Curtin creative writing: Festival of Writing, and Library Illuminates: Storytellers of the West exhibition

 By Tracy

We were at Curtin University yesterday because I was reading poetry alongside a wonderful line-up of Western Australian writers all with a connection to Curtin, as part of the university's Festival of Writing to mark 50 years since the "first graduating class" of their Creative Writing course (the course actually started in 1972). The festival included workshops and panels all day and concluded with a session of readings from Chemutai Glasheen, Caitlin Kotula, Caitlin Maling, Khin Myint, myself, Kim Scott, and Thomas Simpson. 

I first went to Curtin (then called the WA Institute of Technology, or WAIT), as an undergraduate in 1983, majoring in Literature and minoring in Creative Writing, but after my first year I went off to do other things, returning to Curtin on & off until I graduated in 1990. 

In 1993 and 1994 I taught there on the Literature course (poetry units, the reading-of and analysing rather than the writing-of!), and then again to teach creative writing, both poetry and fiction, in 2000 and 2001. So my connection with Curtin not only began a long way back, but spanned quite a number of years. 

A highly memorable writing teacher I had there in the 1980s (and there were many such) was the late Julie Lewis, biographer and fiction writer, whose lessons were so intensely inspiring that groups of students would spill over into the café afterwards to continue conversations begun in her classes. I remember Julie as a phenomenon of energy and especially gifted at teaching as well as at writing.

The venue that hosted yesterday's events, the TL Robertson Library at Curtin, is also holding an exhibition this semester covering the history of Creative Writing at Curtin from its inception under the late Brian Dibble through to the present. Library Illuminates: Storytellers of the West also features displays about six of us alumni who have published books across a range of genres. In addition, they have gathered a collection of books by Curtin-connected writers to borrow and return — over 100 of them!

John Kinsella also features in the Curtin creative writing timeline as he spent some years as staff at Curtin where he is now an Emeritus Professor.

Especial thanks to Jayne Cleave, Caitlin Maling & Rachel Robertson.

Here are some photos from yesterday, mostly taken by John:

Khin Myint, John Kinsella & Reneé Pettitt-Schipp

Tracy Ryan beside alumni display in library exhibition

Tim Kinsella enjoying book corner featuring 100+ works by Curtin-related authors

Tracy Ryan with Curtin Creative writing timeline

The full exhibition display featuring 6 Curtin writer-alumni

Tracy Ryan reads poems as part of afternoon event "50 Years of Writing at Curtin"

Storytellers of Curtin "Read & Return", some of the shelves,
with wonderful bookmarks on top, featuring writers!