Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: anthology

  • Haiku – Classic Japanese Short Stories

    Haiku – Classic Japanese Short Stories

    Exquisite poetry is created in the Haiku format, a style of poetry which dates back to 17th Century Japan and consists of seventeen syllables used to deliver a simple, succinct story.

    Bound together in a traditional style, the Japanese characters grace the English translation of the masters, Matsuo Basho, Yossi Boson, Kobayashi Isa, and Muraoka Shiki. The beautiful poetry contained within Haiku – Classic Japanese Short Poems are masterpieces in the art form of gracefulness and the delicate use of words.

    Used to link the reader with the writer in a simple and appealing manner, the format of Haiku evolved to become one that was accessible to everyone, not just the higher levels of Japanese society. Haiku is now written on a worldwide basis with a very broad appeal.

    Commencing this delightful book is a brief introduction presenting a clear overview of the emergence of Haiku, which is followed by a biography of each of the four poets, before the words penned by Basho come into being, “The cut end of a tree – tonight’s moon’., the meaning of which is personal and individual to the reader.

    Page after captivating page unfolds each one graced with carefully constructed words forming three lines; singular, powerful and entrancing.

    Haiku- Classic Japanese Short Poems is a book of poetry which is not only an intimate and personal journey, but also a tactile experience. While it can be read and enjoyed in online format, if you are able to and enjoy all forms of poetry, seek this book out in its bound format and indulge the senses with beauty.

  • The Furphy Anthology 2023

    The Furphy Anthology 2023

    It is Furphy time again with the annual collection of short stories, The Furphy Anthology 2023 all based in and around Australian life, now available in discerning bookstores Australia wide.

    The Furphy’s have been run each year since 1992.Each story must have only 5,000 words or less and be able to captivate a panel of Judges, who essentially have read it all before and are looking for something that is captivating, original and most importantly, entertaining.

    Of the 620 entries for the 2023 Furphy’s three were selected to win awards, with sixteen stories published, all of which tell a tale or two about the idiosyncrasies of life, via the Furphy’s.

    The winner of the 2023 completion is emerging Western Australian writer Jen Rewell for her quirky, charming, intriguing and whimsical Away to Me, a love story wrapped around Half Arthur, a somewhat magical creation, as he could teach a Roo to jump backwards, talk to animals and spin a very tall yarn.

    He meets the love of his life Noleen, in a most unusual manner and from that time on, a beautiful love story of immense fascination evolves, which captures the heart and needs to be read, to truly understand what undying love involves. An absolutely unforgettable story.

    Eugenie Pusenjak with The Drey, a stunning, controlled rage at social housing and the many issues that stop people attaining affordable housing in the modern day world of Australia, won second place.

    Carefully and thoughtfully constructed, she has captured with realism the ever growing issue of people who are employed, separated from family, unable to find affordable accommodation to rent. The scorn of those who know but fail to understand. Building a Drey becomes something very important, something positive, something good and clean and far away from the depressing frustration of homelessness.

    The Lucky Country by Natalie Vella takes third place. Stepping back in time to an Australia that was less tolerant of migrant workers, Liele is one of them. Her eyes slowly becoming affect by the work she has to do to earn money in this so called ‘lucky country’. Her skin brown, her hair black, her culture vastly different.

    She and the other workers at the factory face corruption, bigotry, harassment and abuse of power on a daily basis, until they finally decide enough is enough. The power of women, of people pushed too far, of rightful anger is well told in a story that captures the helplessness, the frustration and the acceptance of people who feel they have no rights, no support, in a country that is not their own.

    Thirteen other stories, each telling a tale of people, of life richer for the telling, make up a collection that will have a wide appeal and collectively make up The Furphy Anthology 2023.

    For those who believe they have a great story to tell the The Furphy Literary Award is an annual competition that invites writers around Australia to submit a short story of 5,000 words or less. Originally established in 1992, the Furphy Literary Award was relaunched as a national prize in 2020. 

    The entry window in 2024 runs from February 1 – April 30. More information can be found here: https://www.furphystory.com.au/furphy-literary-award/open-short-story-competition/ 

    The Award is named in honour of Australian writer Joseph Furphy, who wrote under the pen name Tom Collins and published Such is Life in 1903. It is administered by his great, great, great nephews Adam Furphy and Sam Furphy who still run the family business in Shepparton in northern Victoria.   

  • The Furphy Anthology 2022

    The Furphy Anthology 2022

    Reading a collection of short stories is always interesting to see what is the underlying emotion in all of them, or are they all so very different that each one is a gem of its own, capturing in a short moment something rare and different.

    A the recently held 2022 Furphy Awards Cate Kennedy collected the award for Art and Life that tells the story of a talented, perhaps even prodigy, violinist whose career takes off on an unexpected pathway, when he realises that perhaps busking is not the way forward, but creating living statues of people going about their everyday life is: well at least it earns him some money.

    The problem was real life somehow got left behind and the world of imagination took over which made life as a ‘geek’, become very interesting indeed.  Art and Life is a somewhat quirky moment in time written with a wry sense of humour.

    The Game from Lisa Moule earned a Highly Commended and looks at the games people play when they use others talents to tread the pathway of their life, somehow managing to succeed up to a point. Set in a school and focusing on the teachers, a really interesting cameo is drawn on how we all allow such things to occur in our lives, without attempting to make changes.

    A somewhat sombre offering is Winter is for regret from Natalie Vella portraying growing old when the person you have spent your life with changes and life, no matter what becomes ever more challenging to simply try to be ‘normal’.

    Thirteen more stories have been selected for this Anthology each one focusing on a small aspect of life and interestingly, there are few that are other than driven with a deep sense of almost a sadness, hopelessness, or despair and acceptance, which is somewhat fascinating and is what could easily be considered as a reflection the world of today, or simply that it there is far more material in the world of sadness and sorrow than any other aspect of life.

    Maybe!

    The Furphy Awards:

    Everyone can write at least one good story. That was the belief of J. F. Archibald, the editor and founder of the famous nineteenth-century weekly, The Bulletin, who invited his readers to become contributors. It was this encouragement that led Joseph Furphy, working in his brother’s foundry at Shepparton, to write his novel, Such is Life, using the pseudonym of ‘Tom Collins’. The book, full of stories derived from Joseph’s experience in the Riverina and told in a voice uniquely his own, is now acknowledged to be a classic of Australian literature. In the spirit of Archibald and honouring the author of Such is Life, the Furphy Literary Award has been established to promote and extend the tradition of story telling, both factual and fictional, that is so much part of Australian life.

  • Love and Loss

    Love and Loss

    With the advent of the Coronavirus the world is experiencing unprecedented loss as well as many acts of astonishing love.  In ‘Love & Loss’ the fifth book in ‘The Timeless Wisdom’ series, writers relate remarkable true stories demonstrating human spirit from times gone by. Although love and loss are polar opposites, the authors in this collection demonstrate that they often merge into one.

    The editor’s mission to reflect diversity of writing has certainly been achieved. Authors come from many parts of the world, from middle class and underprivileged backgrounds, but their common link is that they have reached the ‘Age of Wisdom’ – 60 plus years. The accounts are of those who have experienced the love of a daughter and a mother/father, mother and child, man and woman; some who only discovered this love long after the death of ‘the loved’. The narratives of loss, which include juvenile cancer, forced adoption, and Alzheimers, have also been recounted from a perspective love.

    Each of the twenty-five insightful stories in this collection, is prefaced by a thought provoking quote; many from well-known writers.  The reader is encouraged to explore the link between the quote and the account which follows; some are more obvious than others. This collection emphasises the fact that although we have loved and lost, the warm memories of those intense feelings of affection, tenderness, and endearment endure forever.

    Readers will not only enjoy this anthology, but find it an antidote for the gaps in their lives as a result of ‘social isolation’.