Caroline Reid Writes

photo: Trentino Priori A few weeks ago I went to Goolwa for a crack at the Goolwa Poetry Cup, my 3rd year competing in this event. I always feel kinda awkward posting about this stuff because I come from a family/generation/culture that didn't go in for talking up personal achievements. It was perceived as bragging rather than celebrating. But I'm older now and see things differently. I won, dear reader. I am the 2019 Goolwa Poetry Cup Champion. Hazaar! I've never won a trophy cup before, unless you count the little one I was awarded by the swimming club in Kalgoorlie back in the 80s for being most consistent (or something) which means I didn't get better nor did I get worse, I just kept turning up. Wait, maybe writing and performing is the same except I give more of a shit about writing and performing so getting better is something I strive for.  I figure a win for a middle~aged woman who only recently discovered the power and pleasure of spoken word...

I have a new video poem out in the world.  You can catch it here on Vimeo : To Touch and Taste a Comet

photo credit: Rose Mackenzie 2019 has a been a big year on many levels, so I dunno about you but I forgive myself for the scant blogging. Here's a brief rundown: I secured some funding to work with the incredible Toni Jordan as a writing mentor. But as luck would have it, the very first month I began working with Toni a spot came up in an Aged Care home for my mum. She'd been on a waitlist with two care homes for almost a year and I'd made phone calls a few weeks prior to see if there was anything available only to be told my mum's appplication had been lost and I'd need to reapply.  I panicked (#understatement) because I knew my mum's ability to live independently was fast deteriorating  due to Alzheimer's Disease and I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to manage her life while living 2700kms away. Long story short, the lost application seemed to work in our favour (#agedcareguilt) because Mum was offered a placement within weeks. This...

photo credit: Pamela Boutros Well hello On Friday I'll be travelling from Adelaide to Melbourne for the Emerging Writers Festival. First up is the National Writers Conference , and I'm looking forward to attending sessions like 'Writing with Emotional Honesty' and 'Deep Listening and Poetic Practice'. I'll also be having a session with my writing mentor, Toni Jordan , which is exciting and challenging and scary but oh god! i am learning so much, not just about writing but also about myself, my areas of resistance and strengths. It's a wild ride. Once the conference is done, I'll be out and about performing some of my work. Melbourne friends have been asking for deets. Here, then, is the itinerary of my liddle poetry performance tour (haha feeling so rockstar!): Swinburne Present Spirit of Punk - an open mic with attitude A free event in partnership with Swinburne Uni and the Emerging Writers Festival, it's an opportunity for anyone t...

I thought about getting a writing mentor for a long time. Then I came across two things (well, three) that decided it for me. The first was the Australian Writers Mentoring Program founded by Kathryn Heyman to offer high-level mentoring to new and emerging writers. I read everything on the website and researched the mentors, including Toni Jordan. Then I read an essay over at Writers Digest, How I Stopped Sabotaging My Writing Goals: Confessions of a Late Bloomer by Andrea Jarrell. In that essay she writes: "working with a more experienced writer has been an essential part of my path." For me, that was the clincher. And I knew after reading three of Toni's novels that she seemed a good fit. I just had to find the money. Got a book in you? A mentor can help get it out. I talked to my partner. He agreed that it was worthwhile making the investment in me and my writing. It would mean giving up that annual holiday to the Bahamas (haha .. we don't have an annual hol...

Sharing screen-time with Solli, Adelaide Writers Week Over the next month I'm performing at 4 diverse events that I'm thrilled to be part of.  First up, esteemed South Australian poet, Jude Aquilina will launch the poetry chapbook of Stephen House on Tuesday 12th February @ 6pm for a 6.30pm start @ La Bohéme on Grote Stre et in Adelaide City. The book, "real and unreal" is published by ICOE Press as part of their 2018 selected chapbook series. I'm going to MC the event; and Stephen, Jude and I will perform some of Stephen poems from the collection. Stephen's poems walk on the wild side, so if that's your thing then you won't want to miss this gig. And La Bohéme are known for their most excellent cocktails. Just saying. Second gig on the Feb calendar is Tenx9 Adelaide. Tenx9 is a regular monthly storytelling event where nine people have up to ten minutes each to tell a true story from their life. This month the theme is love ... obviously. La...

Goal setting. I love it and hate it. I'm a list girl, so I love making long lists of things I intend to do. But I hate it because I know even as I write my list that I'm probably not going to achieve half of what I set out to achieve. I've resisted setting goals the usual way this year. Inspired by author and thinker Mark Manson, I've taken time to ponder how successful my approach to goal setting across different areas of my life truly is. For the most part? Pretty unsuccessful. I usually have too many goals which means I end up with a 50% success rate (or less) which leaves me feeling pretty shit.  This month I read Manson's blogpost Your Goals are Overrated where he discusses why it's more effective for us to focus on changing our habits rather than achieving goals. What he says makes a lot of sense to me, so I'm going to try it out in different areas of my life (exercising and meditation for example) as well as in my writing life. The approach foc...