Edwin Wilson on Poetry and Memoir

I was tempted to head this “Local Boy Makes Good”. Visiting writer Edwin Wilson, who spent a recent Saturday afternoon talking to WordsFlow participants and visitors, grew up in these parts. (At the end of this post you'll find his impressive CV.)

He was back here to visit family, and we grabbed him for a gig. He spoke to us about poetry, getting published, and memoir writing. His reminiscences of his youth in this region were interesting to others who grew up here, who swapped stories about people and places they all knew. It made them keen to buy his memoir, “The Mullumbimby Kid”. He said he felt Mullumbimby to be his “heartland”. When he chose to write about it, he did the “shoebox trick” of collecting and storing anecdotes. He had to do some research to gather information on the background of people. Every family, he found, has someone who acts as the custodian of the myths and legends – not only of the family but also the locality.

Poetry

As a poet, he started at 10, and feels it can be an important safety-valve for the young. Craftsmanship becomes important. He likes to let a poem “marinate” – work on it, put it aside and sleep on it.

He keeps paper and pencil in his pocket all the time, and also next to the bed. (If it’s a pencil rather than a biro, you know it’s going to be working.) When you get an idea, the trick is not to lose it; it can be fleeting.

Revision

You’re only a poet if other people call you that, he said. It’s useful to get someone else to look at your manuscript and say, ”These bits don’t work”. Edwin thinks writing is necessarily hard. “If the writing is easy, the reading will be hard. If the writing is hard, the reading is easy.” However, strive to get a first draft, THEN start the revision. Show your work to someone you respect, whose opinion you trust. (And then sleep on it etc.)

He likened writing to a symphony in one’s head, with different movements – slow, fast, sad, happy, crescendo, storm, denouement, resolution. There can be variations in themes; there can be echoes, and references back to things already written. Also one can take stuff out, creating spaces to put other things in.

Musicality of the senses is essential in poetry. In prose too there are cadences. It’s important to sound the words in one’s head.


Memoir

One man said he was having trouble finding the structure for his autobiography. Edwin’s advice was, ”Play with it. Then it falls into place. Patterns form.” As a scientist, he likened it to classifying vertebrates. “When you find the pattern, you get the story line. It’s also like a kid playing with blocks. Art is made from indulgence. You are permitted to indulge yourself. (Other people don’t necessarily find it so.)”

His advice to all of us was that memoir is valuable to our children and grandchildren. “Your voice is important.” It’s true there will be different recollections of the same events. “We are human and fallible. But it’s YOUR story.” The habit of journalling helps, as you’ve then got a record. This doesn’t mean it’s right; there are still variables. But your story is as valid as you can make it. Whenever you write a story it will cause problems. You could use the 30-year rule: write about something that happened 30 years ago.

Write irrespective of other people; make the first draft as if writing for yourself. The custodian of the story is you. Forgetting or concealing is OK. If others disapprove, that‘s OK too. You may edit or censor for your own reasons; that’s fine as well.


What’s the best place to start?

Edwin made the following points:

• It’s your story, of your family. People tell lies; that’s part of human nature. Get as close as possible to veracity. Whatever you do, you won’t please everyone.

• An outsider’s perspective can be better; they’re not constrained by local politics.

• Our role is not to hurt people or be malicious, but our goal is veracity. Sometimes we may choose to leave things out.

• An amalgam of lots of facts from lots of places constitutes fiction.

• Australians love taking the piss, and are not pious.

• If you work better to a deadline, you can create artificial deadlines. “I will finish this chapter by next Monday” for instance.

• You need whys and hows – motivations and reflections – not just a linear account of what happened when. You need the philosophy and psychology behind the events.

• Start with what you know, and work back.

• Then you must look for documentation and corroboration. If two people agree, it’s probably true. It’s a detective game. You’re looking for clues, following leads. If you know the background, it’s easier. Uncommon names are easy to find. You can cross-reference. You may find a distant cousin with a loyalty to the story, a commitment to truth and a desire to share.

• You may need to be “a bit rebellious, a bit curious” and look deeper than the official version.

• If you’re worried about treading on toes, you can wait until time has passed. You can write a book and dedicate it to the local library, and put an embargo on it for 30 years.

• Chronology is not as important as reflection, in relation to realising who and what you are – which readers also want to find out.

Edwin's CV:

Educated at Mullumbimby and Murwillumbah High Schools, Armidale Teachers' College (trained as junior secondary science teacher), University of New South Wales (BSs in chemistry and botany).

Initially taught (science teacher), then lecturer Armidale Teachers' College (1968 - 1971), Education Officer (The Australian Museum Sydney, 1972 - 1980). From 1980 to retirement (in 2003) worked in Community Relations at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Retired as Hon Research Associate (see web page Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney), on an orchid breeding program using high altitude New Guinea 'Latouria' dendrobiums to potentially bring cold-tolerance into show bench hybrids/varieties.

Has written 20 books, mostly poetry, one book about poetry ('Falling Up Into Verse'), plus prose, one science fiction, and social history (about Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Sydney, and featured on 'Poetica' on program called 'Walk in the Gardens'). Collected Poems published by Kardoorair Press, Armidale (2002), with introduction by Professor John Ryan. Also took up painting in retirement and was elected as Exhibiting Member of the Royal Art Society of NSW in 2008.

Published a number of times in 'Australian Folklore', and has just had an essay published in latest edition of 'Five Bells' (the Poets Union) on Poetry and Art. His latest book (of poetry) called 'My Brother Jim' (1939 - 2008), is dedicated to the memory of his half-brother Jim, found in 2003, when Edwin was 61 and Jim was 64.