Apr 14, 2015 | My Stories
I could have applied for Australian citizenship several years ago. I’m Canadian, I’ve been living in this country since 2002, and I’m a permanent resident. My children are Australian and my husband has become an Aussie too. Something fundamental held me back. Last...
Apr 10, 2015 | My Stories
It doesn’t seem to matter where we are in the world, if we focus on the ”news’’, it’s easy to despair at events and lose hope in humanity. UK philosopher Alain de Botton says the news plays with our emotions, sparking fear and anger and then ”exploits our...
Apr 1, 2015 | Belonging, Writing With Refugee Kids
I didn’t enjoy high school the first time round in the 1980s. I hid myself away under what I thought was a dramatic punk-chic haircut, my musical ability and clothes I remodeled from moth-balled treasures at the Salvation Army thrift shop. I was the extroverted loner...
Mar 28, 2015 | Belonging, Your Stories
on the existential nature of bridging distance I drive on roads flanked by huge up-ended trees, toppled like a line of sliced broccoli. Kathryn’s riverside suburb was one of the worst hit by the surprise supercell storm late last year in Brisbane. Cyclonic winds and...
Mar 25, 2015 | Belonging, Writing With Refugee Kids
After almost six months of discovery, proposals, meetings and learning, I’ve done it. I’ve managed to start a creative writing program for refugee and migrant students at Milpera State School in Brisbane. The thing is, I’d forgotten what the first day of high school...
