NEW Gloucester resident Alison Gorman has released her first collection of poetry, titled “A Woman Speaks To Her Tongue”.
Alison has previously had poems published in journals including Meanjin, Cordite Poetry Review, Contrapasso and Southerly.
In 2016, she won the Dorothy Porter Poetry Prize, and in 2023 was awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship.
“Spectacular” was the word Alison used to describe her feelings about having her book published.
“I have been learning the craft of poetry for 15 years and loved every minute of it,” she said.
“Poetry has become a way of understanding and loving the world for me.
“It is hugely rewarding to have a book of poems to share with others.”
Australian poet Judith Beverage describes the collection as being “packed with ardour, passion and unflinching honesty”.
Alison has been writing since she was a child, using her father’s Remington to tap out stories and plays.
“When I was a young adult, I considered myself a writer but was encouraged towards a more sensible career path, in my case, a speech pathologist,” Alison told News Of The Area.
It wasn’t until her early 40s that Alison began writing again.
“I enrolled in an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Sydney, where a poetry course taught by Judith Beveridge hooked me on reading and writing poetry, setting me on a new creative path.”
When asked about what she loves about the poetic form, Alison responded, “I think poetry is the best form of writing for conveying emotion from the speaker to the reader.
“The sound and rhythm, the chimes of subtle rhyme, etc, all enter the heart through the ear.
“I also love the close attention that poetry asks of us, the way it slows you down and reminds you to breathe.”
Alison told NOTA she has plans to write another collection of poetry, and hopes to venture into short stories too.
“I recently attended a workshop with the Irish short story writer Claire Keegan and feel so inspired by her,” she said.
“I would also like to write for children.”
When Alison is not writing, she teaches writing to children.
She hopes to run a workshop in the October school holidays for children in Gloucester.
By Wendy BUSWELL
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