Piping Shrike: evolution

Cover by Margaret Bishop

Review

Jana Adzic

This year’s edition of Piping Shrike, an annual collection of new writing published by UniSA, continues a by now established tradition for the production of polished and inspired pieces of creative writing. Aptly titled Evolution, the collection showcases a large array of work from a number of authors. The title’s appropriateness however is best explained by the Piping Shrike editing team, who describe in the book’s foreword their desire to pay tribute to the writing process, as well as the art itself.

At the book’s launch party, held at the SA Writers' Centre on 19 October, Professor Kerry Green introduced the book by focusing on one of its major themes. Although the book is a celebration of different artists highlighting no genre in particular, the idea of death and dying is examined in detail in a number of pieces, from the satirical spin put on it by Sam Kellet in Napping, to the curious tale of an old-fashioned Aussie battler in Margaret Klopper’s Smithy. Kellet weaves an absurd and amusing tale as he tells of an old man’s unfortunate encounter with the inside of a coffin. The dyslexic cemetery attendant is another highlight of this clever piece of prose. Meanwhile Margaret Klopper speaks in a voice rarely heard in today’s Australian literature, as she brings to life the main character in an outback setting. The tone of the story draws the reader into a hot and hard lifestyle, while loner Smithy intrigues us with his mystery and the demeanour of a swagman.

The theme of Evolution evokes a process of renewal and reawakening, the idea of letting go of the old and embracing the new. The high standard of creative writing, coupled with the sheer pleasure derived from the fruit of the various authors' imaginations, is a tribute to the quality of writing UniSA students produce.

Also included is an assortment of poems. Fleur Lewis is enchanting with Expectance, as she uses colours to paint an image of anticipation that is all the more effective for its use of vivid natural imagery. Cameron Fuller, an established poet and PhD student, amuses us with You know you’re getting older..., a sentimental tribute to what lies ahead for some of us, while others identify with the tranquillity already on offer.

Overall, Evolution does not fail to stimulate the reader's imagination. In line with its title it exudes an attitude of contemplation and creativity that awakens in each of us the desire to be reborn with words and create magic by writing. A true celebration of a process that is too often overlooked or underestimated.

I strongly recommend this collection to all those in need of an escape, a chuckle or a boost of creative energy.

Editors: Kristie Cubbin, Fleur Lewis, Gill Ratcliff, Margaret Bishop, Ian Bourne, Cheryl Brook, Nicole Hagoort, Russell Talbot

Publisher: Piping Shrike/Bachelor of Arts - Professional and Creative Communication

Year of Publication: 2006

Price: $19.95