looking to do anything but ...

... write but prefer to feel as though you're doing something related? Start here. I admit to being a bit of a pen geek but pencils are fun as well. I still have some very old ones, wooden and mechanical. I remember when we worked in publishing using blue clutch pencils or chinagraphs for marking galleys and proofs. I even have a Hello Kitty propelling pencil (which works) and a nice old Faber Castell clutch, green with brass grip. Better get sharpened up.

Comments

Andrew Burke said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
13/09/2005, 16:41
Andrew Burke said…
Cool.

I came out to my loungeroom this morning to find a pencil snapped in two. At first I thought it was a problem but then saw its opportunity: two pencils. Ah, but now to find the sharpener ... It is in the shape of a 'soft' typewriter, like a Claes Oldenberg sculpture. Somewhere ... It has been hiding away for years, with no snail trails to its hid(e)y spot.

Thank you for pointing out this site, Jill. It is 'cool' - a word possibly first written in pencil to express its contemporary meaning.
13/09/2005, 16:43
Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said…
I love my pencils too Jill. A passion that's never diminished from when I was a tot. In her novel, The Philosopher's Pupil, the late Iris Murdoch offered her main character, 'the philosopher' himself, a work schedule and hobby that was devoted around the clever subject's pencils. To this day, I stay sure that she would have been provoked from a real life influence to have sketched this scene. warm wishes.
15/09/2005, 21:37
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

vale Jackson Mac Low 1922-2004

Belatedly, wanting to acknowledge the passing of Jackson Mac Low last week. There's an obituary at The New York Times and here's more info on Mac Low . The poem below is from his series of Light Poems. 1ST LIGHT POEM: FOR IRIS -- 10 JUNE 1962 The light of a student-lamp sapphire light shimmer the light of a smoking-lamp Light from the Magellanic Clouds the light of a Nernst lamp the light of a naphtha-lamp light from meteorites Evanescent light ether the light of an electric lamp extra light Citrine light kineographic light the light of a Kitson lamp kindly light Ice light irradiation ignition altar light The light of a spotlight a sunbeam sunrise solar light Mustard-oil light ...
Read more

the smell of rain

I went out for a brief walk this afternoon. It was raining, but not so hard you needed an umbrella (I hate umbrellas anyway). And so very strong, the smell of rain. I remember once reading out a poem of mine and having someone come up after the reading and note that I'd used the phrase 'the smell of rain'. I couldn't tell if he liked it or was simply taking the mickey (the latter, I suspect, as he was a very 'cool' poet and I am, manifestly, not). I wondered about the smell. To me it's always been obvious. But today I decided to go and find, and here , via the ABC and CSIRO, is some hard data. The common rain smell comes from a gas called petrichor. Apparently, volatiles evaporate from plants and are absorbed by rocks, concrete etc. When the rain hits the rock, the volatiles are released into the atmosphere. That's why I can particularly smell it wandering along concrete paths and past sandstone walls. If it's good enough for CSIRO, it's good eno...
Read more

connecting poetry and TED

As well as taking part in events at the Sydney Writers Festival next week, I'll also be doing a quite different gig in Sydney on Saturday 22 May, at the Carriageworks. I will be part of some readings organised by The Red Room , at an event called TEDx, which is taking place in Sydney at CarriageWorks on Saturday 22 May 2010 and featuring, as the website claims, a selection of Australia's leading visionaries and storytellers showcasing their Ideas Worth Spreading LIVE to a group of thinkers ... as well as ONLINE to the world at large"." It's part of something called TED which is described as "a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design" . As for the poetry part it will include Johanna Featherstone from the Red Room making a presentation about the role of poetry in Australian society. To complement Johanna's talk will be rea...
Read more