FINDING STRENGTH IN WORDS

What a great way to close September and crack on into October.

Our book Finding Strength in Words was launched at Oodies Cafe (103 Gavin St), in the company of the Mayor, no less (en route to a meeting I gather was flood related), Rotary reps, Ross P from the ABC and Sue Gammon (Bundaberg Library),  Uniting Care reps Anne McWhirter, Angela Wilson and Margaret Wass, Creative Regions Shelley and Wendy and Ainsley and … well, you get the picture.

A whole lot of people went into the mix to produce this book.

Pushed-to-the-wall is where creatives do their best work [Tweet this!]

And everybody thinks it couldn’t have happened without them, and everybody could be right (except, of course, that we know it couldn’t have happened without us!!)

However, the book is a jolly good looker, and the stories inside seem to have pleased people. Lorraine’s heartfelt story about the forgotten and overlooked losses was voiced by Ross, and Sharon’s ‘last words’ closed the night and ushered in the food.

Dr David Denborough is an Australian leader in creating this sort of collective narrative. Our book had already found its way to him, hand delivered, so he too sent a message to the opening. He congratulated us all, naturally, but then he gave us this one important word: Respect.

The cream-and-jam filled scones went down a treat after that.

QWC was thanked for their support. Individual writers were thanked.

It remains only for the club should to do our own thanks: To all the members who gave us a hand in producing the book; from those who attended the early discussions with the project admin and thought we might be able to co-ordinate it, to workshop attendees and to writers (especially those who bowed to the editor’s will disgracefully), not forgetting the committee who agreed that it could be done… but most of all a thank you to Creative Regions, who not only thought of BWC in the first place, but who (through no fault of their own – it was Christmas) also left everything up in the air so long we were left with almost no time to pull it all together, and so were taught yet again that pushed to the wall is where creatives do their best work.