poet – Simply Australia

25 May 201821 November 2022

The Distant Candles Still Dance in the Bushland: On Discovering a Rock Engraving

© Jim Low 2018

In his 1946 poetry collection entitled The Dosser in Springtime, Douglas Stewart includes the poem Rock Carving. This poem, unfairly treated in my opinion by Peter Read in his book Belonging, published in 2000, has as its stimuli the rock engravings of a fish and a kangaroo.

While night fishing in waters north of Sydney, Stewart reflects upon creativity, its longevity and questions whether artistic accomplishment requires an audience. Continue reading “The Distant Candles Still Dance in the Bushland: On Discovering a Rock Engraving”

13 March 201824 November 2022

6. In Mulga Land with King Tommy and Polly Flood

This episode looks at the lives of two Aboriginal people, King Tommy and Polly Flood. They lived in the northern New South Wales town of Angledool . Their lives were uniquely documented by local poet and writer Jim Harper. Harper, a friend of both, knew only too well how the spread of European settlement impacted on their lives.

31 July 201620 December 2022

Tilly Aston

I first came across the name Tilly Aston in an exhibition on Vision Impairment at the Victorian Museum in 2012. I later learnt more about this remarkable and inspiring woman by reading her Memoirs, as well as some of her poetry from her published collections.

25 February 201621 December 2022

The Game is Getting Lively!

Three pieces on the life and death of Ben Hall

While the legend of Ned Kelly and his gang is a subject of fascination for many Australians (including myself), the remarkable deeds of Frank Gardiner, Ben Hall, Johnny Gilbert and their scores of associates remain a true inspiration – especially for those of us who live in central-western NSW!