Month: July 2011

Read to write

Linda J

At a recent gathering of the Writers’ Group, we discussed the many things needed to inspire one’s writing, and one thing which came through strongly was the need to read. Indeed, this was one of the many things emphasised by this week’s major winner of the Australian Book Industry Awards for 2011, Ahn Do.

‘The Happiest Refugee’ is Anh’s memoir – his journey from Vietnam as a young child, to a far away country. It reflects the struggles, torments and challenges faced by a refugee child.

For someone who had trouble reading and writing at school, to win not one, but three awards is a major achievement. In his acceptance of the awards, he credits much of his success to developing a love for reading; which was well supported by his mother (including buying second hand books from Vinnies). This must have been a vital step to learn his second language, English.

In an interview transcribed on the ABC’s AM site, Anh Do spoke about rising above early problems he had in school, and the determination to do well in his new homeland, encouraged by his family. Now, he is also encouraged by people who have enjoyed his book, which is a mixture of happy and sad events. It seems his story of rising above life’s many challenges speaks to many.

While it has been suggested by some that Anh had a ghost writer, he explains that he did have help recording and organising his thoughts and experiences for the early drafts of his book. Credit has been given to journalist and writer, Michael Visontay, who has been acknowledged in the book. However, Do and his publishers state that the final manuscript is his work.

In view of the ABIA accolades and past awards* received for ‘the Happiest Refugee’, the final word remains with the author, Anh Do:

“(So) to win Book of the Year after being a kid who had issues with reading and writing it means that maybe I’m not so bad at it.”

# Think about it, why is it important to read as a writer? What sort of books do you read that influence your writing?

* other awards include the Indie Book of the Year Award 2011 and being shortlisted for the 2011 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

Postscript – I just came across another blog which talked about the importance of reading for your writing – see those ideas here.

Wilful Eye – fairytales retold

Linda J

‘When I was a child, I did not love fairytales…They frightened me almost as much as they fascinated me (but) when I grew up, I came to love fairytales for all the things that had frightened me as a child…’ writes Isobelle Carmody in the introduction to ‘Tales from the Tower: the Wilful Eye’.

This collection of 6 short stories by renowned fantasy authors revisits classic fairytales to give them a modern twist. At the same time, each of the stories reflects the differences and nuances of individual authors.

Carmody invited the authors to explore fairy tales of their own choosing. Some chose familiar tales (like Rumpelstiltskin and Beauty and the Beast) as their foundation; others worked with slightly less well-known stories. All have moved away from the Disneyfied versions known to modern children, and have provided some interesting and varied scenarios.

Indeed, a binding feature of the stories is the way in which traditional tales have been transformed, as they move away from their traditional audience of young children to a much more mature one. Already the tales have raised some controversy, many questioning whether they even suit a young adult market. (But then, this may just give the book greater appeal and material for exploration and discussion?)

We are forewarned of the nature of the book in both its blurb and Carmody’s introduction:

‘Characters are enchanted, they transgress, they yearn, they hunger, they hate and, sometimes, they kill.
Some of the stories inhabit a traditional fairytale world, while others are set in the distant future. Some are set in the present and some in an alternative present. The stories offer no prescription for living or moral advice and none belong in a nursery.’

However, the depth and detail, and the twists and turns which each tale takes, inspired by fairy tales of old, makes this book well worth the study – particularly for students in years 11 and 12 Extension English. That some of these stories touch on controversial issues, or that others are dark and enchanting, is nothing new to the world a fairytale appropriation, or indeed to many dark fairytales passed down the generations in the past – after all, many children have been frightened by fairytales, as attested to by Carmody herself.