Festival of words unites creative locals

Local author Cynthia Rowe has five published novels to her name.

Yet despite her achievements, Ms Rowe asks her friends to scrutinise her work almost every month.

She meets regularly with the Bondi Writers’ Group to receive criticism from both amateur and professional writers, and assesses their work in return.

“I’ve been a lot more successful in poetry competitions since I’ve been getting feedback from the group on my free verse,” she said.

“It’s often hard to get a handle on what works and what doesn’t.”

Ms Rowe also appreciates the power of literature to connect the Waverley community and unite the Bondi Writers’ Group.

“Our group brings together like-minded people who support each other,” she said.

Members of the group, including Ms Rowe, will have their works recited to an audience on October 17 at Waverley Library.

The Bondi Writers’ Group’s public reading will feature prose, fiction, poetry and memoir, as part of the Waverley Words Literary Festival.

President of the group, Anne Skyvington, said that critique from fellow members helped each piece to develop.

“I’ll have to admit that we’re not all perfect at this stage, but we’ve each got a unique voice,” she said.

The writers’ interests range from poetry to plays, with one member having won an award for a documentary.

Denis Moore, project officer of the Waverley Words Literary Festival, said the program helped to support the group, as well as other community clubs like the Eastern Suburbs Poetry Group.

“They have been growing in Waverley for years. Bringing them into the program is good because it will make them more well-known,” he said.

The festival, which lasts until December, will provide locals with an opportunity to meet writers like Abbas El-Zein.

The author manages to balance his writing with his role as associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Sydney.

He will discuss his award-winning book, Leave to Remain, a memoir of his journey from Beirut to Australia, on October 28.

Mr Moore said although each event caters to a specific audience, the wine and literary night at Gertrude & Alice Café Bookstore on October 15 would draw a large variety of guests.

“With the lower-key events, people can come together to talk about books in a fun, unintimidating setting,” he said.

“People don’t feel like they need a university degree to participate.”

– By Olivia Leeming