Andrea Shotter
Bachelor of Arts student
Avondale College

I enjoyed writing poetry as a primary school student, but somewhere along the way since then I lost the creative act in a brain that said, “You can’t do that,” and “You’re not a writer.”

My journey into poetry and creative writing started about a year ago when I approached Carolyn Rickett, a senior lecturer in communication at Avondale College, about changing from a minor to a major. I remember sitting at a table, shoulders hunched over, staring at a piece of paper listing all the available units in neat rows. I had a deceptively simple decision to make: find a unit I wanted to complete that didn’t require a prerequisite. Carolyn suggested Creative Writing. I hesitated. “Not interest?” asked Carolyn.

It’s a surreal feeling choosing a unit you’re not sure you’ll complete successfully. I’m not sure why I decided to pick up a pen and start to write. I remember sitting in class listening to my classmates read their drafts and thinking, “Wow, they’re so good; I could never write that well.” I now know at least one other classmate had a similar feeling. “My initial thoughts . . . ; I didn’t think I could write poetry,” says Kerry Arbuckle, who read her poem “Black Dog” during the launch of Wording the World.

Australian poet Judith Beveridge taught the class with Carolyn. She finds working with students “immensely pleasurable.” “It’s a wonderful moment when a student understands [a concept] and applies it to their work,” says Judith.

Writing, like life, requires learning. It’s easier to understand the concepts if you let go of any judgments.

Three of my poems were suggested for publication in Wording the World and I chose two of them to be published. To think, I nearly chose another unit because I didn’t know of what I was capable.

One of my favourite quotes from Carolyn is, “If you feel you have to begin with literary perfection, you would never pick up a pen.”

Pick up the pen.

Andrea read her poem “Lies” during the launch of Wording the World.