Speakeasy

Permission to Laugh

2012-02-05T23:59:00.002+10:30

By Peter Beaglehole

Being a comedian is a strange thing. It’s not something you want to tell someone you’ve just met. They’ll turn on you, expecting you to be gregarious and witty, or worse they’ll ask you for a joke. Generally comics are the quiet and insular types, who look forward to being another stranger at the party. Admittedly, this is because they’re subconsciously working on material. Everything they observe can be funny, a small lie turns the ordinary into the extraordinary, fallacy into truth, or the rational to the absurd. That’s what comics do; they give us permission to laugh. Comedians see the world’s strange happenings and tweak our habitual responses. They ask us, ‘Why?’

We take life seriously, we take people seriously and sometimes we shouldn’t. Comedians are the child in the cinema asking the question about the profound plot hole, the drunk Uncle telling your racist Grandpa where he can stick the soup ladle. Comedians are excessive and simple; they occupy some strange place between reality and how reality could be. Which probably explains why nobody really takes them seriously, except for certain branches of government who would rather that nobody even imagine that the way they live could change.

Still, comedians are very fragile, or more accurately egocentric, creatures who are dependent entirely on an audiences’ willingness to laugh. It’s difficult to convince a room of strangers to laugh because laughter is something we share with those closest to us. However, this difficulty is usually assisted by the presence of a bar, but it puts the comic in a place that they hadn’t imagined. Not a theatre or lecture hall, but at a bar where they might find their name scrawled above the urinal, accompanied by the words “sucks dick”. Nevertheless, there are good times, times when a slightly inebriated punter will say, ‘You were heaps funny’. This massages the ego but doesn’t last, the comic longs for the day when a punter will tell them, ‘You were heaps funny, and now I’m going to go home and switch off my lights and vote for a politician who has some rational capacities and work on my slightly homophobic tendencies.’ Every clown wants to be Hamlet, but they want a different kind of prince and different kingdom. So they give us a chance to laugh, at least for a moment, at the chaos and sadness, they let us enjoy what is inherently amusing, like our strange anatomy, but to do this they need an audience. Otherwise they spend time at home inflating their ego with self-indulgent writing like this. In summary you should come and see this show:

Adelaide Comedy Next Generation

Rhino Room - Upstairs

Feb 21- 25 at 6pm

Feb28- Mar3 at 6pm

Preview $15

Adults $20 Concession $18

Speakeasy on campus 11.11.11

2011-11-21T17:06:00.025+10:30

It was another sunny afternoon when the doors of the Flinders Uni Function Centre were once again thrown open to the ever-eager Speakeasy crowd. Now in its third year, Speakeasy has grown in leaps and bounds to become somewhat of a creative writing institution for talented Flinders undergrads and honours students, as well as for the staff and post-grads who help ensure the events run smoothly. As the venue filled up with nervous readers and excited spectators, MC, Delana Carbone, got things off to a flying start.

Delana began by throwing open a question to the audience regarding collective nouns. What would a collective noun be for a group of writers? Considering so many were present at the event one might have expected a few more suggestions from the crowd, but Delana sorted it out for us anyway, deciding, quite rightly, that ‘a creation of writers’ might be most appropriate. ‘An anxiety of writers’ as well as ‘a paranoia of writers’ came pretty close runners-up.

With nods of approval from those present the delightful Delana then threw over to Mario Pilla who gave a hearty plug for the new Speakeasy Zine, available for the first time on the day. Then we truly got under way with what everyone had come for: the readings. There were a lot of new faces to the podium this time round, and some familiar ones too.

Piri Eddy kicked off proceedings with his hiphop stylings, lamenting the difficulties of domestic chores, while alerting us to the fact that he could quote just about every episode from the first ten series of The Simpsons. Next up was Sean Stockham, a new face to the stage, who drew the audience in with his sinister yet melancholy ‘Strangers’. Alice James read her fitting ‘The Library’, about a girl’s love for her mother’s collection of books, while Susie Nelson’s moving piece reflected on her memories of her grandmother.

Dominiek Neall rounded off the first set with her hilarious short story ‘Me and Pluto Down by the Milky Way’, about the often astronomical trails of friendship. After a quick break, in which the majority of copies of the new Speakeasy Zine were snapped up, Chris Williss grabbed the crowd’s attention once more with his imitations from 007 and Back to the Future in a ‘literary fiction story about a guy trying to write a literary fiction story.’

Scarlett Pinhorn-Veasey warned about the dangers of having parents who unwittingly leave you stranded behind at petrol stations, while Kenneth Nixon taught us about the joys of life through touch in his story ‘Tactile Living’.

Caysey Sloan then stepped up to read a section from her project for NaNoWrMo - that arduous challenge to write a novel in a month - and Peter Beaglehole finished off the second set with a piece reflecting on those awkward moments in conversations we’ve all experienced, as well as doing a fairly convincing impression of yelling at dogs, which was so loud that it snapped this reviewer bolt upright in her chair.

The final set started with Samuel Williams, who read a series of ninety-nine word stories dealing with a range of topics from snake tattoos to footy crowds and violinists, as well as the things that can happen on the way to find Harry Potter. Miranda Richardson delighted with a tale of talking fox spirits, asserting that if you make people promise you things they’ll be yours forever.

Luke Bartholomew bemoaned the curse of too much luck, at least until love gets in the way, and Melanie Pryor’s wordsmithery of song lyrics and lone musings drew the audience into her ‘Melodies of the Midnight Hours.’

Mario Pilla capped off the readings with some thoughts about excretion and secretion, making some audience members concerned that he may have already ‘catharted’ on a few chairs in the venue.

After giving away some very impressive door prizes the proceedings came to an end, and a few drinks later we had wrapped up the last Speakeasy for 2011. But, never fear! Speakeasy will be back in early 2012, and hopefully we’ll be seeing all of the faces from this event again next time around.

Review by Alicia Carter
Alicia Carter has just finished her second year of a Bachelor of Arts at Flinders University, majoring in Creative Writing. She has also recently embarked on her journey as Assistant Director for Speakeasy.

Speakeasy on campus 11.11.11 - set 1

2011-11-21T17:03:00.000+10:30

Piri Eddy

Sean Stockham

Alice James

Susie Nelson

Dominiek Neall

Speakeasy on campus 11.11.11 - set 2

2011-11-21T17:00:00.000+10:30

Chris Williss

Scarlett Pinhorn-Veasey

Kenneth Nixon

Caysey Sloan

Peter Beaglehole

Speakeasy on campus 11.11.11 - set 3

2011-11-21T16:56:00.000+10:30

Samuel Williams

Miranda Richardson

Luke Bartholomew

Melanie Pryor

Mario Pilla

'End of the Night Girl' a novel by Amy T. Matthews

2011-11-16T11:46:00.003+10:30

Dear Publishing Houses of Australia,

We need to talk about Amy Matthews' End of the Night Girl. I'm sure you remember it. It's the novel you showered with rejection letters for ten years, until it eventually won the Adelaide Festival Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript. Perhaps you thought that nobody would buy it – that it was too strange, too complex, too gloomy a mixture of holocaust trauma and modern day malaise.

Well, take note: I did buy it, and I'd happily buy it again. End of the Night Girl is exactly the kind of fiction that I will be spending my hard-earned cash on in the future. It's innovative. It's tight, brusque, engaging. It wears its Australian–ness comfortably and quietly. It's well-written (which counts for a lot when you're a creative writing student who woke up one morning halfway through first year to find that Dan Brown suddenly made you cringe.)

To call End of the Night Girl a 'holocaust novel' would be to sell it short. We've had far too many of those already. Matthews takes one step back from the typical story of cruelty and starvation, and instead gives us Molly, a young waitress from Adelaide who, for reasons that she herself struggles to understand, is writing a novel about the holocaust. The metafictional element is strong but subtle. Molly's story is carefully interwoven with that of her protagonist, Gienia; a polish woman who haunts her through her futile job, her nights spent drinking, her failed relationships, her family problems.

Though the novel received positive reviews, quite a few readers and critics seem intent on unwrapping Gienia's story and throwing away Molly's. Christopher Bantick in The Australian even went so far as to say that Gienia's story 'matters' while Molly's does not. Quite aside from the fact that I personally connect more with Molly than I do with Gienia, I could not imagine one story without the other. It is the relationship between the two that sets End of the Night Girl apart. Together, they form an exploration of how we use fiction to make sense of our own lives; how we find ourselves in characters who have never existed. 'I don't expect her to do more than stare,' says Molly of her constant, ghostly companion, 'so I'm surprised when she reaches out to comfort me.' In the face of bewildering reality, literature provides not only comfort, but also clarity.

Molly's character is just as full and convincing as Gienia's, and her suffering is no less important. Gienia starves because she is in a concentration camp. Molly starves even though she is surrounded by the peace and plenty of twenty-first century Australia. The question of why is far more interesting to me than yet another description of holocaust suffering, however evocatively rendered. As Molly attempts to piece together the fragments of Gienia's story, she confronts the lack of a linear plot in her own life; the difficulty of tracing patterns of cause and effect. 'I try to find the beginning,' she writes, 'the first moment that led to all the other moments – but all I find are loose ends, long threads weaving in and out of one another.'

Far from being bewildering or aimless, however, the novel itself is needle-sharp. Matthews guides us through Molly's nights and days, moment by moment, plunging into her past as the opportunities arise. The result, somehow, is a satisfying novel about dissatisfaction, a precisely structured story of structural breakdown.

So, for the benefit of any editorial button-pushers reading this, I'd like to make it clear that I'm not interested in 'more of the same'. I'm interested in more books like End of the Night Girl – books that are refreshing and challenging and just plain good.

Oh, and Wakefield Press – you're off the hook, obviously. Please publish more of Matthews' work. I look forward to reading what else she has to offer her generation of Australian writing – a generation that looks better and better with every book I read.

By Samuel Williams

The new Speakeasy Zine is coming!

2011-11-05T18:42:00.002+10:30

The inaugural issue of the Speakeasy Zine will be available at the next Speakeasy on campus event, this Friday the 11th of November. It contains a mash up of poetry, prose, art, interviews and reviews by the creative and talented folks at Flinders University. So don't forget to bring a few extra dollars with you to secure your copy.

Get amongst it!

Our next Speakeasy on-campus event is soon!

2011-10-19T18:19:00.002+10:30

Our next Speakeasy event is on Friday 11th November (11/11/11). We'd love to see you there. Please join us at the Function Centre (opposite the humanities car park) to hear some of the fabulous creative writing that your fellow students have been working on. Readings will kick off from 3pm. Door prizes will be drawn at 7pm.

If you are a Flinders undergrad or Honours student interested in sharing some of your own poetry or prose in a 5-minute slot please email us at:

speakeasyflinders@gmail.com

Best regards,
Threasa Meads and Alicia Carter
(on behalf of the Speakeasy team)

Speakeasy the 4th

2011-10-03T21:37:00.000+10:30

The evening was upon us once again, but... upon entering the creative den of our familiar Wheatsheaf shed something new was in the air. The sounds of a Speakeasy revolution rang out over the empty tables as The Interludes Rock Respectably respectably rocked their rehearsal before the evening’s commencement. The melding of music into the traditions of the Speakeasy event saw front man, Tom Drahos, lead his motley crew – Tim, Meredith and James – through the intervals towards resounding applause. Tom may be a post-grad now, but we’ll be hard pressed to keep him from the Speakeasy stage.

Of course the band were not the only show to be had, with nine undergraduates and two guest readers also lapping up the spotlight over the course of the evening. To kick it all off, Dennis Wild introduced us to Uncle Ronny and taught us that seven is the lucky number. Comedic but serious, it was anything but ‘mindless prattle’. Next up, Melanie Pryor tempted us with a delightful picnic of poetry, carrying us through eloquently fantastic language, which was shortly followed by Luke Bartholomew’s dancing facial expressions, and poetry jig, wrapped up by the very convincing rasp of an old man.

As the readings progressed, the audience was well and truly enthralled by Piri Eddy’s satirically brilliant rendition of growing up with divorce, tie-dye skirts, head lice, sandwiches and Antiques Roadshow; and both startled and suspended by Miranda Richardson’s morally-entrenched speculative prose. Following the interval – a feast of pizza and alcoholic beverages, harmonised by a fantastic cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” – Alicia Carter graced the stage. Having ironed out the mispronunciation of her name (which for MC Mario’s sake is Alee-see-a), she lucratively mirrored the campfire ambience of her prose in her ocker-Australian recital of superstitious night-mares and brumbies.

Next up was Mel Manson who brought back the comedy in her ironic narration of small town behaviour, with a cleverly twisted conclusion. She successfully raised the dead and the atmosphere with her jest at stereotypes. This was followed well by Delana Carbone’s cleverly crafted poetry, which delved into, climbed up, and circled around the surreal nature of reality and relationships. Then, to wrap up the undergraduate speakers, Peter Beaglehole, maintaining the theme of relationships, explored a series of painful experiences, including that of having a nail through one’s foot, in order to penetrate the human condition both farcically and pertinently with resonating success.

Whether it was the wine, the exceptional talent, or as I suspect a combination of both, the room buzzed in eagerness for the two final speakers, and first up was the lovely Gay Lynch. Rightfully coined the mum of undergrad creative writing, we edged in anticipation, closer, eager to access the credentials of our mentor. Luckily for her, she held fast to her integrity and both shocked and delighted us all with her witty and charismatic expression. Finally the headliner, Lisa Hannett, closed the evening, with a reading from her newly published Bluegrass Symphony – and really what better way to end the readings than with mermaids and a poignant examination of society and beauty?

But there was one more important announcement to be had before we retired to our otherwise hermitic, writerly lives: the announcement of the first ever Speakeasy Zine publication! For those that have followed the Speakeasy journey, and welcomed the addition of microphones, speakers, prizes beyond canned soup, and this very blog, you may like me be speculating about the future of Speakeasy. You may, like me, be envisioning worldwide broadcasting and Nobel prizes, billion-dollar book deals and gold-rimmed toilets... or you may not. Regardless, this is exciting, this is huge, and as so many reviewers gone before me have stated, ‘we look forward to seeing where this journey takes us!’

Reviewer:
Tamara Milne is a second-year Flinders University, B. Media student, majoring in creative writing. She writes. She reads. She dreams that one day she will change the world. But... she’ll settle for a book deal.

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At The Wheatsheaf Hotel September 21

2011-10-03T19:19:00.001+10:30

Lisa L. Hannett

Gay Lynch

'The Interludes Rock Respectably'

Flinders Postgrad Tom Drahos on vox, well-known Adelaide Metal Scene figure Tim Giddings on guitar, Adelaide University sound tech student Meredith Lane on bass, and former Flinders University Arts/Science student James Kerr on drums, who has since been travelling the world.

Peter Beaglehole

Delana Carbone

Mel Manson

Alicia Carter

Miranda Richardson

Piri Eddy

Melanie Pryor

Dennis Wild

Luke Bartholomew

Co-MCs Mario Pilla & Samuel Williams

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Flinders Creative Writers at Mostly Books

2011-10-03T17:56:00.060+10:30

Speakeasy supported five Flinders Creative Writing students reading at Mostly Books, Mitcham Square on Saturday September 17. The event was part of the Australia Council's 'Get Reading' promotion and took place in store.

Flinders creative writers, Samuel Williams, Alicia Carter, Peter Beaglehole, Mario Pilla, and Delana Carbone, entertained Saturday morning shoppers with their best work. They read five minutes of their own writing, and then, to fit with the theme of a celebration of reading, read a five-minute excerpt from their favourite book.

In conversation with Speculative Fiction Writer Lisa L. Hannett

2011-09-23T15:15:00.000+09:30

by Alicia Carter

Lisa L. Hannett describes herself as a writer of speculative fiction of the creepy and unsettling kind. Certainly, her debut book of short stories, Bluegrass Symphony, sits neatly with this description. However, the stories collected here surpass the merely creepy and unsettling. Bluegrass Symphony is also a collection of stories of extraordinary beauty and depth. Part speculative fiction, part southern gothic, the worlds Hannett conjures are full of disturbing tales of tricksters and lost souls in landscapes that are at once familiar and eerily strange.

She began her career as a writer only a few short years ago, but in that time her stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Weird Tales, Shimmer, Fantasy and Electric Velocipede, to name but a few. ‘The February Dragon’, co-written with Angela Slatter, won the 2010 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story, and Hannett will be teaming up with Slatter again in her second collection of short stories, Midnight and Moonshine, to be published in 2012.

Creative writing is something you've only been doing for about three years. When did you begin to think of yourself as a writer?

When I got my first rejection. I mean, I'd been jotting down notes, working out plots, building worlds, creating characters for a while. I had a totally lame epic fantasy in the desk drawer, and a stack of tragic poems (we all go through that tragic poetry phase, right?) but I was doing it all privately. Secretly, even. It wasn't until I went through the process of sending out a story, waiting to hear from the editor, trying not to think about hearing from the editor, getting rejected — and then immediately setting myself up to do it all again — that I felt I was really a writer.

When you write is there a fully formed plot structure in your mind, or do you find your way as you write?

It depends on the story, really. Occasionally I know the whole thing in advance, and the process of writing is not much more than transcribing a piece that has (miraculously) appeared fully formed in my mind. Those writing days are gold (and sporadic!) More frequently, I know the beginning and I know the ending – and then it takes a while to work out the middle bits. You know, the part where the story happens... Most of the time, though, I know what the ending is going to be – right down to the way the final line will be phrased – and so I work backwards from there, until I figure out where the narrative is meant to begin. Having said that, I often just have an image in my mind – like for ‘Carousel’, for instance, I had a vision of a girl surrounded by moths and nothing else – and then the story comes later.

Did each of these stories begin with the same narrative perspective they have in their published versions, or did you have to play around with voice?

The short answer is – yes. I spend a lot of time thinking about the story before I set it down, and just as much time working on the opening scene, and even more time writing the piece in full. So any playing with narrative perspective happens, in the first instance, when I’m daydreaming about the story; that way, when I start to write the first scenes, I’ve already got an idea of what the character will sound like. Hesteh’s voice in ‘Them Little Shinin Things’ was there right from the beginning and, as crazy as it sounds, her mood and personality shaped the plot. Same thing with Jesse in ‘Down the Hollow’ – when I was jotting notes down for these stories, the narrators came out sounding just the way they do in the final versions. I’m often happiest writing in the third-person, so I’ll set myself challenges (write in the first-person, write in the second-person, that kind of thing) and then stick to it until the story works. There are so many times when I think it would be incredibly freeing to be a spontaneous writer, one who scribbles things down quickly and then rewrites the entire work from a different point of view. But instead, I write slowly and consider how the characters will sound, what the tone of the piece will be like, the imagery it will draw upon, right from the word go. Nine times out of ten, the final version of the story is virtually the first draft, with a few tweaks to get rid of repetitions. It’s a slow way to write, but cuts back on the time spent editing.

Which other writers, contemporary or otherwise, inspire you?

This is such a hard question to answer because there are so many! Gah! In terms of style, I’m perpetually inspired by Margaret Atwood (i.e. I am blindingly passionate about her turns of phrase, in everything she’s written – apart from Year of the Flood); ditto Virginia Woolf; ditto Michael Cunningham; ditto David Malouf; ditto Robert Shearman (particularly Tiny Deaths). In terms of characterisation, I constantly think about Flaubert’s Madame Bovary; Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell; Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Patricia Highsmith’s Talented Mr Ripley; Jeff VanderMeer’s Finch. In terms of setting and atmosphere, Shirley Jackson, E. Annie Proulx, Timothy Findley...

You point out that 'Commonplace Sacrifices' was published first in On Spec. Did you write the other stories with the idea of a collection in mind, or did you have so many stories you decided to do a collection?

I wrote a couple of these stories before I realised that there was a collection’s worth of stuff I wanted to do in this world. Ideas starting coming left, right and centre, so after writing two or three stories I thought I’d just go with it... And then I was lucky enough to get a contract for a solo collection, so instead of filling it with reprints of stories I’d already had published I decided to take a chance and put out a book of originals. To be honest, I love this world so much I think I could probably fill another collection.

All the stories in this collection are tied together with a sense of place. How important is landscape in shaping your stories?

There are two types of fantasy writers: those who are initially inspired by characters, and those who are initially inspired by other worlds. Every story needs to have a great mix of both, and every writer will (or should) devote as much time to shaping three-dimensional characters as s/he does to shaping believable worlds. But at first – when that first inkling of a tale creeps into your mind – you’ll either hear a character speaking to you, or you’ll imagine a new world, and the story will develop from that initial spark. I think it’s fair to say that I’d fall into the latter category. Landscape, world-building, setting – whatever you want to call it – makes writing exciting. I love thinking about the restrictions inherent in fictional worlds, their politics, their weather patterns, the migratory habits of their birds – everything that make the ‘real’ world seem real, but in fantasy these elements always come with a twist. And I’m inspired by cold, harsh climates (probably because I grew up in Canada) as well as huge, complicated worlds (probably because I grew up on Earth.)

The stories are full of myth and legend. In a story like 'Fur and Feathers', for example, are there folk stories or fairy tales you've drawn on for inspiration?

Not explicitly. I have always read a lot of fairy and folk tales, so it’s not a surprise that mythic elements seep into my work. And I’ve always been fond of Trickster narratives, whether in traditional folklore or in new fantasy (such as Charles de Lint’s novels) so I was happy when Reynard made an appearance in ‘Fur and Feathers’ – and when Tricksters showed up in ‘To Snuff a Flame’ (which also has a flavour of ‘Red Riding Hood’ in a weird way).

You have a background in photography and fine arts. How important was it to you to have a say in the design of Bluegrass Symphony?

It’s quite unusual for authors to get a say in the art for their books, and I didn’t expect things to be any different in my case. But when I got the opportunity to work on the cover, I took it. My background in Fine Arts does influence the way I look at things – I’m probably overly picky when it comes to judging covers – but it’s this aesthetic combined with my background as a bookseller that makes me feel so strongly about book design. There are so many great stories that will never be read because they are encased in hideous graphics and labelled with hideous fonts. No matter what people say, we do judge a book by its cover – if this weren’t the case, we’d all have books wrapped in brown paper on our shelves. So it was incredibly important that I got to voice my opinions about the cover for Bluegrass Symphony, and also incredibly lucky that the publisher was gracious enough not to be insulted when I bagged the first version he’d suggested...

Find out more about Lisa L. Hannett and Bluegrass Symphony at http://lisahannett.com

Flinders students! Keep checking the blog and watch for posters with our next call-out for readers. Our next Flinders University on campus event is on 11/11/11.

Our Headliners for this Wednesday, September 21, 2011

2011-09-18T17:40:00.000+09:30

Lisa L Hannett

Lisa L Hannett is a writer of speculative fiction, largely of the creepy or unsettling variety. She is also a graduate of Clarion South.

Her short stories have appeared in venues including Clarkesworld Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, Weird Tales, ChiZine, Midnight Echo, Electric Velocipede, Tesseracts 14, Shimmer and Ann & Jeff VanderMeer’s Steampunk Reloaded, among other places. Her story ‘On the Lot and In the Air’ was recommended on Locus’s Recommended Reading List for 2009; ‘Commonplace Sacrifices’ was on Tangent Online’s Recommended Reading List for 2010; ‘Soil From My Fingers’ will appear in The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2010, and ‘The February Dragon’, co-written with Angela Slatter, won the ‘Best Fantasy Short Story’ Aurealis Award for 2010.

Her first collection of short stories, Bluegrass Symphony, was recently published by Ticonderoga Publications in August 2011. It deals with cowboys and fallow fields, shapeshifters and rednecks, superstitions and realities in harsh prairie country — and a whole bunch of other things thrown in the mix.

Her second collection, Midnight and Moonshine (co-authored with Angela Slatter) will be published in November 2012.

Gay Lynch

Gay Lynch teaches creative writing and English at Flinders University. Her research areas include Irish-Australian history, contemporary literature, and creative writing pedagogy. She has published educational children's texts, short stories, and a novel and, most recently, an essay on Irish-Australian convict playwright, Edward Geoghegan (1812-1869).

Our next public event at the Wheatsheaf Hotel is soon!

2011-09-07T10:01:00.008+09:30

Speakeasy Creative Readings gives Flinders students the opportunity to share their work with the world. The next Speakeasy public event will feature Flinders University’s most talented creative writers including special guests Lisa L. Hannett, who will be reading from her first book of short stories, 'Bluegrass Symphony', and Flinder's own talented author and lecturer Gay Lynch.

Reading with Lisa and Gay will be nine talented Flinders undergraduate creative writers, with musical entertainment provided throughout the night by 'The Interludes Rock Respectably'.

Wed, 21 Sep 2011, 06:00PM
Wheatsheaf Hotel, 39 George St, Thebarton, SA
Gold coin entry

Why not come along and check out the creative talent that Flinders has to offer?

More details on the Headliners and a fabulous interview with Lisa Hannett will be up on the blog soon.

!!Special thanks to the artful poster-making talents of Lisa Train for yet another great Speakeasy poster!

Speakeasy at Flinders Uni Open Day August 19 & 20, 2011

2011-08-21T20:37:00.004+09:30

Readers: Samuel Williams, Mel Manson, Mario Pilla, Alicia Carter

The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of Samuel Williams and Mario Pilla as Masters of Ceremony (Which They Never Meant to Publish on Any Account)

2011-06-30T21:23:00.004+09:30

On the 27^th of May 2011 was scheduled an event so grand and glorious that twice the Masters of Ceremony were required to keep everything under control. We, Samuel Williams and Mario Pilla, were reluctant heroes, but after much persuasion, dutifully pledged ourselves to the roles of host and reviewer for this day of days — this Speakeasy of Speakeasys. Imagine our embarrassment when we arrived in nigh identical attire: an integrative display of formalwear and lazywear. Yet despite wardrobe surprises, the show went on, and to great success.

Our courageous Flinders writers were able to decisively debunk that age-old myth – that writers are solitary creatures who find interaction with real human beings baffling – and they did indeed make speaking look easy. Determined not to be outmatched by the free wine and chips, they served up a delicious menu of prose, poetry and drama, and took great pleasure in fusing the flavours of all three. Troy Benson delivered an especially dramatic poetry reading, hunched over the microphone while hissing his lines at a breathless pace. Marcus Doherty slipped in and out of character to read both parts of his script – a feat made easy by the sheer breadth of expression conveyed in his eyebrows. Miles Trench’s Imprints-prize-winning piece ‘Quick’ breathed poetic life into what looked like a paragraph of prose. There was even a surprise appearance by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol, channelled by Dennis Wild.

As the wine flowed and reader after reader took to the stage, the atmosphere became so welcoming that even the smallest member of the audience couldn’t resist joining the festivities with a display of her pram-pushing prowess. Works ranged from the gory and the chilling – tales of carnivorous circuses, blazing evocations of self-immolation and the unspeakable, yet spoken, horror of ducks – to the uplifting and uproarious – lyrical love poetry, and all-too-true accounts of airline travel.

It has been a pleasure to watch the Speakeasy movement grow from a humble gathering of students and academics into a burgeoning Flinders tradition. Under the guidance of our tireless committee, Speakeasy is becoming more than simply an opportunity for students to read their work in a relaxed and supportive environment – it is connecting young writers with student magazines, local literary journals and even writers festivals. In addition to showcasing undergraduate creative writing at the upcoming Flinders Open Days in August, Speakeasy public readings at the Wheatsheaf hotel in September, there is also a rumor that Speakeasy readers may be sharing their talents with audiences at Adelaide Writers Week in 2011. We know these developments would have made Fabienne Bayet-Charlton, a founding member of the Speakeasy committee who is tragically no longer with us, very proud. Fab reviewed the first ever Speakeasy we attended, and (in addition to delivering a much more punctual review than either of us could manage) she did us the favour of summing up our sentiments perfectly: 'It's a luxury to travel together when traditionally writing and reading are solitary practices, so thank you for the journey.' We look forward to seeing where this journey will take us, and our fellow students, in the years to come.

Reviewers:

Samuel Williams is a second year student in the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) at Flinders University and an overenthusiastic bookseller at Mostly Books. His fiction has been published in Voiceworks magazine and this year he was a judge for the ABA's Indie Book Award in the Debut Fiction category. He hopes to work somewhere in the book industry after graduating - ideally as an author.

Mario Pilla's a second-and-a-half year Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) student at Flinders University.

Our Readers and MCs on May 27th

2011-06-01T19:52:00.070+09:30

MCs Samuel and Mario

Set 1: Alicia, Miranda, Charles, Piri, Mike

Set 2: Dennis, Caysey, Luke, Mark, Marcus, Delana

Set 3: Peter, Melanie, Angela, Mel, Troy, Miles

Student Achievements

2011-05-26T14:56:00.000+09:30

Congratulations to all the talented Flinders University students who received Creative Writing and English awards recently!

Mark Trimboli (Miles Trench) - The Imprints Poetry Prize

Samuel Williams - The Staff Prize in English

Raelke Grimmer - The Imprints Fiction Prize Commendation and The Imprints Poetry Prize Commendation

David Olds - The Richard Conyers Prize

Helen Dinmore - The Caroline Macdonald Bachelor of Creative Arts/Creative
Writing Thesis Prize

Pamela Graham - The Ann Flaxman Prize in English

Ryan Manhire - The Imprints Fiction Prize Commendation

Michael Hannan - The Imprints Poetry Prize Commendation

Samantha Prior - The Imprints Poetry Prize Commendation

Alicia Carter - The Imprints Fiction Prize and The Imprints Fiction Prize Commendation

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Update: New Venue!

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New venue for our next event. See poster : )

Poster: next campus event for Flinders Students

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Thanks so much to Flinders student Lisa Train for this great poster : )

Our readers at The Wheatsheaf Hotel April 19th 2011

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MC: Peter Beaglehole

Miles Trench

Miles writes poetry and short stories. He has completed an Advanced Diploma of Professional Writing and is now into his third year of a Bed/BA at Flinders uni.

He has also written Holistic Gardening – The Five Principles of Success. His favourite authors are Faulkner and Steinbeck. He hopes one day to complete and publish his novella Runcifal (a horror fantasy).

Mario Pilla

Mario is a second year BCA student. He's of a Salingerian modesty, and has never sent off any work to be published - but he has performed his stories publicly on three separate occasions, and is about to so a fourth time.

Barbara Brown

Alicia Carter

Alicia often complains that she never wins anything. However, since becoming involved in Speakeasy she's won two things. Most recently The Imprints Booksellers Fiction Prize for her short story 'Saturn Devouring His Son' and, previous to that, a can of asparagus soup. She hopes to win at least more soup in the future.

Mel Manson

Mel is a second year first year student and a first year second year student... she's either really clever or somewhat confused. In her shortish life, Mel has overcome alcohol, nicotine, and fundamentalism. Now she refuses to indulge stupidity for the sake of tradition. Surely, we can find a better reason than that. Mel would like to write stories that make people want to blow up parliament and run for prime minister all at the same time. However, she's not really a writer, so, she comes to Speakeasy in the hopes of meeting someone who'll do it for her.

Tami Milne

Hannah Kent

Samuel Williams

Samuel Williams is a second year BCA creative writer. His work has been published in Voiceworks magazine, and this year he was a judge for the third annual Indie book award in the Debut Fiction category.

Tom Drahos

Tom is a creative writing postgrad at Flinders University. He recommends that you watch the films Irreversible, Antichrist, and A Serbian Film. The cinematography in these films is breathtaking. Especially A Serbian Film. Such beauty.

David Sornig

Many thanks to Delana Carbone of Libertine Magazine for taking these great pictures.

All the best to our co-director Margot McGovern

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On behalf of the Speakeasy committee, the captivated audiences, and our fabulous readers, I’d like to thank co-director Margot McGovern for all her enthusiasm and hard work over this last couple of years. Margot has left us for an exciting adventure in Dubai and will be missed.

Because of her enthusiasm, support and flair for event planning, we have been able to build an arts community infrastructure for Flinders University students. Margot’s initial enthusiasm helped to develop this project from an idea, and her consistent support with planning and her dedication to providing opportunities for Flinders students has assisted us in making Speakeasy the thriving entity that it is today.

We’d like to wish Margot all the best in the future as Speakeasy moves into a new chapter.

Best wishes
Threasa Meads

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Starry Starry Night …

2011-04-26T15:59:00.001+09:30

It was a clear Autumn evening when we all gathered once again—friends, family and followers—for the latest Flinders University Speakeasy Creative Readings. Yes, the stars were bright in the sky, and the fairy lights of the Wheatsheaf Shed’s stage were twinkling beautifully as ever; but the real stars of the night were the readers.

Another incredible array of creative writing talent kept us enthralled with their tales of love, loss, lust, survival, murder and a bit of comedy for good measure. Ranging from nineteenth century Iceland, through to post-war Berlin, and finally to the contemporary angst of suburbia and a war-zone, these readers and their writings gave us an insight into the human condition in all its various guises. The performances were poignant, startling, entertaining and always well delivered. As a creative writer myself, and one who has also stood on that stage staring out into the blackness, the opportunity to perform a piece of written work is one filled with dread but also excitement. To be able to read aloud your own work to a captive audience, with the rhythm and nuances that reading alone sometimes neglects, is a powerful tool in the creative process, enabling both reader and audience to participate in the performance. And this latest Flinders University Speakeasy was no exception.

Experienced readers such as Miles Trench, Mario Pilla, Sam Williams and Tom Drahos entertained us with their stories of contemporary angst and the writing and studying dilemma. Alicia Carter, Mel Manson and Tami Milne also gave great deliveries of well-written pieces about the trials and tribulations of life in suburbia. First time reader and one of our headliners, Barbara Brown, gave a moving performance of life as a small ‘rubble’ girl in post-war Berlin, while Hannah Kent, another of our headliners, dramatically enacted the thoughts of a female nineteenth century farm worker, given the task of watching over the last woman condemned to death in Iceland. Published author, David Sornig, ended the evening for us, relaying a story of male angst in a contemporary war zone, with the well-known sound of planes flying over The Wheatsheaf in the background giving the reading an eerie reality. Congratulations to Peter Beaglehole, MC for the evening, who kept the night moving along, giving us plenty of warning and time to order pizzas and visit the bar, not to mention his witty observations and anecdotes.

Another Flinders University Speakeasy success! And after the raffle was drawn and prizes handed out, which included copies of two outstanding Australian literary journals—not bad for a night of free entertainment—we all gathered round to congratulate the readers and organisers for this well-attended and supported, soon to be iconic, literary event. I can’t wait for the next one. Be there or be square.

Review by Amanda Williams

Amanda Williams is currently completing a Masters Degree in Creative Writing at Flinders University, working on a coming of age novella set in the seventies on the Lefevre Peninsula.

Our Headliners for April 19th

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David Sornig

David is a writer originally from Melbourne now based in Adelaide where he lectures in creative writing at Flinders University. His fiction, non-fiction and criticism have appeared in Griffith Review, New Matilda, Antipodes, The Age and elsewhere. In 2008 he was awarded the Charles Pick Fellowship at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. His novel Spiel (UWAP, 2009) follows an architect's apocalyptically charged journey through Melbourne and Berlin. He is writing a follow-up about a family at the coalface of climate change and is at work on a series of short stories.

Hannah Kent is currently completing a PhD in Creative Writing at Flinders University. She is also the co-founder and deputy editor of the journal Kill Your Darlings, and her creative work has been published in Australian Book Review, and Big Issue Australia, amongst others.

Barbara Brown

“I am in the final throes of my Creative Writing PhD at Flinders, and I can't believe my luck. It is a wonderfully supportive creative environment in which to work and explore my chosen field of life writing. Who needs to go to counselling when we can write our own stories?”

Next event April 19th at the Wheatsheaf Hotel

2011-03-29T18:30:00.000+10:30

Such a talented and varied group of writers

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And what fabulous readers they were. For the first time, the on-campus speakeasy event featured a microphone and speakers, and it made a huge difference. Words were no longer caught on the breeze and gone was that awkward silence where the audience tries to discern whether the reader’s lips have ceased moving so that they can applaud. Instead, we were able to savour every word, be it sweet and touching, funny and awkward or downright bloody and morbid. And there seems to be a lot of delightfully twisted minds at work in Flinders University. As our wonderful MC, Courtney, observed, “There’s so much blood today!” Whether it was the tragically bloodied breast of a seventeen year old girl, or the comically bloodied severed leg of a parking inspector, the stories were oozing with it. It wasn’t all gore, mind you, and less grim tales seemed to attract the interest of some very attentive ducks. It all proved too much for one duck, however, whose exit from the event comically coincided with a reader’s mention of “duck hockey.” Having attended both on-campus Speakeasy events, and having read at the first, I was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the readings, both in content and presentation. Everyone seemed incredibly at ease in front of the crowd, aided by the relaxed environment of the Humanities Courtyard and the splendid weather we enjoyed. It was great to hear the work of such a talented and varied group of writers. Writing can be such a lonely enterprise, and it’s a true testament to the organisers of this event that they have created a community where writers can escape from the solitude of their computer rooms to share their brilliant creations with the world. We began the day split into the factions of teachers and students, each side seeking refuge from the sun in the shadows cast by the Humanities building. But as the event wore on, we were brought together by so much more than the passage of the sun across the sky. We were brought together by the shared experience of listening to these wonderful stories. I look forward to the next public event, and the future of Speakeasy, with plans announced to join forces with the undergraduate and postgraduate students of Adelaide University to create a cross-campus event. This sounds like a fantastic way to foster community between both universities, and share our work with each other. Congratulations to all of our incredible readers, and to everyone on the Speakeasy committee for organising such a fantastic event. And special thanks to Margot and Threasa for making Speakeasy happen. I feel like this is the start of something big.

Review by Phillip Kavanagh Phillip Kavanagh is currently completing a Masters Degree in Creative Writing at Flinders University. He has had several short plays produced and is working towards completing his first full length stage play. .

Our fabulous readers

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Tom, Alicia, Stephanie, Miles .

Courtney, Eliza, Cara, Mel

Miranda, Angela, Ronald, Luke .

Anna, Mario, Tamara, Samuel

19/11/10 on campus event

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“There is something very human about gathering together to read.”

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When we talk about success a few things pop into mind; the first being that we had some sort of goal, secondly that this goal was attempted, and lastly that is was completed and accomplished in a triumphant way. Success for the Speakeasy team just continues to visit their events and if it wasn’t for all their hard work, it may appear unfair to the rest of us. It’s a very pleasing thing to be able to enjoy the work of other writers who have joined the ranks of the Speakeasy readers. As a reader from the last campus event, I can safely say that standing up in front of a room full of people who are expected to glance in your direction for that length of time (which feels like forever) is rather daunting. Something which I’m proud to say (and a little jealous) that none of the readers at this event seemed to be showing. The crowd appeared to grow as the night progressed and many of the mismatched chairs had been moved from and to several different tables. Trips were repeatedly made inside to the bar and not one person returned empty handed, some having numerous glasses balanced among weakening fingers. Soon, the pizza was to arrive and the soft chatter turned into deep chewing. In the breaks from the sets the room seemed to have a constant murmuring, one which invited conversation and allowed the readers of the next set to ease into something other than their own terrifying thoughts. All of these things combined managed to create a strong, thick atmosphere for the evening and I’m sure that the reason the attendees had such an enjoyable night wasn’t just for the food, friends and fresh air, but for the fantastic words spoken from the stage. Each speaker had differing quirks and hand gestures, different voice projections and very different story lines. However, that doesn’t mean any of them were less. After all, we’re all human, and there is something very natural about it. It’s here that we should acknowledge those readers, and who best to start with then the Flinders first year BCA Creative Writing students who feel no fear in showing their talent; Jaqui Lawson, Mario Pilla and Samuel Williams. Having studied with these writers myself, I am very proud to have heard their wonderful words read aloud from the page. Next we’ll move on to those who have studied much further into Creative Writing, and as such had many interesting stories to share; Brendan Whittaker, Tom Drahos, Neil Philbey and Helen Dinmore. Of course, we cannot forget the remarkable guest headliners who took the time to show us how it’s done—Ben Chandler, Molly Murn and Kate Hayford. I must encourage support and praise for the readers and organisers, and with any luck those of you who’ve yet to experience such an event will be just as impressed in the future when I expect to see the likes of you amongst the crowd. Speakeasy Review for Sept 22nd 2010 at the Wheatsheaf Hotel– Molly Paton.

Molly Paton is a first year Creative Writing Student at Flinders University. She believes somewhat in the quote ‘a writer can only write what they know’ and feels that she writes about everything and nothing. This is of course what she knows. Whether actually knowledge or just things she knows she doesn’t know. .

Speakeasy at the Wheatsheaf Sept 2010

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A big thanks to Jessica Royans

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We are very grateful to Jessica Royans for the beautiful poster that she made for our recent event at the Wheatie on Sept 22. Some info on Jessica: (pic here soon) Jessica is extremely fond of scribbling, adores birds and is a proud drinker of decaf tea. She has had a pen in her hand for as long as she can remember & is currently putting together an online portfolio of paintings, drawings & other sorts of heart-felt ponderings. .

Our Headliners for Sept 22nd

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Ben Chandler Ben lives mostly in worlds of his own creation but occasionally misses the real world and comes home to Adelaide. He holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Flinders University, where he occasionally teaches Creative Writing and English Literature, and has published academic work on popular culture, video game narrative theory, Japanese heroism, anime & manga, and creative writing pedagogy. In 2010 he was awarded the Colin Thiele Creative Writing Scholarship from Carclew Youth Arts Board and was a finalist in the Channel 9 SA Young Achiever Awards. Ben loves heroes, villains, comic books, and video games, and believes you can learn more from watching cartoons than you can from the news. Like all fantasy writers, Ben has a cat. His cat is named Loki. It’s possible Loki is the reincarnation of the Norse God of Mischief, but Ben hopes this is just a flight of his fancy. Quillblade: Volume One of the Voyages of the Flying Dragon is in stores now! http://www.benchandler.com.au/ Molly Murn Molly Murn is completing a Masters in Creative Writing at Flinders University. She also teaches part time at Flinders in English and Creative Writing. As part of her thesis she is writing a novella, The Heart of the Grass Tree, set in Kangaroo Island. Molly has had several poems published in the Friendly Street Readers Rewired (2008) and Catch Fire (2009). Her poem 'Lubra Creek' won the Satura prize — best poem of a new poet in the Friendly Street Reader in 2008. Molly has also had some of her poems broadcast on community radio. Kate Hayford Kate Hayford is currently undertaking a Ph.D in Creative Writing at Flinders University. Her creative project is a contemporary Australian novel that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a thirty-year-old man stuck in an employment rut, lusting after his mate’s girlfriend and playing for a country football side of chronic losers. A chapter of this was published as a short story in Goodnight Goodnight, the 2009 Wirra Wirra short story anthology. Kate also does the odd book review on Radio Adelaide. She lives with her partner, their two little boys and a mad cat, in a house next door to a mad chicken and across the road from three mad cows. She juggles her literary pursuits with football, cooking and maintaining her eldest son’s millipede collection. She dislikes capsicum and Hugh Grant. Link to ‘Fisho’s Frolics’, Kate’s interactive blog thread (which she writes under the name ‘Fisho McSpaz’): http://www.safooty.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=29241&start=0

Speakeasy at the Wheatsheaf Hotel Thebarton Sept 22nd 6pm

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Come to the Wheatsheaf Hotel on Wednesday night, September 22nd for Speakeasy’s second public reading event showcasing Flinders University’s creative writers. Hear some of Flinders University’s most talented creative writers including special guest Ben Chandler who will be reading from his 1st book, 'Voyages of the Flying Dragon 1: Quillblade', which is being published in September. Bring a friend and a gold coin. Doors open at 6pm. Check this space for more details of readers soon. For more information please email Margot McGovern & Threasa Meads at: speakeasy.flinders@gmail.com .

A Great Night

2010-06-12T18:02:00.000+09:30

Despite the cold damp weather outside the second Speakeasy Creative Readings at Flinders proved to be a great night enjoyed by all. Brave and talented Flinders students effectively re-decorated the Flinders Cafe / Bunker with stories, poems, reflections rich in colour, humour, insight and enterprise. Thanks to the Scholars Bar for staying open in order to provide shelter, refreshment and Dutch courage to those who braved the Speakeasy corner. Creative Readers all (yes, that is with a capital R) you made the Speakeasy evening warm, comforting and inspiring for those wanting to give Creative Writing a crack, but are too afraid to ask. Speakeasy is a place and space to be. Highlights plucked fresh from the steaming Speakeasy pot included the following lines: ‘Thick veins appear like street maps on their skin...’ Peter Beaglehole ‘Anyone can set a house on fire...’ Helen Dinmore ‘..but his friends just call him Steve.’ Ryan Eastwood ‘He’s learnt to recognise bad days...’ Ronny Platt ‘It took my mother seven babies to acquire the depression.’ Molly Paton ‘A colour cat with floral patterns.’ Chiam Chuang Chao (Charles) ‘Cherry lips, cherry on the glass...’ ‘..a deer just born..’ Jacqui Lawson ‘Milk would suffice..’ Grace Chipperfield ‘Air-raid siren red down the side of his face.’ ‘It is the colour of the sound of throwing up.’ Lucy Haas-Hennessy ‘You are the Ambassador of Brazil?’ ‘Magpie in a small wooden cage.’ Miranda Richardson ‘..a mess of pins and scar tissue...’ ‘Fishhooks in his face...’ Adam Henderson ‘...fingertips lifting bark from the trunk...’ ‘..lightning you can hold...’ Samuel Williams ‘..likes the taste of cottage cheese...’ Mario Pilla ‘..find my faults and flush them away...’ Angela Darlington ‘..diesel poisons their veins..’ ‘You’re a wonderful fuck...’ Neil Philby ‘..a look given to sick dogs.’ ‘She’s a 1000 points more normal...’ Nathan Erdely ‘..widening his smile with a blade...’ Brendan Whittaker ‘..everything going according to plan...’ Jacqui Rochow ‘..clipped the apex of its curve...’ ‘..steel capped toe into the sucker.. they sought a submission of spirit...’ Tom Drahos It takes guts, a little bit of swagger and a bellyful of VOICE PROJECTION to stand in front of colleagues, friends, families and lay open ones written work so kudos to those who dared to Speakeasy. Its a luxury to travel together when traditionally writing and reading are solitary practices so thank you for the journey. Disappointed you missed the Speakeasy moment? Fret not as the next public Speakeasy event is set to be held next semester during mid-semester break (approx late September) and will most likely be at the Wheatsheaf Hotel again. Watch this space for an update in the coming weeks. Review by Fabienne Bayet-Charlton (Speakeasy committee member) .

Our Readers

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Set 1 Peter, Helen, Ryan, Charles, Ronny, Jaqui, Grace

Set 2 Molly, Lucy, Miranda, Adam, Samuel, Mario

Set 3 Angela, Neil, Nathan, Brendan, Jaqui, Tom

Our 2nd on-campus event!

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Our next event

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Special thanks to Flinders University student Courtney Cullen for designing this poster and flyer.

The Night Sparkled with New Stars

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Speakeasy’s first public event was a huge success! Flinders University students, staff, members of the Adelaide writers’ community and the general public came along to the spoken word event, where creativity was fostered in a supportive environment, at the Wheatsheaf Hotel on April 14th. All who spoke at the public event were astounding. The seven Flinders University students invited to showcase their talent at the Wheatsheaf after their stellar readings at the campus event last year were; Phillip Kavanagh, Tom Drahos, Amy Summerton, Amanda Williams, Jaqueline Rochow, Dennis Wild and Ronny Platt. These readers were complemented by three special guest headliners: Lisa Hannett, Clementine Ford and Amy T Matthews (winner of the 2010 Adelaide Festival for Literature Unpublished Manuscript Award). In the ten minutes allocated, each reader delivered an excellence in their voice and kept the audience entertained. Stylishly dressed in a suit, Flinders University English and Drama student, Neil Philbey, did a wonderful job as emcee. For some of the students it was their first time on a microphone. But while nerves may have been high, they did not falter. I overheard many in the audience who were impressed by the quality of the writing, ideas and the clarity of the voices on the night. It was tremendous to be around a group of like-minded people where Flinders staff and students, friends and family all gathered to hear the spoken word for a gold coin donation. People drank and ordered pizzas. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed. Co-directors of Speakeasy, Margot and Threasa, closed the event on a high note, giving credit to the other people who helped to organise the event. Speakeasy’s next campus event will be at: Flinders University refectory, next to the Scholar’s Bar, on Friday 28th May. The event will go from 3pm til 7pm. If you are a Flinders undergrad or Honours student interested in reading some Of your own creative writing in a 5 minute slot, please email your details to: speakeasy.flinders@gmail.com ~ Angela Darlington, Speakeasy reviewer .

Speakeasy at Flinders University recent articles and useful links

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Flinders Journal Speakeasy article (see Arts page 8) http://www.flinders.edu.au/new-and-events-files/Flinders%20Journal%20April%202010.pdf Same article in Indaily http://www.indaily.com.au/default.aspx?iid=35557&startpage=page0000014 Footnotes Flinders University Creative Writing Bulletin Issue 1 Apr10 http://www.flinders.edu.au/ehlt/englishandcreativewriting/footnotes.cfm .

A special thanks to our photographer

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Speakeasy wishes to express our gushing gratitude to Adelaide photographer Sofie Marsden for all her great shots of our event at the Wheatsheaf Hotel on April 14th. Thanks so much. Find Sofie at: http://twitter.com/deathinvogue

Speakeasy at The Wheatsheaf

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An update on our readers

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Details for some of the readers who will be appearing at Speakeasy this Wednesday 14th April are below: Amy T. Matthews has published short stories in collections including Best Australian Stories, and been long-listed for the Australian/Vogel literary award. She has co-edited two anthologies of short stories and poetry and is the winner of the 2010 Adelaide Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award for her novel End of the Night Girl, to be published in 2011. Amy lives in Adelaide with her husband and children, and teaches at the University of Adelaide.

Clementine Ford is an Adelaide based writer and social irritant. She's obsessed with email. She looks terrible in hats. She hates My Space. She loves her parents. She cooks a mean tray of brownies. According to Sunday Mail reader 'Liz', if she just did something with her hair and fixed her teeth then a man or woman might bother looking at her and she could stop all this feminism nonsense. http://www.audreyapple.blogspot.com/ Lisa Hannett's short speculative fiction has been published in Clarkesworld Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, On Spec, Canterbury 2100 and Scary Kisses. She has stories forthcoming in magazines including Weird Tales, ChiZine, Electric Velocipede, Shimmer, and Midnight Echo; and anthologies including Tesseracts 14, Sprawl and Steampunk Reloaded. Her story 'On the Lot and In the Air' was on Locus Magazine's "Recommended Reading List" for 2009. She is a graduate of the Clarion South Writers Workshop. When she’s not writing fiction, Lisa teaches in the English Department at Flinders University, where she also hopes to complete her PhD in medieval Icelandic literature before she grows older than her subject matter. http://lisahannett.livejournal.com/

Speakeasy at The Wheatsheaf Hotel

2010-03-31T14:28:00.000+10:30

Come to the Wheatsheaf Hotel on Wednesday night, April 14 for Speakeasy’s inaugural public reading event showcasing Flinders University’s creative writers. Hear some of Flinders University’s and Adelaide’s most talented creative writers including special guest Amy T Matthews recent winner of the 2010 Adelaide Festival for Literature Unpublished Manuscript Award.Bring a friend and a gold coin. Doors open at 6pm. For more information please email Margot McGovern & Threasa Meads at: speakeasy.flinders@gmail.com

Our first event!

2009-12-22T14:28:00.000+10:30

Who says Friday 13th is bad luck? Sure, the day was a scorcher at nearly 40 degrees. And, yeah, there was a family of killer-ducks threatening to chase us out of the courtyard before the event got started. But a few glasses of chilled wine helped alleviate the first problem, and an active pre-schooler saved us from the second -- and once the readings began, all superstitious curses were forgotten. For over three hours, we were spell-bound by a wide selection of Flinders' creative writing talent. We heard travel narratives, life writing pieces, snappy humorous works, excerpts from novels, poems, works-in-progress, and so much more. Thanks everyone, for making our first Speakeasy event a huge success.

Sweet...

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A great crowd on a hot night...

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Set Three: Lauren, Natasha, Jacqueline, and Dennis

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Set Two: Nedelin, Amy, Satu, Charles, Nadia, Tom, and Amanda

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Set One: Hannah, Phillip, Kimberly, Jo, Malanie, Ronny and Darren

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A call-out to Flinders students

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Fancy a picnic? We would like to invite you to join us for Speakeasy, a casual gathering showcasing Flinders creative writers. Come to the Humanities courtyard on November 13th at 4pm for some nibbles, drinks and creative readings. Bring a friend and a gold coin donation. Come listen, show your support and have some fun. If you are an undergrad or an Honours student interested in sharing some of your own work in a 5 minute slot, please shoot us an email with your details. speakeasy.flinders@gmail.com RSVP by 11/11 for catering.