Nene Gare, art and The Fringe Dwellers
An artistic and literary journey with FAWWA. By Susan Cullen
In Tom Collins House, the central corridor leads to a dark panelled room. Reaching for a black light switch on the jarrah lined wall is tricky. It’s hard to see in the dark.
The dim light reveals a small painting in watercolour blue with cheerful white boats bobbing. It’s one of the Swan River series by Nene Gare.
A second of Gare’s watercolours hangs in Mattie Furphy House (pictured below).
A handwritten Post It note on its back says the piece was a gift to the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA from Western Australian poet Andrew Burke (1944 - 2023).
The Age (Obituary Nene Gare 1914–1994, 7 June 1994) said ‘Gare believed that “there are right and wrong choices and the right choice is a lot easier to see than we will admit”.’
She spoke of the empathy she had for the Aboriginal families living near Drummond Cove, a place she used to visit in Geraldton.
She said she felt for them as she too had grown up in straightened circumstances. She wrote in her journal about the families, their homes of hessian and no running water.
Not wanting to fictionalise her writing, and fearing she may mislead, she refused to force her narrative to a climactic point.
The outcome was The Fringe Dwellers, her famous and iconic story about the devastating effects of assimilation on an Aboriginal family. It’s been in print since 1961, and was made into a film by Bruce Beresford in 1986.
Nene Gare gave us one of our seminal Australian books. Her photograph (above) is in the Tom Collins collection, and her painting of the Swan River now hangs in the entry hall of Tom Collins House, a greeting for visitors and members.
If you pop into the house to meet us on a Friday when we work in the office, you might like to pause at the front door, and take a moment to contemplate the small watercolour painting of yachts on the Swan River, and think for a moment about the talent and legacy of Nene Gare.
The New CommitteeThe AGM was held on 3 November at 2pm. A new committee was elected. They are:
Susan Cullen (President)
Annie Fursland (Vice President)
Anna Herrmann (Treasurer)
Emma Bladen (Committee Member)
Gemma Nugent (Committee Member)
We welcome the new committee, and hope the coming year is an interesting one full of workshops and plenty of activity.
The FAWWA Constitution allows for seven committee members. The more the merrier! If you have a little time to offer and would like to serve on our committee we would love to hear from you. Please email us on fellowshipaustralianwriterswa@gmail.com or pop in on a Friday morning.
Invitation to Christmas Drinks
"Well-Read Wednesday"Emily McGuiness, a participant in the Emerging Writers Program for 2024, is proud to announce the commencement of her new project "Well-Read Wednesday".
Through interviewing local authors, Emily will be presenting answers to the question of what it means to be well-read, as well as book recommendations from some of your favourite Perth authors.
Every Wednesday morning a new author's take on the topic will be released on Emily's Instagram (@emilymcguinesswriter).
Getting Published Event
Rachel Hanson gave a workshop on Getting Published at Mattie Furphy House on Saturday, November 9.
Rachel's session was full of useful information and insight. It was very well received by everyone and Rachel will conduct another ‘Getting Published’ workshop next year for the many people who missed out this time.
Rachel Hanson (above left) at Mattie Furphy House with committee member Gemma Nugent.
What's On?The Australian Short Story Festival, now in its eighth year, is a celebration of the subtlety and flair of the shorter narrative form.
This year the 2024 Australian Short Story Festival will be held in Perth/Boorloo on 22–24 November at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle campus.
Beginning on Friday, November 22, a day of stimulating workshops will by followed by a gala Opening Night of storytelling and music from some of WA's best performers.
The weekend sees a wealth of writers in lively panels and conversations, culminating on Sunday evening with a fun-filled literary debate between sharp-minded and sharp-tongued writers from around Australia. Talented local and national writers including Cate Kennedy, Laura Jean McKay, Eugen Bacon, Catherine McNamara, Adam Thompson, Kalem Murray and John Kinsella will be joined, via Zoom, by two of the biggest names in the business: Carys Davies and Fiona McFarlane.
Tickets are available at trybooking.com/CWFBN. A full program will be available very soon on the Australian Short Story Festival website, www.australianshortstoryfestival.com.
CompetitionsNewcastle Short Story Competition open for submissions
Submission Period
Submissions open Monday 11 November and close on Sunday 22 December 2024 at 8pm.
Key Dates
Submissions open: Monday 11 November 2024
Submissions close: 8pm, Sunday 22 December 2024
Shortlist announced: Friday 7 February 2025
Award ceremony and Anthology launch: Saturday 5 April 2025 in Newcastle, NSW
Prize Pool
First Prize: $3,000
Second Prize: $1,500
Third Prize: $500
Hunter Writers’ Centre Member Prize $500
Highly Commended: $200, sponsored by FogHorn Brewery
To enter, click on: The Newcastle Short Story Award - Entry Form
The Judith Wright Poetry Prize
Overland invites entries for the Judith Wright Poetry Prize. Established in 2007 and sponsored by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets seeks poetry by writers who have published no more than one collection of poems under their own name (that is writers who’ve had zero collections published, or one solo collection published).
With a total prize pool of $9000, it remains one of the richest prizes for emerging poets from Australia and New Zealand.
Entries will close 11.59pm Friday 22 November 2024. Please read the entry guidelines carefully to confirm your eligibility.
Save These Dates in 2025Coming up in 2025, FAWWA will be holding a series of workshops. In February, Rachel Hanson, Senior Editor from Fremantle Press, will be back to do another session on ‘Getting Published’. Watch for tickets as these sell very fast.
We are delighted to introduce one of our Emerging Writers, Soraya Acosta Sanchez, who will be running workshops on ‘How to start writing’, ‘Finding your characters’ and ‘World Building’.
Look out for these, set aside the dates, and get your short stories ready for FAWWA’s Short Story Competition which will open at the end of March.
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