Stylus speaks with the director of the Queensland Writing Centre, Hilary Beaton. Beaton has been at the helm of QWC for six years and has managed to develop it into an important service provider to  Queensland writers.

Interview: Rosanna Licari

 

For the readers who aren't familiar with QWC, what services do you offer?

The Writers Centre is a membership-based organisation that provides a range of information resources and services to support the development and promotion of writers and writing in Queensland.  

These resources/services include: 

·        www.qwc.asn.au  updated twice weekly with the latest news, opportunities and writing exercises

·        An annual program of workshops, masterclasses and seminars, and writers’ retreats designed to encourage, motivate and educate writers at all stages of development in the art and business of writing.

·        Writing Queensland magazine, delivered monthly (Dec/January combined) to members and subscribers. It is an invaluable source of information on the art of writing, current issues, competitions and opportunities coupled with practical and inspiring feature articles.  

·        Literary Cabaret - Writers Speak Easy Café  (bringing together indigenous artists from around Australia) and Wordpool (new work from established writers and introducing emerging writers to the scene)

·        Job Referral Service provides experienced members with the chance to acquire permanent, part-time and causal paid employment

·        Editorial Consultancy Service gives members the opportunity to discuss their projects face to face (or by telephone) with someone who can offer expert advice. 

·        Email and phone contact support.

·        Free legal and accounting advice. 

 

Hilary, I hear you were a journalist, is that so? 

I trained in the theatre, first as an actress and then as a playwright/dramaturge.   While I am called upon to write articles all the time I never trained as a journalist.

 Poetry is a marginalised literary form, how does QWC support QLD poets? 

QWC supports Queensland poets in a number of ways:

·        Employment opportunities -  commissioned articles in Writing Queensland,  performers at Writers Speak Easy Cafe and Wordpool, tutors for Workshops, Masterclasses and Young Writers Masterclasses, commissioned articles/essays and via the Job Referral Service.

·        Recognition of individual's achievement on the Milestones page of Writing Queensland.  

·        Phone or email contact with respect to general queries. 

·        Access to free legal and accounting advice through Arts Law Centre of Queensland.

·        Promotion of festivals, competitions and readings via Writing Queensland and the Members Only bulletin board and links page on www.qwc.asn.au.

 

Generally speaking, do you think poetry gets a fair share from funding bodies or are other literary forms favoured?

 Funding tends to be cyclical and I think at times all forms can feel they have unjustly missed out. I was pleased to see Bronwyn Lea and Rebecca Edwards receive funding from a recent Australia Council grants round.   

It is interesting that there has been a positive response to verse novels or poets writing novels in recent years, as opposed to anthologies, and numerous poets have been funded at state and federal level. Diversity is a key to success for any writer.

You meet many writers - novelists, short story writers and poets. What qualities do you think make them successful? Is it a combination of factors?

 Definitely a combination of factors. Being a successful writer in Australia is not just about the art of writing. The business side of writing - writing articles, reviews or essays to supplement your income, going to festivals, doing readings, book signings, promoting yourself and your books/poems - the public face if you want to call it that - is vital to increasing your readership base. You do need to develop skills beyond those of writing which is why the Writers Centre runs sessions on performing your work, dealing with the media, working in schools and career management as well as those which deal with actual writing.

The danger for any writer is to believe their situation is unique or that they are misunderstood by the greater community. Writing poetry is a creative endeavour and the creative act is an energy. That energy can be harnessed in many ways to benefit many people. To remain isolated or inward focussed is counter productive that is why at the QWC we encouraged as many people as possible become part of Queensland flourishing writing community and to share in the evolution of arts practice in this State.

What type of poetry do you read and who are your favourite Australian poets?

 I try to keep up-to-date with as many contemporary Australian and especially Queensland poets as possible. The list includes Sam Wagan Watson, Michelle A Taylor, Paul Hardacre, Melissa Ashley, Bronwyn Lea, Brett Dionysius,  Dorothy Porter,  Anthony Lawrence and I could go on.  This is not a fatuous answer, I enjoy reading poetry. Of course I grew up with the poetry of Judith Wright and was taught all the classical  (English speaking) poets at school. But my influences came from the Mersey poets and the work of ee cummings. And of course, protest poets and songwriters of the 60's and 70's.  

Have you ever written poetry? 

In parts of Eastern Europe, writing poetry is considered basic training for all writers in terms of developing skills. In fact, playwrights are called poets or should I say there is no separate word for playwright. I believe there are great similarities between the forms and have often advised writers to a write a play as a poem. 

I have written poetry and in 1990 won first prize in the Society of Women Writer's national competition for poetry.

 

Queensland Writers’ Centre is situated on level 2, Metro Arts, 109 Edward Street, Brisbane QLD Australia.  Tel: 07 3839 1243     Website:  www.qwc.asn.au