The Grieve Project
A writing competition for all Australians Opens Valentine's Day each year You know the measure of your love by the weight of the loss Click to read all about the Project - the FAQs |
The continued success of the Grieve Writing Competition may, in some small but significant way, allow one who is grief-stricken to cast off the black cloak of smothering grief. I know, having spoken to writers who have entered the competition, that many tell of the cathartic effect of writing a story. They do this, not with an eye on winning a prize, but with the sole intention of telling someone their story, hopeful of an empathetic ear. That was my motivation when I wrote my first piece for the competition titled “The Letter”. As a police detective in the small country town of Narrandera, most of my call-outs at night were to attend a suicide. There is something about the blackness of the night and the emptiness of the vast daylight space that evokes melancholy for some country folk. Read the full article here by Ted Bassingthwaighte, Newcastle, NSW (pictured)
I have been lucky enough to have been published twice in the Grieve Anthology, in 2014 with a poem and in 2016 with a short story. The Grieve Project offers a unique platform to write about loss in its many forms. Both my poem and my story arose from my nursing experiences: my poem is about a young man dying from a brain tumour, I was only with him for a moment and yet the interaction between us and between me and his mother was indelible. My short story is about hospital adoptions in the late 1970's - as a nurse being present during the labour of a young, unmarried mother who was forbidden to see her newborn. - S.E. Street - Lane Cove, NSW (pictured)
I was delighted when I heard I was a finalist in the Grieve 2016 competition. I have only been writing seriously for a few years and it was very satisfying to do so well. Grief is something that has shaped my life after the sudden death of my partner ten years ago. Writing a short piece that represents a facet of that experience tames the beast into something more easy to wrestle with and confront. Sharing stories also helps those newly grieving feel a little less alone
- Angela Maher, Tasmania
My experience with grief came about as a result of the death of my 15 year old son. I have found this a lonely journey as there is a resistance in our society to talk about death, especially the death of a child. Having my piece published was thrilling as it is a way to educate people about what it's like to live with it.
- Liz Fletcher, Caloundra
Being published in Grieve is quite surprising and gratifying for a ‘novice’ writer. The piece I sent in is an adapted extract from a memoir I have just completed, called “Is There Something Wrong with Me?” – a coming of age story, set in New Zealand where I was born and raised.
- Nick Carroll, Valley View, Adelaide, SA
It is a thrill to be included in Grieve 2017. For me, the focus on grief, and the many forms and expressions grief takes, makes the anthology at once infinitely broad - because for everyone the process is different and personal - yet familiar
- Bronwyn Blaiklock, Ballarat, VIC
Receiving the Calvary Mater Hospital Pastoral Care Award and being published in the Grieve Anthology 2016 was a profound honour- not just as a writer, but as one of the many hundreds of people who chose give tangibility to their suffering in the name of Grief Awareness Month. To have so many intensely personal stories collected in an anthology so varied gives a palpable power to grief’s might and a cathartic validation to its effects. Like so many of the stories collected here, my story, Butter Chicken, is not a celebration of misery: rather it is an examination of the unique profundity of grief and its immense power for recalibration, illumination and reaffirmation.
- James Mc-Kenzie-Watson, Artarmon, NSW
I found writing my short story 'After' to be a challenging and cathartic experience. 'After' details the devastating impact my mother's death had on our family. As this occurred over 40 years ago, when I was only 11, I was surprised by how strong some of the memories of that traumatic time still were.
- Robyn Osborne, Tinnanbar, between Gympie and Maryborough, Qld
Although many write out their grief purely as a cathartic exercise,(and i am not an exception) it is also wonderful when your work resonates with others and has the potential to help them in their grieving. The two poems I submitted are very different. One about the emotional impact of discovering details about the suicide of my partner many years after his death and all the demons it aroused, and the other about euthanising a beloved pet cat.They deal with very different aspects of loss and its impacts, both long and short term.
- Karen Throssell, North Warrandyte, VIC
I sought to explore the grief that comes from the breakdown of a friendship. Even with this, there are feelings of loss over a person that was special and important to you. This did happen to me and the hurt of a broken friendship or a fall-out may be underestimated - it does hurt for a while.
- Abigail Cini, North Sunshine, VIC
I was delighted when I heard I was a finalist in the Grieve 2016 competition. I have only been writing seriously for a few years and it was very satisfying to do so well. Grief is something that has shaped my life after the sudden death of my partner ten years ago. Writing a short piece that represents a facet of that experience tames the beast into something more easy to wrestle with and confront. Sharing stories also helps those newly grieving feel a little less alone
- Angela Maher, Tasmania
My experience with grief came about as a result of the death of my 15 year old son. I have found this a lonely journey as there is a resistance in our society to talk about death, especially the death of a child. Having my piece published was thrilling as it is a way to educate people about what it's like to live with it.
- Liz Fletcher, Caloundra
Being published in Grieve is quite surprising and gratifying for a ‘novice’ writer. The piece I sent in is an adapted extract from a memoir I have just completed, called “Is There Something Wrong with Me?” – a coming of age story, set in New Zealand where I was born and raised.
- Nick Carroll, Valley View, Adelaide, SA
It is a thrill to be included in Grieve 2017. For me, the focus on grief, and the many forms and expressions grief takes, makes the anthology at once infinitely broad - because for everyone the process is different and personal - yet familiar
- Bronwyn Blaiklock, Ballarat, VIC
Receiving the Calvary Mater Hospital Pastoral Care Award and being published in the Grieve Anthology 2016 was a profound honour- not just as a writer, but as one of the many hundreds of people who chose give tangibility to their suffering in the name of Grief Awareness Month. To have so many intensely personal stories collected in an anthology so varied gives a palpable power to grief’s might and a cathartic validation to its effects. Like so many of the stories collected here, my story, Butter Chicken, is not a celebration of misery: rather it is an examination of the unique profundity of grief and its immense power for recalibration, illumination and reaffirmation.
- James Mc-Kenzie-Watson, Artarmon, NSW
I found writing my short story 'After' to be a challenging and cathartic experience. 'After' details the devastating impact my mother's death had on our family. As this occurred over 40 years ago, when I was only 11, I was surprised by how strong some of the memories of that traumatic time still were.
- Robyn Osborne, Tinnanbar, between Gympie and Maryborough, Qld
Although many write out their grief purely as a cathartic exercise,(and i am not an exception) it is also wonderful when your work resonates with others and has the potential to help them in their grieving. The two poems I submitted are very different. One about the emotional impact of discovering details about the suicide of my partner many years after his death and all the demons it aroused, and the other about euthanising a beloved pet cat.They deal with very different aspects of loss and its impacts, both long and short term.
- Karen Throssell, North Warrandyte, VIC
I sought to explore the grief that comes from the breakdown of a friendship. Even with this, there are feelings of loss over a person that was special and important to you. This did happen to me and the hurt of a broken friendship or a fall-out may be underestimated - it does hurt for a while.
- Abigail Cini, North Sunshine, VIC
Photos by Cara Nightingale
Congratulations to the prizewinners:
Rachael Mead Powerless Joel McKerrow On Saying Goodbye Ky Garvey Deep Breaths and Heartbeats Janet Holmes Carpet Beetles Fiona Murphy Our Small Kingdom Kathryn R Bennett Numbers Josh Wildie When One Door Closes Kaylia Payne I Miss You, Kid Laura Jan Shore First Anniversary Kathy Childs The Man in the Mirror Ellen Shelley Failed to Provide Vicki Laveau-Harvie Seasons of Grief Undine Kanowski Okay Cheryl Parker My Truth Melanie Zolenas-Kennedy Scraps Donni Hakanson The Ghost of A Mother Edwina Shaw Thirty Years Gone Sarah Bourne The Sounds of You Gail Hennessey Message to My Mother Kathryn Fry There She Is, My Mother |
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Read comments from finalists:
Once people wore black for a year and everyone knew to be sensitive. I am a widow, but no one calls me that. In this rush around world, there’s the funeral and then business as usual. Poetry has taught me how to grieve. I turn to it when my friends are unable to soothe or understand me. Other poets have inspired me to find language to articulate my own feelings in hopes that I, too, can add to the literature of grief. In a society with few rituals around mourning, poetry and anthologies like this one are a crucial support system. Laura Jan Shore
Through writing my piece, I managed to authentically experience the elusive forgiveness I’d been seeking. There’s no greater reward for this effort- achieving the goal of closing the wound which divided me from my mother, was my prize. When I was informed that my “work had been selected”, I came to see my prize as my name, in a book which aligns beautifully with my personal vision of art as therapy. I am honoured by my inclusion in the Grieve anthology. As an advocate for culture as a means of healing and as a member of death positive movement, I’m so proud to have my first attempt at a story for publication included in such an integral anthology for the advancement of emotional intelligence. With gratitude for the progressive opportunity offered by the Hunter Writers Centre and the sponsors of the Grieve project, I would recommend to any one and everyone who felt they could write about their loss, to have a crack at submitting a piece. Cassandra Penrose
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2018 Grieve opens 14th February - Valentine's Day
You know the measure of your love by the weight of the loss
Grieve - the annual writing competition, live read and ebook in honour of Grief Awareness Month by Hunter Writers Centre is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |