Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: writing

Still Surprised

Creativity is a cantankerous beast that still surprises me after all this time. I've been blocked for the last few months with no idea of how to get unblocked.

In the first lockdown back in April / May, I did lots of hand crafts and felt really nourished and grounded. June and July were consumed with producing the second issue of the Pocketry Almanack and facilitating my Promoting Your Poetry workshop as part of the Melbourne Spoken Word and Poetry Festival online.

After the Almanack was finished and the workshop completed, I needed a break from screens and wanted to make something with my hands. I wanted to ground myself in paper or fabric or leather or wool. To get back into feeling fibres with my fingers and making tangible things offline but something was stopping me.

I had a couple of half finished projects hanging around but they weren't very inspiring or appealing. I do best if I have a range of creative options to choose from. The choice gives me variety and allows me to pick a project to work on, depending on the mood I am in. Sometimes I feel like doing fiddly things like hand sewing, other times I want to cut pieces of fabric or create a new design.

As a result I've been feeling flat and meh. Not really keen on anything – having to drag myself out of bed in the mornings and go through the motions of the day. I really don't think being in groundhog day is helping either.

But yesterday something changed. I bought a new packet of writing paper. I've used up my little stash sending letters to friends and keeping the postie busy. Being able to post packets of joy made me feel so happy. I've already planned some little surprises I can make to include in the letters. And the writing paper itself inspired me to make some of my own using the paper and stamps I already have at home in the craft cupboard.

I feel so happy and relieved to have something useful to make once more. I really hadn't realised just how much joy I get from making the things I need. Well that's not strictly true, I think I always knew, it's just sometimes I forget it.

September 7, 2020
Counting the Beat

I've just finished the second class for What the Light Tells, the poetry masterclass currently being conducted by Australian poet, Mark Tredinnick.

It's great to be back in a classroom, learning about poetry and hearing from my fellow student poets. There's a big range of ability in the class from beginners to award winners.

Each lesson we are exploring different forms and then during the week that follows writing a poem to one of the forms.

I'm finding that the rigour of counting lines and syllables is forcing me to be more creative with my expression and choice of words. It's quite strange because on the surface you'd think free verse – where you can write whatever you want, however you want – would be better or easier but I'm finding the opposite is true. The constraints of form are freeing my writing and taking it in new and better directions.

I'm really enjoying the process of bending the words to fit into the structure of the form. It's fun to get an idea down on paper and than have to sculpt it into a specific shape.

I can't wait to see what else the class brings.

September 2, 2020
Back To School

Since I wrote about being filled with doubt about my poetry, I've been going out every day for bike rides and spending time at the lake watching the birds and drinking in the sky and the clouds. I was going to say breathing in the fresh air except I'm not doing that at the moment as I have to wear a mask as part of the stage 4 lockdown requirements we currently have in Melbourne. However, I am very grateful that we are still able to go outside for an hour each day to exercise.

We're in the middle of a cold snap at the moment as winter gives its last gasp but the days are getting longer, the trees are blossoming and the birds are going nuts. It's hard not to get caught up on the excitement of all the new growth and life around me. It feels like spring is just around the corner and so is the time for new beginnings.

I decided I could sit around moping all day about the sorry state of my poetry and my perceived lack of writing skills or I could do something about it. I'm at my best when I'm taking action and doing something positive to change my circumstances. I'm not really the kind of person who can sit still doing nothing for ages. Far too boring when there is os much to learn.

And that's exactly what I'm going to be doing – learning. I've signed up for a couple of poetry courses to improve my skills, learn new things and have something to occupy myself for the next little while of lockdown.

The first class is Sharpened Visions with Douglas Keanney over on Coursera. A fellow poet from my poetry writing group put me on to this one. The good thing about it, is you can do it whenever works for you. I've done the first lesson so far and it was amazing. Douglas is very funny and he has a great way of explaining the structure of poetry. Thanks for the tip, Lee!

The second class is What the Light Tells, an online poetry class with award winning Ausralian poet Mark Tredinnick. He's running a Monday evening and a Wednesday morning class starting next week. Can't wait to start!

With any luck the learning and daily bike rides should keep me sane. Are you learning anything new right now?

August 19, 2020
Time For Some Perspective

It’s easy to get caught up in the things that don’t matter. I’ve been submitting my poetry to literary journals for publications and piling up rejection letters. It’s disheartening to say the least.

Writing is a strange dance of hope and doubt. Every poem I write is filled with hope. I craft each one with love. Agonise over the line breaks and the exact meaning of the words. Strive to find synonyms to express what I am trying to communicate. Each time I send a new poem to a journal (or dust off an old one) I am quietly hopeful that this time, it will be good enough to be published.

When each rejection letter arrives I have to remind myself that it is the poem being rejected and not me. Which is hard when I have poured so much of myself into my poetry and it keeps getting rejected.

When the most recent rejection letter arrived I was filled with doubt. I doubted I could ever write a poem as good as the ones I read in the journals. As good as the ones written by my literary heroes. I doubted I had the ability to craft a poem that could leap and twirl across the page. I doubted I would ever be able to write the kind of poems I want to write. There’s a shift that happens in my favourite poems and I don’t know how to execute it. It’s like a magic trick I can’t figure out, all I hear is the magician’s patter and I’m blind to the sleight of hand.

All of this was swirling around in my head. And then I jumped on my bike and rode here with my daughters. And suddenly, being accepted into a literary journal didn’t matter so much anymore. Not when there is this.

August 5, 2020
Promoting Your Poetry

I'm chuffed to be taking part again in this year's Melbourne Spoken Word Festival Online. This time I'll be running a Promoting Your Poetry workshop for poets and writers who are looking to find an audience for their work. There's no point scribbling away madly in your garret if there's no-one wanting to read your work.

Come and join me via Zoom on Saturday 1st August 2020 at 2pm and I'll show you how to find the eager readers waiting to devour your words.

Book now!

July 7, 2020
My Morning Routine

For the last month I've been getting up early before the rest of the house wakes to write a poem each day as part of the Dirty Thirty challenge run by Abdulraman Hamoud on Facebook.

I light one of these beeswax candles and then write in this gorgeous leather journal. I made both the candles and the journal and it feels really special to sit down and use both of them. Having beautiful, handmade tools lifts my spirits. And there's a lovely sense of pride and satisfaction when you can use something you have made yourself.

It's become something of a peaceful ritual with which to start the day. It may not be the twenty pages of random writing as suggested by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist's Way but it is writing when my brain is still halfway between awake and asleep. It's been interesting to see what I can come up with in response to the prompts. When I've left writing a response until later in the day it has been much harder. My brain feels sluggish and there are too many distractions to concentrate fully on writing.

Having carved out this quiet time for myself sets me up to take on the rest of the day and whatever it may throw at me. When everything goes pear-shaped as it all too often does, I have the joy of knowing I have already done something just for me. It's a priceless gift.

April 30, 2020
Music, Nature and Storytelling

I spent last week camping in the bush at Hawks Nest in New South Wales. I was there with my daughters to attend the Jon Young Music, Nature and Storytelling Workshop. Jon Young is a naturalist, tracker and mentor from North America. He's also an author (What the Robin Knows and Coyote's Guide to Connecting With Nature), musician and gifted storyteller who held us enthralled with his tales of tracking and connecting to nature.

We were surrounded by gums and banksias, beautiful wildflowers and birds swooping in and out of the trees. Goannas foraged in the compost heap and dingo tracks headed south along beach which was a ten minute walk from the camp along a sandy path.

It was an incredible five days of sharing story, singing songs and walking barefoot on the land. The incredible team in the kitchen, led by Nicki and assisted by Meat Master Fuzz kept us all fed with three delicious meals a day. There was a program for kids running alongside the program for adults. And in the evenings we sang and danced around the campfire held by the majesty of the stars.

My head is full of songs and words.

My heart is full of gladness and gratitude.

My soul is filled with friendship and connection.

October 28, 2019
On Writing

I've always written. Ever since I was a kid I've had a pen in hand scribbling furiously on a piece of paper to try and catch my ideas. When I was younger my pen could never keep up with my racing thoughts. Now I'm older, my thoughts are slower and it's much easier to pin my ideas to paper.

I've recently started doing some creative writing courses and Stephen King's On Writing and Fowler's Modern English Usage were suggested books for aspiring writers. I was lucky enough to score them both at op shops.

I discovered the excellent The Usborne Creative Writer's Handbook: Everything You Need To Become A Better Writer at a local bookshop. I'm a big fan of junior non-fiction books for finding out facts and information. Non-fiction for children tends to be written in plain english, has great illustrations that stop me getting bored and are written in a lively and engaging way.

December 11, 2017
On Writing

I've always written. Ever since I was a kid I've had a pen in hand scribbling furiously on a piece of paper to try and catch my ideas. When I was younger my pen could never keep up with my racing thoughts. Now I'm older, my thoughts are slower and it's much easier to pin my ideas to paper.

I've recently started doing some creative writing courses and Stephen King's On Writing and Fowler's Modern English Usage were suggested books for aspiring writers. I was lucky enough to score them both at op shops.

I discovered the excellent The Usborne Creative Writer's Handbook: Everything You Need To Become A Better Writer at a local bookshop. I'm a big fan of junior non-fiction books for finding out facts and information. Non-fiction for children tends to be written in plain english, has great illustrations that stop me getting bored and are written in a lively and engaging way.

December 11, 2017