on creating with love.

December 18, 2019
Craft Re-Acitvation

I've been feeling disjointed and aimless. My cup was empty, in spite of doing things I loved – reading good books, writing poetry, going to open mics, playing board games with family and seeing friends.

I didn't know what was missing. I didn't even know something was missing. I was just an ungrateful bear with a sore head, stomping around the house and driving my family nuts. That all changed a couple of weeks ago when Skye, the beautiful Skye, brought along flowers and paper and clay to a nature group my girls were attending.

It was wonderful. We sat on the grass in the shade of a majestic gum tree near the creek, We used to petals and leaves to draw on paper. Cornflowers, dandelions, gum leaves and grass stems. The colour on the page didn't always match the colour of the petal. It was a beautiful surprise every time. As we were drawing a friendly magpie came to say hello and check out what we were making.

After we had finished our drawings, Skye brought out the clay. There is something magical about clay. The way those wet lumps of earth are cold and soft and hard and rough and smooth in your hands. The way you can warm them and shape them and stretch them and bend them and mould them. The way the clay asks nothing and gives everything. The way your mind can wander while your hands explore texture and surface and shape.

I've been so busy over the last couple of months, there hasn't been time to craft. To make things with my hands. To create what I need. Instead I'd been caught up in Christmas consumerism. Yup, that's right. The craft queen wasn't doing any craft for Christmas. She didn't have any inspiration or ideas. Everything had already been done (beeswax candles, peppermint lip balm, hand made cards, aprons, tea towels, wrapping paper, hand bound books) and there was nothing new and exciting to make, no new craft to learn.

But now, oh now. There is a whole new world of petals and paper to explore. Thank you Skye!

December 16, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Forty-Nine

Week 49 words from @jennifer_atyrrell: smoke, tears, gum, grey and golden.

the bush is alight

the gum trees are on fire

the animals are fleeing

their paws burning on scorched earth

their feathers melting in molten sky

the sun is no longer golden

the mountain wears a shawl of smoke

a choking mist of grey

ash falls from the heavens

a hundred miles away

our hands are burning

our tears are falling

our world is burning

we are burning

and in our hands –

the match we struck

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the forty-ninth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

This is my first attempt at writing this poem. When I say first attempt I mean this is the result of the first idea I had for this poem. There were lots of scribbles and false starts to get to this point.

After writing it I had another idea, inspired by this piece by Emilie Collyer. I was very drawn to the way in which she juxtaposed her cancer with a political figure. Unfortunately I'm still figuring out how to make the idea work.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #livepoetsclub and #2019poetrychallenge.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

December 13, 2019
Playing With Language

Last weekend was a big, poetry filled feast. After attending the Melbourne Spoken Word Prize on Friday night I headed back into the city on Saturday morning to attend a Transcollaborate event. Transcolloborate are a not-for-profit organisation who bring together people from diverse language backgrounds to translate children's literature, short stories and poetry into other languages, mainly English.

We did two group exercises. Each group contained people from different language backgrounds including Spanish, Romanian, Cypriot, French, Korean and English.

In the first exercise we had little pieces of paper on which were words that we had to form into a poem. The words were taken from English language translations of a poem written by two of the workshop participants. One poem was originally written by Koraly Dimitriadis in Cypriot and then translated into English. The words my group worked with came from a poem originally written in Romanian by Vasile Baghiu and translated by Cristina Savin. The poems were read to us in their original languages but we had no idea what the English translation meant.

The exercise blew my mind. I've been using other people's work for my 2019 Poetry Challenge but only five words at a time. Using words from an entire poem, originally written another language was incredible. There was so much more scope while still being limited. If you wanted another "and' for example and it wasn't there you had to get creative. I really enjoy working with a limited palette – I find it focuses the mind and provides clarity.

The aim of the second exercise was to translate a poem from another language into English. Our group received a poem in Romanian. Each group had a native speaker of the language of the poem - they were the source translator. The other people in the group were the target translators – speakers of the language the poem would be translated into. We got to grill ur source translator about the meaning of the words. Could it be this? Or what about this?

There was a definite tension between making the final poem and it's English translation beautiful whilst retaining the meaning of the original as imparted by the source translator. There were times when we target translators wanted a certain phrasing but were given an emphatic no from the source translator because it did not fit her reading of the original Romanian. Of course, a work can be interpreted in many different ways by many different people. As one of the participants noted, it's hard to translate a work without knowing anything abut the author and what they were attempting to create with their work.

I loved working with my group to translate the poem by Costel Stancu from Romanian to English. I only speak one language and never dreamed I would one day be translating other languages. Collaborations are incredible experiences – it's amazing what you can create when you come together.

December 11, 2019
The Melbourne Spoken Word Prize

On Friday night I headed into town for the extravaganza of words and wit that is the Melbourne Spoken Word Prize. Now in its fifth year, the prize features twenty-five of Melbourne's spoken word artists as nominated by the convenors of the regular poetry gigs held around Melbourne each week. If you're poet, Melbourne is the town to be in. If you don't believe me, head on over to Melbourne Spoken Word to check out the gigs on now.

The Prize was held in the ornate Collingwood Town Hall and filled with a group of chattering poets all keen to see who would take out the prize for Melbourne's best spoken word artist. There were three prizes for the night – Convenors Prize for most nominated poet, the People's Choice Award and the Judges Prize worth a cool $1400.

The poetry community is welcoming, supportive and inclusive. It's a safe space where you can be vulnerable and share your darkest and most painful moments. Going to a spoken word event is like getting a huge hug from all your friends. It was great to be there on Friday night, hearing amazing poetry and catching up with my poetry buddies.

The calibre of the performers was incredible. Their performances were electric. The way they could take a word and make it sing, turn a phrase with a deft ear, flip metaphors on their head and leave you shouting for more. I didn't envy the judges their choice at all. It was hard enough figuring out who to vote for in the People's Choice Award when all the performers were outstanding.

Emilie Collyer asked who I voted for – was it the poet whose language I admired? Or perhaps the one who tugged at my heart strings. Or maybe even the one who surprised and took the poem to unexpected places. I went for the person who moved me most. My stand out performers in a night of stars were Amy Bodossian with her poignant piece and incredible singing. Ren Alessandra with her don't mess with me feminist call to arms. Loran Steinberg with her quiet and compelling voice. Yoram Symons with his call to ad felinity to the divinity. Wahibe Moussa who hit me right in the feels. And Josh Cake for his timely piece about how much time we have left.

In the end it was Tabani Tshuma who won. And when I say won I mean he won all the prizes. The Convenors' Award, The People's Choice and the Judges' Prize. His performance was amazing. Masterful and powerful with an incredible use of language and imagery.

December 9, 2019