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When I heard that Chinua Achebe had won the Man Booker International Prize, I felt a little ashamed because I had never read any of his books. During the holidays I rectified this by reading his short but dense first novel, Things Fall Apart.

It is a brilliant portrayal of the disintegration of a tribe, and in particular one proud but flawed individual. Set in Nigeria during the 1950’s, white missionaries are systematically undermining the primitive (and sometimes barbaric) customs of African tribes, striving to replace them with Christian beliefs. I found Achebe’s writing beautiful and powerful, and the subject matter fascinating, and I’m looking forward to delving into more of his oeuvre.

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The Man International Booker Prize is awarded for a lifetime of work. There are probably many authors who’ve written one or two books that you’ve enjoyed, but is there anyone whose work you always admire? Peter Carey, Roald Dahl and Jane Austin would have to be high on my list. Whose oeuvres top your list?

Mrs Sweeney

Some song lyrics are considered great writing, either for the poetry, their power or their ryhthm. Bob Dylan is one example of a songwriter who is also a poet and a consummate storyteller. Read the lyrics to John Brown , the story of a boy badly injured in the American Civil War, now returning home to his mother.

In Australia, many refer to Paul Kelly as a people’s poet, and ‘his lyrics are on the Victorian education syllabus, studied by year 12 students as raw text or in song format…[Paul] “feels a bit sorry” for the kids who have to study his words.

It’s a tough gig he says, but one he finds stimulating. Many of Kelly’s lyrics are an amalgam of source material, from “other lyrics, or from another song, a line of poetry, lines from the Bible, Shakespeare. So if you get asked a question about the lyrics you can connect them up, so that you end up not talking about your own stuff all the time but the other stuff that connects it as a whole”.’ (from an interview in the Review section of The Weekend Australian 23-24 June, p.4-5).

To read some of Paul Kelly’s lyrics go to his website.

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Are there any lyrics you think of as worthy writing ie.can they make an impact without the music? Tell us about them.

Mrs Sweeney