PS Cottier

Very happy that my wee book Paths Into Inner Canberra has been short-listed in the non-fiction category of the ACT Writers Centre Publishing Awards.  Last year the book I edited with Tim Jones called The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry was highly commended in the poetry category, which is a different kettle of aliens.

The photo by Geoffrey Dunn above shows me pedalling vigorously (or coasting) between genres.  Of course, poetry often describes the world in all its maddening detail from a slightly different perspective.  Slant, as one Ms Dickinson put it.  So rather than speaking of the bike-path running between poetry and non-fiction, perhaps we should picture two lanes separated by a weirdly curving, vivid orange line.  Poetry as high-vis non-fiction?  Non-fiction as poetry elongated into paragraphs?  Mmm, I think I need to do a bit more thinking from under my invisible helmet.

I’m afraid I haven’t read the other non-fiction books nominated.  Here is a link to all the nominations.  I have read the two poetry collections nominated, and they are both excellent.

Looking forward to the announcement on Thursday, and I am more than happy that a book that retails for $4 (plus postage) has made it to the short-list.   Makes an excellent alternative to the type of Christmas card in which Santa hovers over the chimneys like a rum-filled Hindenburg.

My new poetry collection, Quick Bright Things: Poems of Fantasy and Myth, marks a return to fairies. But often rather unpleasant ones, not so far removed from reality.  It is also available at that link.

UPDATE: 16-12  Very happy that Paths received a Highly Commended at the awards last night. Building a City – C.S. Daley and the Story of Canberra by Jennifer Horsfield was the winner in this category, and well done to her.