Record of meeting 18 May 2016

May - Many more poems

The writers

Wendy, Juan, Helene, Cath, Lynn, Elizabeth

The words of the day

Cosset = to pamper

Abstruse = hard to understand

Erratic = unpredictable, irregular

Memory = recalled or kept in mind

Phalanx = closely grouped mass of people

Aberration = to deviate from the norm

Writing from words of the day

The writers used memory to turn the words of the day into a range of erratic stories - The gym instructor, The favoured child, Regaining consciousness, 
The only boy, A wall, and A long time ago

Reading of homework

Four writers read their homework as follows - Juan – I wish I had stayed silent, Elizabeth - An unusual Taxi in Barcelona and Helene – Mr Faux Pas

Exercise 1 - The view from the window

We wrote poems describing the view from a widow. Helene – many windows, Wendy – I stand on my chair, Juan – My face and memories, Elizabeth – Gazing outside, Lynn – the tattered lace curtains 

 and from Cath – two impressive poems Autumn too soon and Play in the sun.

Exercise 2 – Sunday afternoon

The writers captured Sunday afternoon feeling in the following poems

Helene – I want to wake up, Wendy – We can swear, Juan – A glorious day, Elizabeth – What to do, Lynn – Smoke curls and Cath – Children run.

Homework

Write a poem from the perspective of your opposite gender 

Record of meeting 11 May 2016

 More May poetry

The writers

 Juan, Marg, Helene, Terry, Cath, Roslyn, Cath, Di with a quick visit from David C

The words of the day

Garrulous – talkative

Magnitude – importance

Disintegrate – fall apart

Faux pas – a social blunder

Specious – plausible

Nexus – a tie, connection, link

Contrariwise – on the other hand

Pontificate – express opinion in a pompous and dogmatic way

Writing from words of the day

The writers did not disintegrate with the magnitude of the task and created a range of stories as follows; Roslyn – The meeting, Marg – Heard everywhere, Cath – It had begun, Di – People in power, Helene – Political characters, Terry – an argument and Juan – Love and hope.

Reading of homework

Using the bush theme the writers read out the following homework poems and stories - Marg - The kangaroo and billy tea, Roslyn – Blue mountains 5 short poems, Juan – A dry country, Terry – A trip away, Helene – Bush life and Di – A wobbly walk way.

Readings

Terry read out Clancy @the overflow based on the poem Clancy of the Overflow by A B Patterson.

Roslyn read out “The noble old tree” written by Juan

Haiku poetry

We explored Haiku poetry a traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of 3 lines. The first and last lines have 5 syllables and the middle line 7 syllables. The lines rarely rhyme. This exercise kept us quiet working hard and counting.

Homework

A poem about a Faux pas 

Record of meeting 4 May 2016

May is poetry month

The writers attending

Helene, Wendy, Juan, Elizabeth, Lynn, Elizabeth, Di and welcome to Marg

The words of the day

Hirsute – hairy 

Clock – timepiece

Spectrum – range, band

Perchance – by accident

Icon – sacred picture, etc

Flimflam – idle nonsense

Obdurate – stubborn, unyielding

Stories from words of the day

We took the words of the day and 

produced some hirsute flimflam iconic stories and poems - 

Harry the biker, Aurora borealis, 

The sneer, The janitor, Living in fear, 

Can you see this guy and The old man.

Reading of homework

Four writers read out homework as follows - Air an acrostic poem from Helene, Speed bump ahead from Wendy, Flying high & The orgy two poems from Juan and Collecting the eggs from Elizabeth.

Exercise - Superstition

We used the word Superstition to create an acrostic poem with three word sentences. The writers created a range of excellent poems on the topics; Send in witches – Helene, So much stress – Diane, Afraid of the dark – Elizabeth, Sexy hairy person, - Marg, So my mum – Lynn, Superstition is good – Juan and Silly me mum - Wendy.

Exercise - Terrible two

The writers created a two year old character and wrote about her thoughts and ideas.

Helene – the PMs grand daughter; Wendy – My brother Naughty boy; Juan – Its my own bum; Lynn – I’m not happy; Marg – I am brown; Elizabeth – One day I will be big and Diane – I take no notice.

Exercise 3 - Initials

We took the initials of our names to write a poem or story either about ourselves or another topic.

Helene – Live another life, Diane – Elegant Elli, Elizabeth – Sue, Marg – flying high, Lynn – Art and learning, Juan – Just the people I want to talk to and Feeling great & Wendy – Why aren’t I six feet tall?

Homework

Write a bush poem

Record of meeting 27 April 2016

Good bye war and conflict and hello to poetry for the month of May 2016

The writers

Helene, Terry, Roslyn, Di, Juan,

The words of the day

Ersatz – synthetic

Chimera – fabled monster

Chimera

Amuck – rush about in frenzy

Bolt – rush away without control

Innocent – not guilty of a crime or offence

Reading stories from words of the day

The small group of elite writers bolted in to create the following synthetic masterpieces - Roslyn - The children, Terry – many meanings, Helene – blood stained monster, Diane – The bull in the rodeo and Juan – John was a POW.

Reading of homework

Four writers read their sometimes emotional homework as follows - Roslyn – My father, Terry – Letter from Private Jones, Helene – One beautiful Anzac Day and Juan - What is ANZAC day?

Exercise

The elite group whiled away the afternoon with discussion covering many and varied topics.

Homework

1. Write an Acrostic poem using a favourite word or the Alphabet  
    or
2. Write any type of poem

Record of meeting 20 April 2016

April the month of war and conflict

The writers

Wendy, Juan, Helene, Cath, Roslyn, Elizabeth, Pauline, Terry

The words of the day

Feign – to pretend

Feint – a sham attack or blow

Extrapolate – infer what will happen

Frenemy - An enemy disguised as a friend
Foretoken – sign of something to come

Imbroglio – complicated situation or plot

Sturts Desert Pea

Harbinger – to announce your approach

Clianthus – a plant bearing scarlet flowers eg desert pea

Stories from words of the day

The writers extrapolated from the words of the day and created the following stories - Growing plants, The tree before me, Dr Pimms, Henry 5th, Caitlin and Sarah, Domestic violence, Willy Nilly; and Deadly Nightshade.

 

Deadly nightshade flower

Reading of homework

Six of the writers read out homework as follows - Terry - The enemy within, Pauline – Being naive, Ros – Gonzo the hound, Juan – Know your enemy, Helene – Friend or Frenemy and Elizabeth – In the drought.

Exercise

We participated in a progressive write on the topic of Autumn with some interesting stories emerging.

Homework

What Anzac day means - use this topic to stimulate your creativity 

Record of meeting 13 April 2016

The writers

Wendy, Pauline, Roslyn, Helene, Di, Lynn, Helene, Leonie & David C

The words of the day

Drivel = senseless             

Copious = abundant

Feckless = irresponsible

Eminent = distinguished

Prognosticate = predict

Minatory = threatening

Juxtaposition = side by side

Footloose = free to go and travel about

Treaty = agreement, settlement, pact, deal, accord, contract, pledge

Writing from words of the day

The writers took the drivel that were the words of the day and wrote the following feckless stories - Arrogance, Power in politics, The parents, I don’t care, The professor, The indulgent professor, How I love travel, The lecturers and I like it.

Reading of homework

Six writers diligently wrote on the homework topic - David C – Dirty unwashed youth; Helene – The tea towel wars; Leonie - behind closed doors; Pauline – tales from the war in London; Ros - Foxy loxy; and Lyn – A true story.

 

Recommendation reading by Leonie

The article Quidnovi: why war? By Einstein and Freud

http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v97/-show_article/_a000097-000049.htm

War words exercise

Lyn supervised us writing a journalist piece using the following words -

Attack, battlefield, counteroffensive, defend, exploitation, ferocious, guerrilla, death, suffering, hero, infiltrate, liberate, marauding, neutralise, orders, pre emptive, quell, reprisal, terrorise, uniform

The writers created a range of convincing journalistic pieces - Helene - Marauding dog attack, Wendy - Death of a child, Pauline - Battle at the card tables, Ros – The fight of the cakes, Lynn – The Broken Hill under 6 team, David C – Political Warriors, Elizabeth - In school uniforms with stones and dirt.

Homework

Write about the enemy

Record of meeting 6 April 2016

The writers

Helene, Wendy, Elizabeth, David C, Cath, Lynn, Terry

The words of the day

Attrition = wearing down

Peccadillo = trivial misdeed

Negotiate = discuss, confer, consult, bargain

Breach = breaking a promise, neglect of duty, gap

Terpsichore = enjoyment from dancing, muse of dancing or lyrical poetry

Render = to provide, submit for inspection or payment, melt down

Writing from words of the day

The writers rendered the words of the day to create the following –Helene - Overuse of alcohol and other drugs, Wendy - Would agree to anything, Elizabeth - He was unpleasant, Lynn - The judges, David C The council and Cathy - Changing the dance steps.

Reading of homework

The writers read out their homework on the following topics - A brave face - Helene, It wasn’t meant to be - David C, Where am I - Juan, Sun flooded the deck - Lynn, The long goodbye a moving poem - Terry and Beside her grave - Elizabeth.

Exercise

We brain stormed ideas about war and conflict around a triangle shape. The three corners represented the traditional, the out there and the way out there ideas. We took the ideas to write a different kind of war story.

Terry – The world is your oyster, Elizabeth – The best way to stop war, Wendy – The war started last week,  Helene – Trumpled to death, Cathy - The assassination of Dumbo,  David C - The secret meeting and Lynn – Helicopters above IGA.

Homework

Expand on the exercise above or write about War in the suburbs