Why study and making sourdough bread go hand in hand?

Why study and making sourdough bread go hand in hand?

The physical nature of writing should never be under-rated. We may no longer be scribes sitting in cold medieval rooms lit only by candles but hunched over a computer reading sources, or drafting and re-drafting a piece till it shines. Writing is a physical activity. Beware carpal tunnel syndrome, pinched neck muscles and red, dry eyes. Myotherapists are my new friends.

Fear not! I have the solution for you - home made sourdough bread. What's this? you ask. Well, I can spruik its features and benefits because I am a recent convert. After having made a few batches of sourdough bread over the last few weeks whilst concurrently studying a couple of summer school intensive subjects, I can positively say that these two are symbiotic.

I'm not used to sitting down for extended periods of time. My work life in the past has been on my feet. Now I do place the laptop on the kitchen bench and type standing up but I've got an even better modus operandi. Making sourdough bread. 

My recipe requires than I give it a light knead every half hour. That is the perfect interval to break up my study. My hands and my brain need rest in order to fully realise the ideas contained within. Sourdough bread needs rest and stretching to fully realise its texture and flavour.

If you are interested in the recipe follow the link. I can give you some starter or you can make your own if you've got another 5 days, which I did. That's fun to do anyway. My advice is to start with a basic white loaf before attempting anything tricky like spelt or rye. I think I should have taken that advice and started with only one intensive subject - oh well. Too late now.

Can the book – as we know it – survive the next 30 years?

Can the book – as we know it – survive the next 30 years?

It’s probably to early to sound the death knell for the resilient physical book, which will survive the next thirty years in a guise very close to what we currently know.

Although self-publishing in the digital realm is a more financially viable route for authors, leading to a cheaper, and sometimes free, product for the consumer, the move towards digital printing means the printed physical book remains a possibility for many authors.

A development from this large amount of free content devalues the digital information/product. Drawing on our previous sense experiences, we deem a physical item to be of a higher value. Not only is the end-user more engaged with a physical item, a book can provide a welcome respite from our screen-saturated world.

Places where people can congregate around books such as libraries, bookstores and community book clubs, foster connections and real life physical interaction. In a time of disenfranchisement with the ubiquitous social media via devices people constantly carry around in their pockets, books can become a totem. Word of mouth recommendations are more likely to occur standing around with books in hand.

While online technologies combine previously multiple type books into one accessible, easily updated device, it’s difficult to get an author to sign your e-reader with a sharpie when you rock up to the reader event at your local bookstore.

Survivors of the digital explosion are adapting as they use new media alongside the physical printed book. Niche markets will always exist and the printed book can address these with small digitally printed runs.

Whether the printed book looks the same in thirty depends on many factors, many unanticipated at this point in time. How technology sits alongside the printed book in a seamless user-friendly way is the challenge.

Feminism and publishing

I'm currently studying a writing degree and have decided to share some pieces I've been writing in class. I hope you find these as interesting as I do.


Which part of the publishing has had the most influence on the modern era? Or vice versa?

Publishing and feminism have developed hand in hand as women sought a greater role in society. Louisa Lawson produced the journal The Dawn, which grew over its 17 years to employ ten female staff. During the late 19^th century, she offered articles addressing household advice, fiction, poetry as well as local and global reportage from a strongly feminist perspective.

As the suffragette movement grew across the world in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, activists looked to writers, and subsequently publishers, to tell their stories and educate people with their books, journals, newspapers and more. Writers were concurrently looking for the opportunity to communicate with their audience and publishers provided the mechanism to connect these two whilst making money. A combination of the 1870 Education Act and growth of public libraries, led to a growing literacy among the lower classes. Suffragettes, though originally mostly from the upper classes, would end up advocating for the rights of all women.

Printed in 1949, Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, is a ground-breaking feminist work, which is often regarded as the jumping off point for the second wave of feminism. This movement gained real traction throughout the late 1960’s and 70’s with female led and feminist publishers growing throughout this time. Virago was born of this era to explore women’s stories and histories. Printed on the second page of every book they released, their purpose was clear – ‘Virago is a feminist publishing company.’

In this current digitally infused era, platforms such as Patreon provide modern feminists a ready-made outlet and simple way to convert social media attention to earnings. Podcasters to erotica writers use this platform to publish their own content for subscribers, garnering income along the way.

Until now feminism and publishing have developed symbiotically. Into the future, how feminism and publishing intersect remains to be seen as both struggle to stay relevant with new technologies.  

Word Con 2, novel writing and me

I really enjoyed the presentation by Dr Luke Horton regarding Auto Fiction. I think this is partly how I write. I never thought of it having a particular named style but I know that I certainly draw in many real events and fictionalize them to suit the narrative. Events that happen to me sometimes feel like a ready-made story waiting for dictation.

Looking into this a bit further, it seems many of the books I’ve enjoyed reading stretch into this field – The Sexual Life of Catherine M – Catherine Millet, In Cold Blood - Truman Capote. I would even suggest some of Lilly Brett’s work skirts this line. I’m very much looking forward to Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts.

Though a rushed presentation due to time, the deadline of the timed exercises allowed for no procrastination which is something I often suffer from. The exercise I enjoyed most was inserting me as a character in my novel. It was fun presenting a recognizable version of myself as the annoying, enthusiastic new neighbor.

Overall, I very much enjoy the variety of presentations at Word Con and felt the workshops to be particularly useful. I look forward to the continuation of this event in the future.

Word Con 2, graphic novels and me

First up at Word Con 2 last week, was Robyn Doreian in conversation with Simon McKeown. Writing for illustrative text has been a subject of ups and downs for me. I don’t read graphic novels or comics so I really had to work hard at finding aspects that I could relate to and work with.

Simon’s comics have a strong Victorian thread as they centre on the grand old hotels of Bendigo. The second in his projected series of ten, ‘The True History of the Whipstick Sound’, obviously features many musical references. One double page spread shows album covers of fictional bands. It is this sort of extra layer of information that I really enjoy and thanks to Simon’s prompting I went back to scour a reference book I own – “1000 Record Covers” by Michael Ochs (see links here and here).

It made me consider my own relationship with music, which I will admit is not overly deep. I do remember a second hand record store that was on Burke Road in Camberwell. Records were displayed in liberated milk crates alphabetically but not by style. Personally I thought this was a genius approach as I became exposed to things I made never have previously come across. There was a turntable with a pair of headphones controlled by the grumpy staff – just like in the movies. For a middle suburban teenage girl, it was all very exotic. I uncovered The Damned there.

And for those who are curious, below is a mock up of the front cover and one internal page of the comic I’ve been working on. 

The story centres on a woman with taste synaethesia and her journey in life. You can read the prologue here

annoyingly enthusiastic mature age student

So as some of you may know, I started a writing course this year. I am loving it. I only took one subject this semester as I wasn't sure how I would go after a 25 year break from formal study. I should have done more but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I've met some inspiring people in my fellow students and last week during an event titled 'Word Con' I met some inspiring teachers. A range of presentations across variously related fields were given by professionals at the coal face of writing and publishing. If you're looking to find employment upon conclusion of the course, then definitely this kind of event would be appropriate. 

It's renewed my faith in next semester after what I consider a shocking attrition rate from my class this semester. I also got to meet students in other years and basically I do feel that I'm in the right place. Melbourne Polytechnic has an aesthetically attractive campus, is an easily accessible walk/ride from home and I'm feeling good about what's to come. 

So from here I need to figure out my subjects for next semester, pop up and visit the lovely Lucy in admin and continue to be that annoyingly enthusiastic mature age student that I am. Yay!

Story with prompts from my writing class

Once upon a time there was a little boy called Danny. He had two older brothers called Sam and Bob who wanted nothing to do with their annoying little brother so this story isn’t about them. Like most children at this time, Danny didn’t have a parent hovering around him to ensure his snacks were ethically produced or gluten-free. Danny did whatever he wanted to as long as he was home in time for dinner.

At the bottom of the court his family lived in was a large unruly vacant block that Danny loved to explore. Most days were a blank canvas. He used to love to abseil down the not so steep slope with found rope tied awkwardly around one of the trees – not that he would have ever have heard of the word abseil.

In Spring from the blossom trees that lined the street, he would eat as many of the sun warmed cherries as he could before he felt ill. Bush tucker man had nothing on Danny. Though not the ones out the front of number 4. Nobody played with the kids from number 4. The house smelled funny and they wore weird clothes. The parents didn’t talk like the other parents. Nobody went near number 4 if they could help it.

One day, Danny found a ball laying in the gutter at the very bottom of the court almost out the front of number 4. He rescued it and decided to play footy. He discovered that it was really tricky playing footy without friends or big brothers. Because of that, Danny decided that Big Ted needed to be goalie.

Hiding Big Ted from no one in particular, Danny liberated him from the bedroom floor and installed between two scrappy trees that served as goal. Goal was always at the bottom of the block to take advantage of the natural incline. The goal trees were at each edge of the block and since Big Ted was a lazy fucker Danny always scored.

And because of that, Danny assumed he was an excellent footy player. Going to school the following year sorted that assumption out quick sticks.

Until finally many years later Danny realised two things – he was crap at sports and there was nothing wrong with the people from number 4 after all.