Wordy Things
The Penguin Plays Rough Gatecrash sees one story from that month’s event published on Throw Shapes with permission from the author. Harry Wynter read part of this story called Dirt (Pancakes) on Wednesday the 19th of May at the last PPR ever to be held in the cosy loungeroom of 475 King Street. As their lease had run out, Pip and her housemates were forced to leave. Luckily though, Pip has found a warehouse space for Penguin and the next instalment, which will be around the 21st of June, will be in some amazing warehouse space in St Peters.
Harry, on the other hand, is a damned good writer, and is currently finished his Masters in Creative Writing at UTS. This story was published recently in I Can See My House From Here, the 2010 UTS Writers Anthology.
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Dad was a drinker, and a writer, and I’m not sure which was worse. He was a helluva poet when he wasn’t pussyfooting prose, and sometimes I wish he’d hit Shelley so I’d have a concrete reason to kill him.
We grew up on dirt in a place where all the plants were bitter and sinew. The garden excreted limp carrots from time to time, radishes, but between the sand and the frost the only regular plants were dry roots and endless variations of razor grass. The dam was silt and low, Dad called it a dam-p, and Shelley would always laugh even though it was much sadder than it was funny. Whenever Dad came home it was a sort of feast, and I was still happy to see his face, even though it was sunken and green, and his stubble was crooked, and he smelt like everything that is wrong with the world. Read more for the full story…
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Posted by amelia in
Gatecrashers, Words
Tags: dirt (pancakes), harry wynter, penguin plays rough, penguin plays rough gatecrash, short fiction, short story
I emailed Nick some questions because I wanted him to write me some funny responses – I wanted him to be able to sit down and think up something funny. What he has done is made me look retarded, as well as make himself look funny, which is still funny, but also a little sad for me, but I’m not sad because it’s funny. So it all evened out. Anyway, have a read of our kind-of-interview, and if you like it, you should probably go and see Nick’s show.
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+ Hello! How are you?
> I am well. How are you?
+ You must be busy preparing for your Comedy Fest show. How do you actually prepare for a comedy show? Do you have to harden yourself up and imagine poeple not laughing at you?
> I asked you how you are and you didn’t answer me. How rude a person you must be.
+ What’s the show about?
It’s like we aren’t even communicating here. I mean I just called you a rude person and you just totally ignored me and asked me another question! What are you about? Why dont you listen to people?
+ Tell me about the last dream you had that terrified you, preferably a cheese dream.
> I had a dream that i was molested by a narwhal. Then I ate some cheese and had a dream that I had a cheese dream where I woke up inside a narwhal.
Read more for the whole interview…
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Posted by amelia in
Features, Words
Tags: 1966, cheese dreams, comedy festival, district 9, dogs, jerk kids, narhwals, Nick Sun, pelican eating pigeon, ross noble, turtle eating pigeon
Felicity Castagna is a Sydney based teacher and writer, who I discovered last week at Penguin Plays Rough #15.She is widely published in Australian literary magazines. She has read and performed her work on ABC Radio National, the Sydney Writers Festival and the Melbourne Writers Festival. Her first collection of short stories is being published by Transit Lounge in April 2011. She read this story, ‘Fidel Castro Moves to Surfers Paradise’, and I was quickly drawn in to the slow, gentle metamorphosis, both of the character but also of the story -from the real to the surreal. Without too much wanking on, it’s hilarious, disturbing and very, very good.
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To Become Fidel
In the beginning my mother was Fidel Castro from nine to five, Monday to Friday. In order to become Fidel, my mother took a toothbrush and combed her eyebrows upwards to make them look larger. Next, she applied gell to her charcoal grey hair and slicked it back, so that it sat on her head like a thick woollen hat. The last thing that she applied was perhaps the defining costume feature. It was a thick beard and moustache that she made from teasing some balls of angora wool. Its fibres got caught in the fabric of our furniture so that we could always see where Fidel had chosen to sit in the afternoon to have her cup of tea.
She did not require much more pruning. She is naturally very Fidel Castro in shape and form. As far back as I can remember she has always been a thick-set woman with broad shoulders, big breasts, and thick legs like tree trunks. She had only to unhook her bra and she became a flat-cheasted woman with a sizable Castro-like paunch. Read more for the full story…
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Posted by amelia in
Gatecrashers, Words
Tags: abc radio national, felicity castagna, fidel castro moves to surfers paradise, melbourne writers festival, penguin plays rough, penguin plays rough gatecrash, SOYA, sydney writers festival, transit lounge
It is with much happiness that I am able to say that I am now one half of the brains/braun/beauty behind Penguin Plays Rough. As well as editing this here blog, I’m going to be helping Pip Smith put on this monthly fiction night, where five programmed writers as well as five or so wild cards get up and read a piece of short fiction to a captive audience. We’re also recording these stories which you might have heard last weekend on fBI radio’s All The Best – a show by Eliza Sarlos that focuses on stories from Sydney. We’re filming authors read these stories from the big red velvet chair in public places, too, which is something that we need some help with if you’re savvy with a video camera.
Anyway, that aside, our next event is on TONIGHT, April 19th, at 1/475 King Street, from about 8pm. Tonight you’ll find a veritable cornucopia of writerly delights, including DeAnne Smith, from Montreal, Adelaide Fringe Festival People’s Choice Award Winner Tim Spencer, 2004 SOYA Award Winner Felicity Castagna, Annaliese Constable and Lexi Frieman. (Lexi’s in Way To Heaven, too!) All these lovely people read stories tonight, as well as five exciting wildcards, which could even be you, and we’re making a spicy buttered rum drink for you which involves all kinds of wonderful, will warm up your tum and what not.
I’d also like to quietly announce that we have a website online for Penguin, which is just over here. There’s also a link on the site to the flickr group where we’d appreciate you sharing some photos you may have taken at the night.
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Posted by amelia in
Events, Words
Tags: Adelaide Fringe Festival, all the best, Annaliese Constable, Eliza Sarlos, FBi Radio, felicity castagna, flickr, lexi frieman, penguin plays rough, pip smith, SOYA, tim spencer, way to heaven, wordpress
Hey so Penguin Plays Rough happens next on the 19th of April, which is certainly Not Very Far Away. That means that writers need to start getting on it and getting involved right now. I’m talking to you, writer sitting in chair chewing on biro staring and blank computer screen filing nails watching The IT Crowd and eating cheese, you, YOU can read your work to a crowd of people. I’m serious. All you have to do is send me an email (amelia [at] throwshapes.com.au) with a sample of your short fiction so I can tell that you’re not shit.
It’s a great opportunity to meet other writers, read your work to attentive listeners, get positive and encouraging feedback and also drink things. Please don’t be shy and we’d love to hear from you. Penguin Plays Rough is held in someone’s big living room on top of a shop on King St in Newtown…
Posted by amelia in
Art, Words
Tags: creative writing, penguin plays rough, short fiction, writer callout, writers
Sixteen :: Oliver Bryce Yates
Volta :: Switch
Bridge Stehli :: Animal Graff
Matt Huynh :: Asperatus
Sound Series :: Crab Smasher
Penguin Plays Rough Gatecrash :: Harry Wynter
Cabins Showcase @ Mitchell Rd Auction Centre :: 02.06.10
The Peel @ Name This Bar :: 27.05.10
Yelling At Stars DVD Launch @ The Clubhouse :: 27.05.10
Sound Series 2 @ Hardware Gallery :: 15.04.10
700 Photos @ The Darlo Bar :: 15.04.10
Arkestra Residency @ OAF :: 05.10
Tiger Lillies @ Cockatoo Island :: 20.05.10
Survey Show @ 231 Wilson St :: 21.05.10
