Böcker utgivna av Ginninderra Press

Where the Hell is Heaven? is another collection of dark-humoured short stories, sometimes whimsical, sometimes passionate, about a variety of relationships set in different times and cultures. The stories tell of someone having it in for you in a foreign country, violence in the education system, navigation under difficult circumstances in a large city, becoming part of history in a rural community, drinking in the education system, how people can resemble seagulls after the demise of a loved one, the resolution of differences of opinion in the family, how old ladies can make you feel foolish when you've been drinking, the family that preys together stays together, how some people can behave inappropriately when others take their clothes off, more violence in the education system, and heavenly copulation on a celestial level

That week, we went to a kabuki show,stories of wandering souls in search of revenge, or lost love. On my last night in Tokyomy father comes in at a wooden gate, wet with rain from ';The Wooden Gate'

Based on true events, this story is set predominantly in Adelaide, and takes a trip down memory lane to my childhood home of Barmera in the Riverland, 222 kilometres north of Adelaide. Born in 1974 to Greek migrants, the youngest of three, my need to fit in has always been a challenge, but did I need to? My siblings were always the popular ones, never having to try, but what is the need really about? I always struggled to find my place, from adolescence to adulthood, and not too much has changed well, not until I was introduced to the world of martial arts, specifically boxing. Boxing was never my first choice, and never something I had considered doing, but something pulled me towards it. It wasn't really a choice; it was just something I had to do. This was not a smooth ride, but through a dedicated instructor who saw my potential, a group of friends made along the way, and support from my family, especially my siblings, I learnt a valuable lesson, that by not giving up and by believing in yourself, you can achieve anything. Getting to this point was never going to be easy, and I still struggle, but it's not without small achievements along the way. After years of self-doubt and self-deprecation, I made many discoveries about who I was: getting angry in my twenties, finding it difficult to commit, having to learn why friendships were so important to me, and recognising who I want to be a confident, strong person who considers herself worthy of all the best life has to offer. Not without some laughter and tears, this is not only a story about boxing; it's about finding the passion within, finding something that moves you, when all seems lost. It's about what lies beneath, beyond a person's heart and soul.It's about finding ';the boxer within'

';Through her poetry in Moonbeams in the Bitter Rain Jayne Linke invites understanding of what it is to come through harsh and life-changing events. Crisp, raw and achingly honest, her writing at times gives voice to her experience of being perceived and treated as broken, expressing the desire to be related to fully and naturally, to be engaged with as spirited and alive. Rich with allegory and beauty, her words move beyond isolation and despair to a sense of soulful connection and transcendence. Her openness to beauty, life and nature and her interconnectedness with it all shines through, as does her experience of joy, play and freedom. To know Jayne, to read her poetry is to witness the expression of a sharp and observant intellect and wit, a depth of ability to make connections after an experience of trapped and enforced silence. It is to be touched profoundly by the power of love and tenacity in her and her family.' - Colleen Lamshed

They were all running. Running away from or to something. Something as brutal as rejection, lost love or perhaps obsession. For some it was a matter of running out of time, knowledge, faith or self-belief. But for all, the tender, the bruised, the brash, the feisty, it was the constant urgency to endure, to keep going, to squeeze in moments of reflection into tiny matchbox sizes of time and then get on with it.

See, in the places of our lives, in the lands of our childhood, in the rooms with strange laughter and conversation; how we look back upon those simpler days with their self-styled skills and their innocent reward. See through the chaos of these present years, the invisible memories that occasionally spring to mind of sacrifice, of regret, of the unexplained that lead us to a common belief, that all will be well in the by and by.

George Genovese was born in Malta in 1962 and immigrated to Australia in 1967. In 1985 he graduated from La Trobe University with a major in philosophy. He has since read his poetry at various venues in Victoria. He has previously published one volume of poetry, Heartlines, with the assistance of the Council of Adult Education, and has written for the Education supplement of The Age. In 2002 he collaborated with Australian composer, Lawrence Whiffin, in the setting of one of his poems for the Astra Chamber Music Ensemble's fiftieth anniversary. In 2004 he again teamed up with Lawrence Whiffin to produce an extended narrative poem for the Camp Street poetry festival. He currently lives and works in Melbourne.

Kathy Abrahams was born in Fremantle, Western Australia, and then moved to Busselton in the south-west of the state, about three hours from Perth. She is a member of the Society of Women Writers WA and edits one of their postal workshop magazines.

Dissent can be a good thing, unless you are killed for it. We live in a world of social fissuring and disruption, where families and nations are stressed by the contexts we live in. Globally, we are witnessing the biggest population movement ever known. This is interlinked with the causes and effects of massive changes in climate which is causing unresolvable tensions around water and land access, citizenship and poverty. Armed conflict, fear, persecution and exclusion allow the fermenting of corruption and war. I write poetry to express contemporary issues and questions of our times about war, language, environment, climate and the planet's health, translation, dislocation, migration, terrorism, border crossings, dissent, gender, protest. Poetry is a specific way of knowing, of crystallising the dissonance in the dominant discourses in a way which is accessible to anyone who is driven by revolution, and which gives expression to social conscience.

';Pat Lee's poetry often reflects her respect and reverence for the things of the natural world. She has an artists eye for landscape and a Wordsworthian ability to paint it in lyric poetry. Many of her images and word choices have an inevitability about them, a surety that is enviable. Hers is a poetic voice that is true and trustworthy.' Louise Nicholas';Pat Lee's Nudge the Morning is a collection of poetry I found to be the work of the natural poet. Throughout there is a lyricism and landscaping from a once more pastoral time, mixed seamlessly with those of today's both urban and urbane one. Chosen word, inspired subject and thought, accompany throughout any mastery of craft or means which are also fully there by the way. Her titling, which can be a hugely neglected art in itself these days, alone draws the reader to each poem. Lee is a poet that not only sees her subjects so well, but one that can take that next vital step of conveying things to the reader, indeed fully as she did see them herself. Her work is simply a pleasure to read.' John Miles

';If stillness can be tasted, precious memories will return, such as poetry once learned by heart, which in Maurice Whelan's case told of King Arthur receiving his sword Excalibur from the maiden in the lake. If silence can be heard, a poetry in life will breathe, as in this poet's observation about a dawn which ';holds / its perfection/as long/as you hold your breath'. As contrast to a hurried world, Maurice finds a treasury in stillness Gaelic melodies in the twilight of his mind, his wandering in the slipstream of a silent father's dreams, and from a wonderful ';Perfect Pitch' his reassuring knowing that ';the bow is on the string / fingers caress keys, eyes / are closing and heaven's gate / is opening once again'. This beautiful anthology combines nostalgia for times past, gratitude for nature's riches and a psychoanalyst's characteristically sharp insights into personal relationships: ';I wasn't staring / I saw my youth in you. / That's all.' His skill in crafting apparently effortless lines, seldom interrupted by commas, semicolons or full stops, conceals the challenge of holding a pen and facing a blank page. ';Sometimes / finding the right word / is like drilling through concrete / with a jackhammer.' There's a brave frankness in such an admission but the poetry which then emerges has been conceived from the peace in silence, the reflection and recall made possible by stillness. No wonder that, on a front page, before his own work begins, Maurice quotes Hazlitt: ';Poetryis not a branch of authorship: it is the stuff of which our life is made.'' Stuart Rees

The Lilac Bow is the first book of poetry by the author of the collections Excalibur's Return, A Season and a Time and, most recently, Spirit Eyes. Maurice Whelan is also the author of the acclaimed novel Boat People.

When Dalley, a convicts son who became the first Australian Privy Councillor, died in 1888, The Bulletin described him as a man of many splendours, both of intellect and heart, and in many respects the most notable man Sydney has given birth to. Nine years later some 10,000 people gathered in Hyde Park for the unveiling of his statue. A plaque in St Pauls Cathedral, London, commemorates him. Clearly someone with a story worth telling. Unconventional and perennially popular, Dalley was a major contributor to the political, legal and literary life of NSW. While the despatch of colonial troops to Sudan in 1885 is the act he is most often remembered for today, contemporaries admired him for much more - not least the use of his remarkable oratorical power, honed in memorable court cases, to champion causes such as religious and racial harmony and a gentler form of parliamentary politics.';This remarkable book... Robert Lehane has captured the very flavour of late-colonial society, from the bushranging days to the 1888 Centennial.' - Reviews in Australian Studies';...much more than the account of a fascinating and full public life. It brings to life the colony of New South Wales' - Bar News';those whoread William Bede Dalley will rejoice in a rich and meaningful life' - Canberra Historical Journal

John Forrest DD, the exuberant scholar/priest recruited in Ireland in 1859 to set up the Catholic St John's College at Sydney University, found life in colonial NSW much to his liking. However, it soon became clear that divisions within the Church, even more than a shortage of candidates for degrees, would put paid to his high hopes for the college. Relations between the colony's English archbishops and Irish ecclesiastics were often poisonous, and he was in the Irish camp. Fortunately his interests and friendships extended well beyond the Church and university, and so does this story. Characters who make major appearances, as well as some colourful churchmen, include the extraordinary Henry Parkes and other notables of politics and the law. A central event is the attempted assassination of Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred in Sydney in 1868.';a fascinating account Sydney never seemed so exciting.' The Sydney Morning Herald';full of interest and intrigue.' The Canberra Times ';deserves to be read by all those with an interest in the Irish diaspora, the history of New South Wales or the study of modern Catholicism' Australasian Journal of Irish Studies

';Megan Schaffner knows how poetry works. She knows the way a strong poem can float you gently to somewhere you've never been before/ [where] with luck/ you'll land wrong side up/ exhilarated/ ready to explore a new country. This is precisely what Megan's poetry does. As soon as you land, you realise you are in the hands of a consummate guide. Pleasure awaits. This poet-guide is deeply wise and funny. She is thoroughly intelligent and gentle. She is totally without bluster or ego. She chauffeurs you through her country with thoughtfulness, wit and dexterity. She is fearless in the face of the big topics: beauty, dementia, eros, anger, silence, art and war. But a list cannot take you to a country. You simply have to go there. Set off on your travels into this elegant and well-wrought book with high hopes and total confidence. Megan Schaffner knows how poetry works.' Dr Gina Mercer

Taking us across culture and landscapes and evoking other states, Derek Baines's new collection touches raw nerves and brings humour to some of our most challenging experiences. A lone traveller enjoys hospitality at an ancient Japanese inn, an insomniac artist produces a masterwork from his subconscious, and a marathon runner moves out of his own body. A Most Urgent Task is a compelling story in verse of how we are living and dreaming today.

Charting an international journey through the beauty of nature and art, the starkness of urban life and the honesty of human emotion, Flying Through Cloud evokes both the humour and vulnerability of our condition. Derek Baines, in this first collection, reconciles our thirst for travel with a constant need for home. A singular and accessible voice, luring us to sensuous highs. ';These poems are elegant as a kimono. Indeed, at times they feel slightly Japanese gentle, beautiful, graceful and flowing.' Kate Llewellyn