The Blurb May 18th

TUESDAY 18/5/10 with Robyn and Sarah.

Bernard joins us live via phone. Refers to ‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy, which Bernard will talk about it the weeks to come. Walter Mosley and Phillip Kerr, American crime writers. Bernard recommends Mosley’s writing but is finding Kerr’s latest, ‘The Dead Not Rise’, a bit of a drag and hard to read.
Colin McLaren’s novel ‘Sunflower’ is written about his grandfather. Sunflower was his grandfather’s nickname. The cover gives you the impression it will be a bit saucy. It is an autobiographical novel. Felt it was a bit long and drawn out. Contains war stories, and Egyptian views.

POEM: Bernard O’Dowd, Australia, written in 1912.

LAST sea-thing dredged by sailor Time from Space, Are you a drift Sargasso, where the West In halcyon calm rebuilds her fatal nest? Or Delos of a coming Sun-God’s race? Are you for Light, and trimmed, with oil in place, Or but a Will o’ Wisp on marshy quest? A new demesne for Mammon to infest? Or lurks millennial Eden ’neath your face? The cenotaphs of species dead elsewhere That in your limits leap and swim and fly, Or trail uncanny harp-strings from your trees, Mix omens with the auguries that dare To plant the Cross upon your forehead sky, A virgin helpmate Ocean at your knees.

BOOK REVIEW: Maggy O’Farrell ‘The Hand That First Held Mine’. Set in 1950’s England and the mix up of two families. Not a bad read but felt it was overpublicised in the lead up to Mothers Day. Kirsten Tranter’s first novel ‘The Legacy’ is quite an achievement. Set in great locations, Sydney and moves to New York. Beautifully created characters and their intimacies, and looking at the relationships between them.

SPONSORS / SONG: Angus and Julia Stone, Down The Way, ‘Big Jet Plane’

INTERVIEW: Richard Everist, ‘The Complete Guide to the Great Ocean Road’. Richard has his own publishing agency, and has written for Lonely Planet since their early days. Talks about how the book was made and how much he learnt during the research, even as a local.

SPONSORS / SONG: John Butler Trio, April Uprising, ‘Come On Now’

INTERVIEW: Brendan Ryan, local poet. Discusses his life growing up on the farm, how he develops his poetry and what it means to him.
Read his poem ‘Maternity Paddock’ from his book of poems, A Paddock in his Head’.