Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE

A tribute to Papua New Guinean writers of old

BY REGINA DORUM

MOST OF US TAKE THIS COMPUTER AGE for granted. I couldn’t help but admire those authors from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Man, talk of using typewriters and handwriting drafts! It must have been a pretty mega headache with more time spent on dictionaries and libraries.

They are hardworking and committed people and we the current generation must appreciate their work fully and truly. For such men as Vincent Eri, Sir Paulias Matane, Sir Albert Maori Kiki, Dr John Waiko, Sir Ignatius Kilage, John Kasaipwalova, Russell Soaba and others where English is but a second language, I cannot help but admire them.

As Papua New Guineans, we truly should be proud of them. They thought and thought and searched and searched. The library became their home and the dictionary their bible. The countless hours of work they did for us, their future generations, so we could have an insight into their lives and appreciate their work.

I always thought that writing a book is easy, just like reading it—especially fiction. Now I will never look at it the same way again. You simply have to appreciate every word written, its uses in descriptive writing that captures your imagination and draw the authors view into your mind.

Most times when I read books, I just read for the story that it tells but not with a writer’s eyes.  I never really valued their evocative words that embed the picture into my mind.

Now that I am almost in the middle of my book, I went back to re-reading my novels— this time with a writer’s eyes— and I am overwhelmed with the play of words and their proficiently in the turns and twist of events.

The first time I entered the Crocodile Prize, I mentioned that anyone can be a writer, but I take back those words. Anyone can, but you have to learn and grow each time you write.

You have to put your thinking caps on and express yourself in a way that your readers will fully comprehend what your intentions are. Anyone can be a writer, but then, not just anyone. It takes a lot of self-discipline and courage and a lot of brain-wrecking moments.

When I started writing my book, I just wrote as the words came and I was sort of full of pride—at first. But then as I wrote on, pressure built up. I had to research to describe everything from my character’s clothes to their houses to food to everything that we take for granted.

Man, it was hell of a job and still is. Sometimes I would stare into space for hours just thinking and looking a bit lost, even in between conversation. My friends thought I was on my way to Laloki Mental Institute!

I went back on re-reading my books; I found out that my first ten thousand words were rubbish! Yes, I got the story, but hell, I was not descriptive enough! I had to re-read, rewrite and re-read and re-write! And as I wrote on, new characters entered and my location changed and villages had to be made into cities and east had to be west! Directions and maps gave me the biggest headache.

From one article I read on writer’s guidelines, there are no laws when you write a fiction. You can write whatever you please but you cannot lie or break your own rules either. Some things had to be true so that you capture your reader’s attention and make them want to find out more. I had to make my characters and their lives real and it is very frustrating.

Once I was reading a Stephen King novel and at the end, he gave insights into being a writer. He mentioned how he had to write his drafts thirty times to finally get it right. God help me if I will write my book thirty times! I have not even completed the first draft!

I would like to thank the writers of the past for this inspiration and hope that many Papua New Guineans use the opportunity we have and be like them, or even greater. And I would like to express my sincere gratitude to PNG Attitude for giving us modern and young PNG writers  inspiration and assistance. No dream is bigger than us.

You play with words, in your minds.
So that we may comprehend
You wrote them down
So that we may recollect
You put inspiration into our hearts
So that we can be like you
You sat up sleepless hours
So that your dreams may come into life
Now you are our shining star
So we are grateful
Thank you.

Top Australian author for Crocodile Prize awards

BY KEITH JACKSON

EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH the Crocodile Prize national literary contest are scheduled to take place in Port Moresby on Monday 10 September.

Prominent Australian author, Drusilla Modjeska [pictured] - whose recent PNG-based novel The Mountain has met with great acclaim – will be in Papua New Guinea for the awards.

Once again the Prize will offer a full day of activity including the AustAsia Pacific Health Services Writers Forum, the awards ceremony and a reception hosted by the Australian High Commission.

The first annual general meeting of the PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers will also be held and a new constitution adopted.

Through the High Commission, Ms Modjeska has been invited to facilitate a master class for emerging PNG writers and to present one of the awards.

This year the Prize offers awards in seven categories – short stories, essays & journalism, poetry, heritage literature, student writing and women’s literature as well as a lifetime achievement award for a prominent Papua New Guinean writer.

Hundreds of entries have been received from about 150 contributors to the contest, which offers total prize money of K35,000.  The final date for entries is just over a week away - Thursday 31 May.

Crocodile Prize – Taiwan steps in; DFAT walks away

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE TAIPEI ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OFFICE (TECO) in Queensland donated $1,000 to the 2012 Crocodile Prize at an elegant function in Brisbane on Tuesday night.

The Office is the bureau of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Queensland, and is headed by Director-General Wen-cheng Sung [pictured with me], one of the most experienced diplomats in Australia to specialise in South Pacific affairs.

Also in attendance was an elite group of Australians well known for their support of Papua New Guinea – Sean Dorney, Laurence Quinlivan and Murray Bladwell – and the senior director of TECO in Brisbane, Kuo-Ting Tan.

Director-General Sung was born in the mid 1950s in Quemoy, an island just off the coast of Communist China, but in Taiwanese territory.

His experiences as a young child were of a homeland under siege.

Half a million artillery shells fell on tiny Quemoy in the two wars in the region in the 1950s; so many that today they are dug up and recycled for use in the manufacture of high quality household cutlery.

(Swords shall be ploughshares and all that.)

In receiving the cheque from Mr Sung, I reflected that the donation of funds for the Crocodile Prize was symbolic of the friendship between Taiwan, Papua New Guinea and Australia – all great democracies.

I reciprocated the donation by presenting Mr Sung with a copy of the 2011 Crocodile Prize anthology and assuring him that the $1,000 would be used to print as many as 300 copies of this year’s collection of the best PNG writing which will be published in September.

And, from a personal viewpoint, it was a sheer delight to see the Taiwanese government step in to assist the Prize when the Australian International Cultural Council (a branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs) had turned its back on what is widely regarded as a major cultural initiative in PNG.

PNG’s ‘phantom poets’ – is this Ern Malley revisited?

BY RUSSELL SOABA

PHIL’S ARTICLE, Trusting crocodiles and other beasties, led me into thinking if the Ern Malley phenomenon would be in any way similar to the type of poetry that is being published today in the “writers’ forum” of the National’s Weekender supplement.

There is an enormous amount of pseudonymity involved in this process and this for a serious researcher in literature can become worrisome sometimes, especially if the researcher’s aim is to know as much of Papua New Guinea literature as possible.

I cite several of these poems as published in the National Weekender with brief commentaries and leave the rest to the reader.

CONVENIENCE

by Manayo Bagodu

She’s sensual
But only when you
want her physically

She’s intelligent
But only when you
want her advice

She’s a business partner
But only when you
want her signature

She’s a companion
But only when you
have time to spare

She’s a listener
But only when you
want to verbally abuse her

She’s a champion
But only when she does
Something to promote you

She’s a woman
But only when
you think she is

She’s gone
Oh dear
How inconvenient for you

[Published National Weekender Friday 28 October 2011]

The poem is said to have been written by Manyo Bagodu but there is a possibility it might have been written by another. Notice the tone of voice in presentation. It almost sounds reflective of Robyn Kosam’s poem, Awakening.

My problem with this poem is that when I was with The National newspaper as a columnist, I asked after the author and the author’s bio details if possible but no one there said they knew who the poet was. I tried the editor, but a change of subject in discussion was the closest I could get.

That left me with the intriguing thought that the poem had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the promotion of PNG literature and that it probably was too personal for me to critique as literature. Then, upon reflection, why publish it at all?

INFIDELITY

By Beoi Badiba (in the Motu language ‘be oi badiba’ means “you know whom I’m talking about”)

A man of status
A woman
Younger by thirty six

Upon cushions cast carelessly
On an office floor, messy

Loveless union
Empty satisfaction

His want is urgent
Her needs unmet

She leaves in haste
His life now a waste

All but forgotten
By his ever loyal woman

What is six minutes bliss
To six years of genuine friendship

[Published Friday 4 November 2011]

Trusting crocodiles and other beasties

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

ONE OF THE THINGS we have little choice about with the Crocodile Prize is to take the creations people send us at face value.

We can edit or reject entries if we think they are offensive or libellous but we don’t, and can’t, know whether what people submit is actually their own work.

This was brought home to me recently when a student essay for the Yokomo Prize added a note which said, “My Dad helped me with this essay”.

This lovely and guileless addendum also noted that Dad was a subsistence farmer and a high school dropout (I think Dad inserted that part).

Occasionally we get entries that either plagiarise other people’s work or are outright transcriptions of other people’s publications.  Mostly these are easy to pick but, no doubt, we’ve missed a few.  Luckily we’ve got some very switched on judges.

To date we have taken all this in our stride.  A polite return email or letter usually sees the suspect entry re-written or withdrawn.

A conversation that I was having via email with one of our learned judges the other day alerted me to another possibility for concern.  This is where someone uses the competition and particularly the publication of entries on PNG Attitude for nefarious political or personal reasons.  You may have noticed a few of these in relation to articles on logging.

At the end of World War II a couple of well-known Australian poets caused a stir with the so-called Ern Malley Affair.  In brief, they evolved an intense dislike for a poetry magazine called Angry Penguins run by a young ‘upstart’ called Max Harris. 

They particularly disliked Max’s perchance for modernist poetry so one afternoon they concocted a gladbag of ‘modernist poetry’ by taking chunks of prose at random from, among other things, an army manual, and cobbling it all together in some 17 poems, which they sent to Max.  They even invented a plausible background for the conveniently deceased Ern Malley.

Max fell for it and published the poems.  The subsequent public exposure and ridicule contributed to the closure of the magazine, left a lasting negative impression on modernist poetry and left both poets gloating.  It also introduced a perpetual uneasiness among publishers in Australia.

The irony of the whole affair is that some of the poems were quite good.  Incidentally, a lot of the poems submitted to the Crocodile Prize could be classified as modernist. 

We’ve made it clear all along that we don’t mind if work submitted to the competition and subsequently published in PNG Attitude is picked up and used by other people and publishers, as long as the authors are consulted and agree and the Crocodile Prize is given due credit.

We think this is a great way to promote Papua New Guinean literature and to dispel the idea that reading material necessarily has to have a price and be purchased.

At the same time, however, we realise that by being so open and liberal we are extremely vulnerable, both personally and legally.  You know the old adage: it only takes one idiot to spoil it for everyone else.

We trust our writers and our readers to do the right thing by us.  We cannot do anything else but hope this is reciprocated.

Unlikely gifts across the void

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

IN RUNNING THE CROCODILE PRIZE competition, one of the things we receive in abundance, apart from the deluge of entries, is praise.  People tell us it is a great thing that we are doing for Papua New Guinea.

I’m as inclined as anyone else to lap this up and quietly preen about it but when I sober up and put it in perspective I realise that it is actually a two-way street.  I’m getting as much out of it as I am giving and so too, I hope, are our readers.

Obviously one of the things I’m getting is the opportunity to read some great literature (and some not so great literature too) but there are other gains that are not immediately obvious or so tangible.

One of the most significant and subtle gains has been the gradual diminishment of the sense of what is sometimes called “the other”.  This is that nagging awareness that we Australians and Papua New Guineans are somehow irrevocably different.  I’m sure it affects Papua New Guineans as much as it does Australians.  There are positive aspects to being different but there are many more negatives involving such elements as arrogance, prejudice, racism, intolerance, you name it.

I’m fairly easy going and I like to think that I mix reasonably well when I’m in Papua New Guinea but at the end of the day, or week, or month, I inevitably retire into my comfortable European cocoon, be it a tent, hotel, house or simple frame of mind.  I’ve always envied those few people, like Carol Kidu, who seem to have come pre-armed with a total lack of this sense.

One of the things that got me thinking about this was the acute intelligence that I encountered in both the entries and at the workshop last year.  I’m white, he/she is black but he/she is one hell of a lot smarter than me!  I’d suggest that a lot of Australians in Papua New Guinea have yet to admit to this possibility.  The reverse is also true, I’m black, he/she is white but I’m one hell of a lot smarter than him/her – fancy that!

Another thing relates to empathy.  This is something that is sometimes hard to detect in Papua New Guinea.  The lack of it is all too obvious in the way men treat women ,for instance.

Despite having been a rough and tough kiap in a previous life I’m actually a big sook.  Something that used to tug at my heartstrings was the appalling attitude to animals in many villages, from starving and diseased dogs (as distinct from lean hunting animals) to the old highlander casually plucking fur for his wig from a live cuscus.

Then along comes along something like Kirsten Ipi Aria’s anguished poem about the green turtle at Koki market.  A small thing but it speaks volumes.  There are other entries before that, young men writing poems of tribute to their canine friends for example.  These are sentiments which are common to many people, no matter where they live.  After all, we are all just human beings; it’s just that recognising that fact is sometimes hard to do.

There is a lot more to this “other” thing of course; many would see it as a typical colonial manifestation and hangover, which is undoubtedly true.  I’m not sure I want to debate that however, best leave it to people wiser than me like Martyn Namorong.

So what does all this esoteric palaver mean?

It means that the entries in the competition are far from being mere attempts at recognition by Papua New Guinean writers from some sort of “superior” source.  They are, in fact, gifts to our readers, both in Australia and Papua New Guinea.  They are gifts of understanding and friendship but, most of all, of commonality.  For this, I for one am grateful.

These great people are sponsoring THE CROCODILE PRIZE
Steamships Short Story Award; Moore Printing Poetry Award; PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum Essay & Journalism Award; Ok Tedi Mining Women's Literature Award; British American Tobacco (PNG) Award for Lifetime Contribution to Literature; Cleland Family Award for Heritage Literature; Chalkies' Yokomo Award for Student Writing; AustAsia Pacific Health Services Writers Forums; Australian High Commission; MRSM Group; Star Mountains Institute of Technology

Get into it! A unique memento of Papua New Guinea
(with a big whack going to the Crocodile Prize)
JIM MOORE’S FAMOUS PNG TEE-SHIRT
$45 (inc p&p) - $20 to the Prize Fund
CLICK THROUGH TO THE ORDER FORM HERE
Featuring the flags of all Provinces

Design the cover of the 2012 Crocodile Anthology

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

WHEN VINCENT ERI PUBLISHED The Crocodile in 1970 he helped establish a style of writing which is distinctly Papua New Guinean.

This style has persisted and evolved to the present time.  It is very much apparent in the work that many writers are submitting to the Crocodile Prize.

It is also a recognisable and established style that sits comfortably beside its African, South American and Pacific Island brothers and sisters.  It is a legacy that Vincent Eri and his fellow writers have left to the nation.

The Vincent Eri Crocodile Prize for Literature demonstrates that Papua New Guinean literature is alive and well and has been so since those early days.  The only thing that has been missing is outlets for its writers.

Publishing opportunities to make that necessary connection between writers and readers.

Recognition of those early pioneering writers, some of whom, like Russell Soaba, are still going strong, is what prompted the organisers of the competition to name it The Crocodile Prize after that first novel.

It is also the reason why we used a modified version of the cover of the novel for the first anthology published in 2011.  That cover was a way of paying homage to those pioneering writers of the 1970s.

Unfortunately it has also left us with a dilemma for the 2012 and subsequent anthologies.  Should we stick with the same cover design or look for something else that is more representative of the modern era?

As the 2012 competition moves into its final two months (the deadline for entries is at the end of May), I have been asking people I meet in Australia and Papua New Guinea what they think about how the anthology will look.  The consensus seems to be that we need a change.

To this end we are going to award a small prize of K500 for a new cover design.

We have had a very good offer from Papua New Guinea’s Moore Printing who tendered for the printing of the 2012 anthology.  Their offer also includes a K10,000 sponsorship of the Poetry Prize which will be deducted their already competitive quote.

We will need the new cover design to Moore Printing by the end of May.  If you have a design or artwork for a new cover you can submit it directly to Amanda Donigi, the interim Executive Officer of the PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers.

You can email Amanda here for submissions or more details.

DFAT stifles PNG writing - decision deprives 1000's

BY KEITH JACKSON

THOUSANDS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEANS will not be able to read stories and poems written by their own writers due to a short-sighted decision by the Australian government not to provide funds for printing the Crocodile Prize Anthology 2012.

And two workshops in regional PNG designed to provide skills to emerging Papua New Guinean writers have had to be cancelled for the same reason.

After the Cultural Diplomacy Section of the Australian foreign affairs department said that the $31,000 funding application to support the Crocodile Prize “clearly has merit” and offered “to assist with it”, the result was that we were fobbed off in a form letter from Amanda (“please note that I do not work on Wednesdays and Fridays”) Panayotau – of the same section.

Knock-backs are not uncommon to those of us who deal constantly with bureaucrats, but – given the nature of the project – this was an especially stupid and uncomprehending one.

The funding proposal, accompanied by a comprehensive revenue and expenditure budget, sought a subsidy to produce 5,000 copies of the anthology for distribution through PNG schools, government offices and resources companies at minimal or no cost to the recipient.

Rationale: the people of Papua New Guinea are entitled to be able to read their own literature.

The proposal also sought travel and accommodation for 50 writers to participate in forums in Goroka and Madang (the Port Moresby workshop is privately funded) and the same for two program directors to travel to PNG to facilitate the workshops and the inaugural general meeting of the PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers.

Rationale: Papua New Guinea needs to ensure the sustainability of its own literature.

In 2012 the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby, for the second year running, has committed $2,500 to the Prize, despite limited discretionary funds, and it also does the best it can to assist the prize through ‘in-kind’ activity like providing facilities.

But the failure of the Australian government at a broader level to fund book production is a blow to Papua New Guinean writers and readers alike.

The anthology is a unique compilation of the best writing in PNG, where a national literature is experiencing something of a revival after 35 years thanks to the initiation of the Crocodile Prize.

DFAT’s refusal to provide funds to print the book, despite manifestly having the means to do so, is a crime against PNG culture.

And it makes a total mockery of parliamentary secretary Richard Marles’ professed commitment to the Australia-PNG relationship.

Steamships sponsor PNG Croc Prize short story award

STEAMSHIPS TRADING COMPANY has handed over a cheque for K10,000 to sponsor the short story award in the 2012 Crocodile Prize writing contest.

The photograph shows the company’s finance director, Eddie Ruha, handing the cheque to Amanda Donigi, executive officer of the Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers.

Mr Ruha said Steamships is delighted to associate itself with a project that rewarded Papua New Guinean writers.

“I believe the Crocodile Prize is working to strengthen and enhance Papua New Guinea’s national literature,” he said.

“The organisers tell me they expect up to 400 stories to be submitted for judging in 2012 and that about 50 of these will be published in book form.

“We understand how thrilling it is for writers to have the opportunity to be published and for readers to access stories that speak to the themes, issues and culture from Papua New Guinea.”

Co-founder of the Crocodile Prize, Keith Jackson AM, speaking from Sydney, welcomed Steamships’ participation, calling it “a great day for Papua New Guinean writers”.

“Steamships is one of PNG’s iconic companies,” he said, “and it’s wonderful to have them associated with such a pioneering national project.”

Mr Jackson said Steamships’ sponsorship will ensure both that the winning author receives a large cash prize and that the print-run of the Crocodile Prize book will reach its target of 10,000 copies.

“The aim of the Prize is both to motivate writers and to ensure Papua New Guinean readers have access to their own literature.

“Steamships and our other sponsors are making a great contribution to the nation.”

CHALKIES YOKOMO PRIZE FOR STUDENT WRITING – K5,000
The Yokomo Crocodile Prize is offered for story, poem or essay:
-- with a length of 500 words or less
-- written by a primary or high school student in 2012
-- on a theme about Papua New Guinea.
The prize money will be shared equally between the student and his/her school
TELL YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL ABOUT THIS!
Entries close at the end of May.  Further information here

The motivating influences of a young writer

BY REGINA DORUM

Regina Dorum is the latest writing talent to emerge in Papua New Guinea. Last Saturday, we published her maiden short story in PNG Attitude – and there will be a second in the next few days. Regina wrote the following words in a letter to chief judge of the Crocodile Prize, Phil Fitzpatrick. I felt they should be reproduced here - KJ

DEAR PHIL, YOU HAVE SAID YOURSELF that my short stories are very compelling and I am glad because that was my aim.

Almost all my stories don’t have any happy endings because they are all inspired by factual events which know will not end happily unless there is a divine intervention!

Yes, there are hostesses in night clubs and sex workers do live in containers on the wharf and are abused on daily basis. Most of these are young girls between the ages of 15 and 25.

There are homeless children begging in the streets of Port Moresby and young seven year olds and five year olds drinking home brew and smoking marijuana.

I have witnessed all these events and have had the chance to talk with these women and children. Yes, there are businessmen who cause family problems and wealthy and good families destroyed by HIV and AIDS and alcohol related violence and abuse.

Girls and young women are being forced into prostitution by their relatives or are sold to businessmen at ages as young as twelve years of age or are abused by their relatives by making them work as slaves while their own children are well cared for.

I have interviewed them, seen them and pitied them but I could do nothing about it. I only managed to tell people who were willing to listen and what they all say is, ‘Oh my, we are so sorry for them but we have our own problems too.’

I hope that instead of telling them as it is, I have written stories that will make people wake up and realise that this is really happening and what must be done by certain authorities.

And I hope that politicians who can read make time to read these stories and put their own women and children into the shoes of my characters. That should change their mind about pocketing the people’s money and making good use of it.

And for those politicians who does not know how to read, (which is true, once a politician was caught reading a newspaper upside down!), I wish I could make movies for them!

For people who do not know PNG culture might be tempted to blame our problems on our multi-cultural society. However, we are Melanesians and there is one thing common to the thousand cultures that we have and that is: We take care of what is ours.

If we had forgotten our culture, we will be as worse as the African nations. Our culture is the only thing that is still holding PNG families together, otherwise, we are done for.

However, our culture is also fading due to the rapid change from stone-age to the computer-age. I pray and hope that our government and people in authority can wake up to this silent call I make on behalf of our children, to look and see that we are suffering. 

Give us public schools with no fees.  Job opportunities for drop outs and graduates. Orphanages for homeless children and shelter for abused children. 

Thank you very much for this opportunity and now I feel more enlightened to the fact that I can do something for these children with your help.

And again, I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I love writing them because I wrote from my heart.

Regina Dorum (25) comes from Mount Hagen.  She is a chemist with a gold mining company in Port Moresby.  She began her interest in reading in Grade 5 when she was 11 and is a fan of fantasy novels and authors like Dean Koonz, Stephen King, David Eddings and Diana Gabaldon.  Last year, she thought 'why not write, anyone can write', and surprised herself by writing 20,000 words of an epic fantasy that she hopes will become a trilogy. 

THE STEAMSHIPS PRIZE FOR SHORT STORIES – K5,000
The Steamships Crocodile Prize is offered for short stories:
-- of an indicative length of 1,500 words or less
-- written by a citizen of Papua New Guinea
-- on a theme of interest to a general readership.
Entries close at the end of May.  Further information here

The Crocodile Prize is going absolute gangbusters

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE 2012 CROCODILE PRIZE is turning out to be a rip-roaring success.

So much so that chief judge Phil Fitzpatrick, just back from Papua New Guinea, has been overwhelmed by entries in all five creative categories.

As attentive readers will know, I’ve been travelling in South America and communications have not always been easy.

But I do know that nearly two weeks ago 208 entries had been received and, since then, according to Phil, “they are pouring in now and I’m having trouble keeping up”.

The breakdown of entries two week ago showed there were 137 poems, 25 essays, 23 short stories, 14 student entries and nine heritage stories.

The Crocodile Prize - Papua New Guinea’s National Awards for Literature - is an initiative of PNG Attitude and the PNG Post-Courier.

It offers K35,000 in prize money and publishes the best PNG writing in an annual anthology.

There is a K5,000 cash award & Crocodile Trophy for the winner of each category:

Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature
Steamships Prize for Short Stories
PNG Chamber of Mines Prize for Essays & Journalism
Chalkies' Yokomo Prize for Student Writing
Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women's Literature
The Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers Poetry Prize
British American Tobacco (PNG) Prize for Lifetime Literary Achievement

Entries close on 31 May. Further information, including the entry form, here.

The unexpected gifts are always the sweetest

BY KEITH JACKSON

GU XIAOFENG IS AN ADMINISTRATOR at the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) in Melbourne, and a colleague of PNG Attitude and Crocodile prize stalwart, Ed Brumby

As Ed says: “Xiaofeng has absolutely no connection to PNG except through my various tales and has been inspired, I guess, by my enthusiasm for what the Prize represents and will do to foster the further literary development of a nation.”

Now Xiaofeng has donated her New Year laisee gift of $500 to the Chalkies’ Yokomo Crocodile Prize.

The laisee is a gift of money that Chinese elders give to youngsters at New Year, usually in red envelopes (hong bao).

Ed says that Xiaofeng is his 'right arm' at the International Division of ANZIIF – an extremely capable administrator, organiser, relationship manager and problem solver, not to mention her translation and interpreting abilities.

And she’s keen reader and would-be writer.

Here at PNG Attitude we’re delighted at this magnificent gesture by Xiaofeng to assist the development of a creative writing culture in a country she has never seen and for a people she has never met.

By way of thanks, we’ve made her an honorary member of the PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers which, in the circumstances, seemed the least we could do.

And a reminder of the Crocodile Prize bank details if you would like to make a donation:

Bendigo Bank
Account name: SPSS The Crocodile
BSB: 633 000
Account number: 141 021 527

And don’t forget to email me here and let me know

PNG Society of Writers offers free membership

BY KEITH JACKSON

AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF PLANNING, the newly incorporated Papua New Guinea Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers Ltd is now ready to welcome its members.

And the members are you, the writers of PNG.

Papua New Guinean writers, editors and publishers are able to join the Society free of charge and can apply on the Membership Application Form or answering the questions on the form in an email.

Send your email application to join the Society to me here.

You should apply for your free membership now and join an organisation which promises to become a real force in the development of creative writing in PNG.

For non-Papua New Guineans associate membership is available at an annual membership fee of $A50.

The Society’s objectives include the promotion of a writing and reading culture in PNG, the development of professional writers, editors and publishers, and assisting members to publish their work.

The Society will also take over the administration of the Crocodile Prize literary contest at its first annual general meeting to be held in September this year.

At present the Society is run by a small steering committee with a full board to be elected at September’s AGM, which will also adopt a new constitution (you can download the interim constitution here).

Steering Committee: Amanda Donigi, Managing Editor, Pacific Islands Publishing (Executive Officer); David Kitchnoge, Manager, Deloitte PNG (Member); Jim Drekore, Analytical Chemist, Lihir Gold Ltd (Member), Keith Jackson AM, Publisher & Editor, PNG Attitude (Joint Director); Phil Fitzpatrick, Director, South Pacific Social Solutions (Joint Director and Treasurer); Ruth Moiam, Public Diplomacy Coordinator, Australian High Commission (Member)

THE CROCODILE PRIZE - PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S NATIONAL LITERARY AWARD
The Prize is offered in seven categories and was first awarded in 2011.  It provides opportunities for Papua New Guinean writers to publish their work and gives PNG readers access to their own literature.
You can ensure the sustainability of this important initiative by making a donation.
Email Keith Jackson here to find out how.
Donors at end January 2012: AustAsia Pacific Health Services; British American Tobacco (PNG); Ex PNG Chalkies; Cleland Family; PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum; Ok Tedi Mining; Steamships Trading Co; MRSM Group; ourportmoresby.co; Paul A Povey; Star Mountains Institute of Technology; Corney K Alone & Tanya Zeriga-Alone; Australian High Commission; Bob Ellis; Ed Brumby; Keith Jackson; Dr Lance Hill; Sue & Kev Ellison; Stuart Hoare; Sean Dorney; Paul Dennett; Murray & Joan Bladwell; Don Hook; Graham King; Henry Bodman; Norma McCall; Paul Oates; John Groenewegen; David Wall

Croc entries top 100 as writing year begins in earnest

BY KEITH JACKSON

ENTRIES IN THE 2012 CROCODILE PRIZE have now topped the 100 mark as the essays and short stories begin to trickle in to counterbalance the plenitude of poetry – the music of the Papua New Guinea soul – we’re receiving.

So far the Cleland Prize for heritage writing – which carries a K5,000 award – has attracted only one entry, which suggests to me that Bob Cleland made the right decision in initiating this category – to stimulate a focus on PNG’s traditional culture and its history while there’s still time.

Of the 113 entries so far from 22 writers, we have 83 poems, 15 essays, nine short stories, five entries in the Yokomo prize for student writing and one in the heritage prize.

You can read more about entering the prize here.  Each of the five categories for creative writing carries a K5,000 award.

And some notes about each of the entrants so far:

It’s always a bad day when a good man dies

BY MURRAY BLADWELL

ON A SAD NOTE, I had a phone call late this afternoon from Tony Caselberg's wife Lorraine saying Tony died early today from heart disease – the doctors were unable to replace a failing heart valve.

Tony worked for the Department of Public Works in Goroka, Kundiawa and Port Moresby.

He was a good mate and a gentle soul whose wonderful wit and zest for life will be sadly missed.

Crocodile prize revenue passes the K40,000 mark

SPONSORSHIP AND DONATIONS received by the 2012 Crocodile Prize have topped K42,650 as organisers gear up for the second year of Papua New Guinea’s national literary awards.

“Each prize is now fully funded for K5,000 as is one of the writers’ forums,” said co-director Keith Jackson.

“We are still seeking further financing to produce the Crocodile Prize Anthology 2012 and to hold writers’ forums in regional towns in PNG.”

The Prize is open to Papua New Guinean citizens and offers prizes in seven categories.

Entries in the story, poetry, essay, heritage literature and student writing categories close at the end of May.

Prizewinners will be announced for PNG’s Independence Day on 16 September this year.

SIR VINCENT ERI CROCODILE PRIZE ROLL OF HONOUR

AustAsia Pacific Health Services Writers’ Forums
British American Tobacco (PNG) Prize for Lifetime Literary Achievement [Sir Paulias Matane Award]
Chalkies’ Yokomo Prize for Student Writing
Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature
Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women’s Literature [Dame Carol Kidu Award]
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum Prize for Essays & Journalism [Sean Dorney Award]
Poetry Prize [John Kasaipwalova Award] – naming rights still on offer
Steamships Short Story Prize [Russell Soaba Award]

Premium Gold Sponsorship

MRSM Group of Companies, Tabubil, PNG
ourportmoresby.co

Silver Sponsorship

Paul A Povey
Star Mountains Institute of Technology

Bronze Sponsorship

Corney K Alone and Tanya Zeriga-Alone

Donations

Australian High Commission
Murray and Joan Bladwell
Henry Bodman
Ed Brumby
Paul Dennett
Sean Dorney
Sue and Kev Ellison
Lance Hill
Stuart Hoare
Don Hook
Keith Jackson
Graham King
Norma McCall
Paul Oates
David Wall

You too can support this major initiative in Papua New Guinea writing and reading.  Email Keith Jackson here for further information.  Writers and sponsors can also get information from special pages by clicking the links at the top of this site

Going cap in hand to the government – forget it!

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

ONE OF THE THINGS I’VE LEARNED since becoming involved in seeking sponsors for the Crocodile Prize literary awards is that the bigger the organisation, the meaner it is.

This attitude, with a couple of notable exceptions, is true across both private enterprise and government.

I can understand why hard-nosed managers of multinational companies might be inclined to ignore anything that does not advantage the company or them personally, but you would think government might be more approachable.  Governments, after all, are supposed to be supportive of their citizens’ interests.

Without casting aspersions one way or the other, the bigger companies which have provided financial support for the Prize come from industries which require and thrive on good publicity. Supporting the awards is a smart move on their part.

Why doesn’t the same logic work for government?

It is arguable whether the Australian government is in need of good publicity in PNG; it tends to ignore the place most of the time anyway. The PNG government, on the other hand, needs all the positive publicity it can get.

Out of all of them it is only the Australian High Commission that has come to the party in any meaningful way.  This is despite the fact that it is not its job to support things like the awards. 

It ahs little discretionary funds yet managed to grant $2,500 to fund part of the printing of the Crocodile Prize Anthology 2011 and also to provide a wonderful venue for the other activities related to the awards.  And it’s promised the same in 2012!

In its case I think it is down to personalities.  They are a caring and innovative bunch out on Godwit Road – both the Australians and Papua New Guineans who work there.

As for the rest of government, both in Australia and PNG, their lack of interest might be a product of the environment in which they operate.

When you approach them the excuses are manifold, not least being that the awards do not fit into any of their quixotic funding or operational categories.  Their best advice seems to be to hold a commission of enquiry to change the rules – by 2050 perhaps?

In another life I used to work in the Aboriginal Heritage Branch in South Australia.  We operated out of an old warehouse in the suburbs. 

On any given day there were people sitting around on the floors eating and yarning and kids running everywhere.  Open a filing cabinet and you were more likely to find a week-old pizza rather than any documents.  We achieved great things in those days.

All that changed when the new government moved us into a high rise office block in the city.  The first thing our bosses did was set up a security system.  They then began shedding functions as quickly as possible. 

Aboriginal clients stayed away in their droves and after a while it was possible to trim staff numbers and apply for higher reclassifications on the basis of efficiency.

That’s the attitude we’ve struck while approaching government now.  ‘We haven’t got any forms that cover what you want.  It’s all too hard, why don’t you just go away.’

The world of governments is a strange and frustrating place.

____________

The Australian Foreign Affairs Department in Canberra has been very helpful in steering us in the right direction to secure a major grant for the Prize.  But it’s a competitive process and we won’t know whether we’ve succeeded until next August.  So far our efforts to get the PNG government on board have not born fruit - KJ

Writers’ society incorporated in Papua New Guinea

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE CROCODILE PRIZE, an initiative of PNG Attitude, took another big step to build itself into a sustainable enterprise in Papua New Guinea with the incorporation on Tuesday of the PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers.

The Society’s task is to promote a writing and reading culture in Papua New Guinea and to develop the professional knowledge of members who are writers, editors and publishers of literary or dramatic material.

It will also nurture professional linkages between members and with relevant organisations within and outside Papua New Guinea as well as keeping members informed of professional developments in the literary world.

From early 2012, the Society will embark on a membership drive within PNG.  Initial membership will be free.

People from outside PNG who wish to join can apply for Associate Member status, which will cost $A50 a year.

The Society has adopted an interim constitution (you can download it here if you’re interested) and appointed a committee to steer it to the first general meeting, which will be held to coincide with the Prize ceremony in Port Moresby next September.

The Society has also appointed Amanda Donigi as its first Executive Officer.  Amanda will supervise the operations of the Society in Papua New Guinea and work closely with Prize directors Phil Fitzpatrick and me and the other committee members, who are all PNG-based.

Amanda was born and raised in Port Moresby and is currently managing editor for Pacific Islands Publishing, a magazine publishing house in Port Moresby.

She holds a BA in German and is a graduate diploma in writing, editing and publishing from the University of Queensland. She taught English for over three years in South Korea and Taiwan before turning her attention to books and the written word.

Amanda’s writing has been published in several magazines and on cultural review websites.

Cleland Prize: Be like Nokondi & have a ball

BY BOB CLELAND

MY SPONSORSHIP OF THE Cleland award for Crocodile Prize entrants is a bit of a culmination for me of an interest I had through most of my career as a kiap.

When I was patrolling from 1953-55 in the Eastern Highlands, I used to enjoy inviting a few big men from the village into the haus kiap in the evenings. With a tanimtok, I encouraged them to talk about their customs and beliefs.

Sometimes they would tell me things like the tumbuna stories of their origin. Some of these stories seemed good to me, while others had obvious elements of Christian missionary teaching.

If I mentioned this (very tactfully), the big men became reluctant to go any further. One of the interpreters, Bepi, who I knew well, told me later that they worried I would tell the missionaries if they told me their true traditions.

I trust that today’s writers won’t have such worries!

As well as origin stories, there were tambaran, masalai and the like; some good to be celebrated, some bad who had to be placated.

One ‘good guy’ I heard about in the Asaro (Goroka) valley was Nokondi [illustrated]. He was a mischievous character, mostly good, who was often spoken about with humour.

He had only one eye, one ear, one arm, one leg and one ball. He was sometimes blamed by women to explain a ‘mystery’ pregnancy, or a garden of missing kaukau. He would appear on many different occasions.

Fast forward to 1975-76 when I was executive officer of the Eastern Highlands Area Authority (which became the Provincial Government in 1977).

The new Authority needed a Common Seal. I asked the members what was something traditional covering the whole Eastern Highlands. They quickly decided on Nokondi. His name and form and stories differ slightly from east to west across the district, but the concept is the same.

The Nokondi myth is depicted excellently and dramatically in two magnificent, double door sized copper beatings done at the Goroka Teachers College. I’m told they are now part of the décor of the Provincial Government building in Goroka.

From that, I simplified and modified the image and came up with Nokondi holding a branch of a coffee tree.

The illustration above shows my original drawing from which the Common Seal was made.

I’m interested and humbled that the same image is at the centre of today’s official flag of the Provincial Government.

Hey, that’s turned into a long story. All I want to do is suggest that stories like this are excellent Cleland Prize subjects.

PS, Can anyone tell me who was the artist in 1975 or 1976 who hammered the copper doors? Mi sem mi lusim tingting.

Major literary project moves steadily forward

THE CROCODILE PRIZE has achieved almost half its target budget and is poised for a high energy start to 2012, the second year of Papua New Guinea’s national literature awards initiated by PNG Attitude and the PNG Post-Courier.

Organisers of the project say sponsors and donors have so far committed K65,000 to a wide-ranging series of activities centred on multiple awards for short stories, essays, poetry, heritage literature and student writing.

The project has been conceived as more than a writing contest, and also includes:

The production of the Crocodile Prize Anthology – a book featuring the best of PNG writing in 2012 which will have a print run of 5,000-10,000 copies depending upon budget.

The delivery of forums for emerging writers led by established PNG authors and poets.  Depending upon budget these will be held in Port Moresby, Goroka and Madang.

The establishment of the PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers that – in September 2012 – will take over responsibility for the administration of the Crocodile Prize.

An awards ceremony at the Australian High Commission at which the seven literary prizes are presented.

The continuing exposure of PNG writers to a broader community of readers through publication of their work in the PNG Post-Courier and in PNG Attitude.

The development of a dedicated website for the Crocodile Prize which is expected to be launched in the first months of 2012.

Funds provided by sponsors and readers are deployed entirely to the development of these activities and to the embedding of a creative literary culture in PNG.

Naming rights so far have been awarded for the AustAsia Pacific Health Services Writers’ Forums; British American Tobacco (PNG) Lifetime Achievement Prize; Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature; Ex-Chalkies Yokomo Prize for Student Writing; Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women’s Literature; PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum Prize for Essays & Journalism; and the Steamships Short Story Prize.

Naming rights for the Poetry Prize are still on offer.

Sponsors and donors to date are the Australian High Commission; Corney K Alone & Tanya Zeriga-Alone; David Wall; Don Hook; Ed Brumby; Graham King; Keith Jackson; Lance Hill; MRSM Group of Companies; Murray & Joan Bladwell; Norma McCall; ourportmoresby.co; Paul Povey; Sean Dorney; Star Mountains Institute of Technology; Stuart Hoare; and Sue & Kev Ellison.

You are encouraged to support this major initiative in Papua New Guinea literature. Donate to the Crocodile Prize at:

Account name: SPSS The Crocodile [Bendigo Bank]
BSB: 633 000
Account number: 141 021 527
Reference: <Your Name> Donation

Or contact Keith Jackson here for further information.

Can you write a heritage story? Yes, you can!

BY KEITH JACKSON

LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY.  There’s K5,000 on offer for a story of perhaps 1,000 words that explores the traditional customs and beliefs of Papua New Guinea, or which uncovers and promotes aspects of PNG’s rich cultural inheritance.

The Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature is a new category in The Crocodile Prize.  It’s sponsored by Bob Cleland, a kiap from 1953-76, and himself a talented writer.

Bob established this award in the name of his family to remember the major contributions to PNG of his father, Sir Donald Cleland (Administrator 1951-66), and mother, Dame Rachel Cleland, an active supporter of PNG culture for 30 years.

If you’re thinking of entering a story in The Crocodile Prize and wonder what a heritage story might look like, here are some extracts from two 2011 entries (we didn’t have a heritage prize but got a few pieces that were of that ilk).

We look forward to your entries.  Go to the INFORMATION FOR WRITERS tab at the top of the blog for more information.

From THE DEATH OF A WARRIOR by Jeffrey Febi

Meanwhile, Ooamie’s brothers returned from their journeys. In the haus-man they reported their findings. When finished, a long silence ensued; broken only by an occasional distant bark from a dog. All eyes were set on the fire as its flaming tails danced mockingly. Smoke reluctantly rose from tobacco pipes and no one was heard breathing in the frozen silence that engulfed them. Even the chief’s two dogs lay silent under their master’s bed. The chief pondered intensely over the inevitable: who is responsible; how many will he order to be killed; who should execute his orders? Everyone realised their chief’s deep concentration and no one dared interrupt him.

From WARMIL’S SPIRIT BRIDE by Kela Kapkora Sil Bolkin

A kind hearted bari youth named Warmil, who had lost his father during the warfare with the Gena, settled with his mother and three small brothers at Morua Kaupa Nil Awil. His mother was Kokil Gup Ku. His three brothers were Kipir, Kulkan and Arkal Ku. Warmil grew up and soon filled the vacuum left by his father. He was strong and had already matured by his teens. At sixteen he built a hut and made a couple of gardens with the help of his three brothers for their mother. Kokil Gup Ku was very fond of them all. One dawn the sun emerged with its splendour in the east. Mt Elimbari and the red burning ball of the sun rubbed shoulders. The horizon in the east sent out yellow reddish rays to the Galkope land.

So there’s a taste of what we’re looking for.  Tradition.  Kastom.  Bilip.  Tumbuna.  The old stories that are so much part of the present Papua New Guinea.

A guide for writers entering the Crocodile Prize 2012

BY KEITH JACKSON

WITH THE HOLIDAY SEASON nearly upon us, it may be that (with the help of this little aide memoire) that your thoughts will turn in the direction of creative writing.

The current 2012 Crocodile Prize literary contest is a much more elaborate project than in 2011.  There are more categories in which prizes are awarded and, at K5,000 each, the prizes are substantially more attractive.

We know writers don’t need money to motivate their creative process (although it helps), but it’s a nice reward for a great idea that transforms into a wonderful piece of prose or poetry.

The first important thing you need to know about The Crocodile Prize is that you must be a Papua New Guinean citizen to enter.

And the second is that your entries must be submitted by Thursday 31 May 2012. (After judging and the production of an anthology of the best PNG writing in 2012, the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Port Moresby on Friday 14 September).

You will also need to send in an official entry form with your first entry – you can download it here.

Now for a brief description of each of the seven awards on offer.

STEAMSHIPS PRIZE FOR SHORT STORIES – K5,000
We’d like writers to submit around 1,500 words on a fictional theme of interest to a general readership.  As with the other categories, we won’t penalise longer entries but we’d rather 300 beautifully crafted words than 3,000 going nowhere very much.

PRIZE FOR POETRY – K5,000
The guideline here is for about 300 words on a theme of interest to a general readership.  In practice, you can submit on any theme or subject of your choosing.  (Naming rights for this award are still available: contact me here.)

PNG CHAMBER OF MINES AND PETROLEUM PRIZE FOR ESSAYS & JOURNALISM – K5,000
Around 1,000 words on a theme of current interest to a general readership.  Contributions may range from essays on subjects of national cultural or policy importance to articles about people, places or on other factual themes.

CLELAND PRIZE FOR HERITAGE LITERATURE – K5,000
A story or article of about 1,500 words on a theme that delves into traditional customs, beliefs and stories, and discovers and promotes Papua New Guinea's cultural heritage.  This award is sponsored by Bob Cleland (who was a kiap from 1953-76) and honours the names and contributions to PNG of Sir Donald Cleland (Administrator 1951-66) and Dame Rachel Cleland (friend and supporter of PNG and its culture 1951-79).

CHALKIES’ YOKOMO PRIZE FOR STUDENT WRITING – K5,000
Not more than 500 words on a theme of interest to a general readership.  The award was initiated by former editor of the PNG School Paper, Ed Brumby, and is supported by expatriate teachers who served in PNG.  Students who are at primary or high school in 2012 are eligible to enter.

OK TEDI MINING PRIZE FOR WOMEN’S LITERATURE – K5,000
To be awarded from the judges’ consideration of all entries from female writers.  No special applications are required, the judges will select the winner from all the entries received.

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (PNG) PRIZE FOR LIFETIME LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT – K5,000
To be awarded by the judges after consideration of the contributions to national literature that PNG’s leading writers have made down the years.  No nominations are required.

Over the coming months we'll be publishing as many entries as we can in PNG Attitude and in The Review magazine (and from early next year on the Prize’s dedicated website).  But to be published in The Crocodile Prize Anthology 2012, as the best entries will be, well, that’s something very special to every writer.

We plan to print 10,000 copies of next year's anthology (budget willing) - a huge publishing effort.  This will link the top Papua New Guinean writers with a large audience of Papua New Guinean readers.

We will also be staging AustAsia Pacific Writers' Forums for the best emerging writers.  These will be held in Port Moresby and, we hope (again subject to budget), Goroka and Madang.

Being able to read literature from your own country should be the right of every citizen.  A homegrown literature can certainly make a huge contribution to national culture, identity and understanding.  The Crocodile Prize is all about developing an sustainable national written literature in Papua New Guinea.

You can be part of that.

K35,000 in prize money secured for Crocodile Prize

WITH THE SIGNING of three new major sponsors, this week has seen a substantial boost to funding for The Crocodile Prize national literary contest.

The Poetry Prize now remains the only award with naming rights on offer, but organisers say the K35,000 prize money required for all seven categories in the competition will be covered.

A Writers’ Forum, held in conjunction with the Prize, has also been sponsored by AustAsia Pacific Health Services and Co-Convenor of the Prize, Keith Jackson, says this may enable the forum for emerging writers to be extended from Port Moresby to Goroka and Madang next year.

Organisers also expect a significant grant to be announced in the next few days that will enable the printing of 10,000 copies of The Crocodile Prize Anthology 2012, a 200-page anthology featuring the best writing submitted to the contest.  This is believed to be a record print run for a creative work published in Papua New Guinea.

The Steamships Short Story Prize, announced this week, will be awarded for the best story submitted on a theme of interest to a general readership.  Steamships Trading Company Ltd is a 93-year old PNG company with interests in transport, manufacturing, property, hotels and information technology.  It employs over 2,000 people.

Announced yesterday was the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum Prize for Essays & Journalism, given for the best essay or journalistic feature submitted on a factual theme.  The Chamber is an association representing the interests of the mining and petroleum industry in PNG.

The AustAsia Pacific Health Services Writers Forums provide a one-day creative environment for emerging writers and are led by leading PNG authors, poets and journalists.  The program emphasises the development of creative skills as well as practical matters such as editing and publishing. AustAsia Pacific Health Services is based in Queensland and provides medical and hospital services to individual patients, mining, insurance and other companies, as well as patients referred from overseas medical facilities.

Other naming rights already announced are the Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature, the Chalkies' Yokomo Prize for Student Writing, the Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women's Literature, and the British American Tobacco (PNG) Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Literature.

A dedicated Crocodile Prize website featuring original Papua New Guinean creative writing is being developed by ourportmoresby.co and will be launched early in 2012.

Organisers further announced that planning is progressing towards the establishment of a PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers in 2012.  It is expected that an application to incorporate the organisation in PNG will be submitted within the next few weeks.  In future years, the Society will administer The Crocodile Prize as well as being a key body in sustaining the role of literature in PNG.

“We are determined that writing, publishing and reading in PNG will be given a huge boost through The Crocodile Prize,” said Keith Jackson.  “Creative writing in PNG must never again be left in the wilderness.”

The Prize and its associated projects are currently managed by a steering committee of Papua New Guineans and Australians.

New sponsor will also develop Croc Prize website

BY KEITH JACKSON

TOP PNG WEBSITE designer and developer ourportmoresby.co is the newest company to sponsor the Crocodile Prize – and it will also lead a major project to establish a website for the award.

“This is great; something that we are very proud to be associated with,” says  ourportmoresby.co principal, Robert Weber [pictured].

The ourportmoresby.co website was developed by the team from Old Plantation which offers graphic and website design, photography, website content management, and email newsletter campaigns in PNG.

The company also creates and brands social networking accounts like Facebook and Twitter.

“Our mission is to maximise the accessibility of events and activities throughout the city to spread the dynamic image of Port Moresby around the world,” says Robert.

“We are driven by a commitment to reflect the unparalleled energy and diversity of the city.

“We encourage local businesses to embrace the current trends in online & print design, and fusing that with PNG's spectacular cultural background,” he says.

Other ourportmoresby.co projects include websites for the Miss PNG Quest, Port Moresby Cancer Relief Society, Hebou Constructions, Transparency International, the PNG Open 2011, the Grand Papua Hotel and the new Coral Sea Hotel.

The crocodileprize.com project will develop a modern website featuring the best of Papua New Guinea creative writing as well as plenty of information about the Prize, PNG writers and the award sponsors.

It is planned that the new website go live in the early part of 2012.

Robert Weber will be assisted in his work by Kurt Walther, IT Manager of Jackson Wells Pty Ltd in Sydney, which will work pro bono on this project.

Good reading and writing in Papua New Guinea

This article was written by PHIL FITZPATRICK to explain the Crocodile Prize to Australian writers and readers.  It is featured in the current December issue of GR (Good Reading) magazine....

FOR THE RELATIVELY FEW tourists who venture there, Papua New Guinea is very aptly marketed as the land of the unexpected.

For many people, Papua New Guinea conjures up images of brightly painted Huli wigmen, languid palm-fringed beaches, friendly and happy people and, of course, the Kokokda Trail.

For others it is a dangerous place with gun-toting raskols, corrupt politicians and an infrastructure on the verge of collapse.

For a select few it is a veritable gold mine, replete with seemingly unlimited and exploitable natural resources.

While none of these things are completely true, the last thing anyone associates with Papua New Guinea is a burgeoning literary scene.

Literature in Papua New Guinea has long been moribund but is now awakening.

In the years prior to independence from Australia in 1975 and for a short time afterwards there was a brief blossoming of activity.  The first novel published by a Papua New Guinean writer was The Crocodile by Vincent Eri in 1970.

While The Crocodile is still in print, there are no publishers in the country actively producing fiction or poetry.  There is no distribution network for books and there are no bookshops available to the general public in the whole of the country. 

You cannot buy a copy of The Crocodile anywhere and ordinary people just can’t afford to buy books.  They don’t generally have access to cheaper online bookstores either.  As a result, the literacy rate in Papua New Guinea has been steadily falling since independence.

Many people in Papua New Guinea are avid readers.  They read books dating back before independence from the few provincial libraries still operating and they read old and remaindered books they occasionally find in the second hand clothes stores.  Few of these books have Papua New Guinean themes.

This doesn’t mean that there are no writers in the country.  They are lurking in the woodwork everywhere.  They tend to have a distinctive style which is influenced by a long history of oral literature and song.

A literary competition cobbled together on a shoe string budget by the PNG Attitude blog and helped along by the Papua New Guinea Post Courier and a few other generous sponsors recently culminated in a writer’s workshop, an awards ceremony and the launch of an anthology in Port Moresby at the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby during the Independence Day celebrations this year.

The competition and awards were appropriately named The Crocodile Prize after Vincent Eri’s pioneering novel.  Sir Vincent Serei Eri passed away in 1993 but his widow, Lady Margaret Eri, was able to attend the awards ceremony along with the many talented writers who contributed to the competition and the anthology.

Prizes of K2,500 were presented to the winners in the three categories of short story, poem and essay  while a special K1,000 prize was presented in the Dame Carol Kidu Prize for a woman writer.

The competition will be run again in 2012 and promises to be even bigger and better.  With any luck it will be a new dawn for writers in Papua New Guinea.

‘We want a flourishing literature’, says Matane

THE FORMER GOVERNOR-GENERAL of Papua New Guinea and prolific author, Sir Paulias Matane, has come out with a ringing endorsement of the Crocodile Prize literary contest.

The contest was initiated a year ago by PNG Attitude and the PNG Post-Courier with the first awards being made in September this year.

The Prize has also spun off an annual anthology of the best PNG writing, a series of forums for emerging PNG writers and, next year, a Society for Writers, Editors and Publishers to embed a creative writing sector in PNG.

“When the Crocodile Prize was established, as a passionate proponent of PNG literature, I welcomed it warmly,” Sir Paulias told PNG Attitude.

“I was Governor-General at the time and urged my Papua New Guinean sisters and brothers to ‘Write, write, write!’  I am pleased to note the marvellous response to the contest.”

Recollecting that the Prize is named for the first novel written by a Papua New Guinean, The Crocodile, published in 1970, Sir Paulias said: “I knew the author well.  Sir Vincent Eri, like me, was an educator, and he knew the power and influence of the written word.

“We need to have more writers and more readers in our country and this contest is a marvellous initiative.

“Our nation has a rich oral tradition which has slowly extended into the written form.  I hope these awards will strengthen and enhance our national literature.

“We want PNG to have a flourishing literature; we want creative and bold writers; and we want the means to publish their work,” Sir Paulias said.

“I hope donors and businesses throughout Papua New Guinea will get behind this important project.”

ROLL OF HONOUR

Short Story Prize [Russell Soaba Award] – Naming rights soon to be announced
Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women’s Literature [Dame Carol Kidu Award]
British American Tobacco (PNG) Prize for Lifetime Literary Achievement [Sir Paulias Matane Award]
Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature
Chalkies’ Yokomo Prize for Student Writing
Poetry Prize [John Kasaipwalova Award] – Seeking a sponsor for naming rights
Essay & Journalism Prize [Sean Dorney Award] – Seeking a sponsor for naming rights
AustAsia Pacific Health Services Writers’ Forums

Premium Sponsorships – K2,000
MRSM Group of Companies
Another soon to be announced

Gold Sponsorships – K1,500
No sponsors yet

Silver Sponsorships– K1,000
Paul A Povey
Star Mountains Institute of Technology
Ed Brumby
Keith Jackson

Bronze Sponsorships – K500
Corney K Alone and Tanya Zeriga-Alone
Stuart Hoare
Dr Lance Hill

Donations – any amount
Murray and Joan Bladwell – K200

You too can support this major initiative in PNG writing and reading.  Contact Keith Jackson here

Heritage award marks Cleland contribution to PNG

BY KEITH JACKSON

ANOTHER MAJOR AWARD has been added to the Crocodile Prize national literary contest – and this one is designed to ensure that the traditional literature of Papua New Guinea is maintained into the modern era.

The Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature - which is valued at K5,000 for the winning writer - has been sponsored by Bob Cleland, ex-kiap and author, and his family.

It will be awarded for writing that delves into traditional customs, beliefs and stories, and discovers and promotes PNG’s cultural heritage.

The Cleland name has a rich and honourable association with PNG.  Sir Donald Cleland, was a distinguished Administrator of the then Territory from 1951-66.

His wife, Dame Rachel Cleland, was an active supporter of PNG culture, had an attachment with the country for nearly 50 years and was a much loved figure in PNG both before and after Independence because of her close relationships with the Papua New Guinean people.

Dame Rachel also wrote two books on PNG: Pathways to Independence, a story of official and family life in PNG from 1951-75, and Grass Roots to Independence and Beyond - the Contribition by Women in PNG, 1951-91.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography says of Sir Donald:

Cleland was pragmatic, balancing commercial, mission and government interests against what he thought was primary: the orderly development of the indigenous people.

Publicly, he measured success in terms of building roads, bridges and airstrips, the increase in government revenue and the expansion of the public service.

He chaired the Legislative Council, his 'pride and joy', until 1964 and directed the introduction of the first House of Assembly elected by full adult franchise; he restructured the public service so that it would be dominated by Papua New Guineans, paid at a rate the country could afford; and he continued the elimination of discriminatory legislation, most obviously ending the liquor ban in 1962.

And Wikipedia says of Dame Rachel, who died in 2002 at the grand age of 96:

Rachel Cleland contributed to organisations such as the Red Cross, Girl Guides Association of Papua New Guinea, Country Women's Association, and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) as well as the integral role she played in establishing pre-schools throughout PNG.

Sir Donald died in 1975, two weeks before PNG’s independence ceremonies. Rachel stayed for a further three years before eventually returning to Australia.

In her later years Dame Rachel was very vocal on her opposition to the logging of old-growth forests [in Western Australia]. By then she had lived in PNG for 27 years. She continued to make trips from Australia to PNG for almost the rest of her life, making a total of eight visits between 1979 and 2000.

Bob Cleland has established a venerable award, and one that will sustain focus on the traditional essence of a country where literature did exist – whether in the oral tradition, the stories depicted in artwork, or the great poetry of the singsing - for eons before the advent of the expatriate.

“As a long-time journalist and editor, I know the value of writing and the importance of writing in the life of a nation,” says Blaise Nangoi, Editor-in-Chief of the Post-Courier.

“We need a more vibrant literary scene in PNG, where writers are motivated to write and readers can access the stories and poetry and drama that represents and articulates their own culture.

"The Crocodile Prize has huge potential to facilitate all these things."

The Cleland Prize for Heritage Literature will handsomely achieve those goals.

Read yesterday’s story about the ‘Chalkies' Yokomo Prize for Students’ Literature’ here

Yokomo rides again in the Crocodile Prize

BY KEITH JACKSON

YOKOMO LIVES FOREVER – or his name will, as the Crocodile Prize adds a new and important category for students’ writing to its offerings.

The new award bears the Yokomo moniker so well known to primary school kids who read the Papua New Guinea School Paper in the sixties and early seventies.

Former PNG education officer, now General Manager (International) with the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance in Melbourne, Ed Brumby is, like me, an ex-editor of the School Paper.

It’s Ed’s objective to get ex-chalkies from the pre-independence era to contribute to a fund to ensure that primary and high school students are motivated to write and that the best of them will be nationally recognised for their creative efforts as part of the Crocodile Prize literature contest.

To this end, Ed and I are contributing $500 each to kick start the Chalkies' Yokomo Prize for Students’ Literature.

This will be run as a subset of the broader awards, the winners of which will be announced in September 2012.

Yokomo was a slapstick character originally created by my predecessor as School Paper editor, Frank Hiob, as a means of making reading more enjoyable for upper primary school children. 

Yokomo's ability to get into – and out of – sticky situations made him an iconic figure, still revered amongst those 50 and 60 year old Papua New Guineans who were at school in the sixties.

The Yokomo character, and the scrapes he got into, were cleverly illustrated first by John Lucas and later by Hal Holman, and the old buffer also made a series of appearances on ABC radio in PNG.

Former school teachers in PNG – whether trained at ASOPA, E-Course or elsewhere are asked to contribute whatever you can afford to….

Bendigo Bank
Account name: SPSS The Crocodile
BSB: 633 000
Account number: 141 021 527
Reference: Yokomo Sponsorship

All proceeds will be applied to the development of original student writing in Papua New Guinea and the publication of the best of it for other kids to read.

An update on fund-raising for the Crocodile Prize follows. 

Observation point 2011: A PNG literary overview

BY NOU VADA

THIS PAPER DISCUSSES Papua New Guinean Literature in the form of addressing key questions about what exactly it is. To that effect questions of whether there is such a thing as PNG Literature and by what merits do we measure the existence of PNG Literature will be examined.

In this endeavour, the question of whether there is a National Literature of Papua New Guinea will also surface and be addressed. Finally, the future of PNG Literature will be discussed and some recommendations made as to how better we can pursue and further the cause of PNG Literature

The question of what is PNG Literature is answerable, for there exists a collection of literary works by Papua New Guineans.  But the complete answer the question seeks is not really answerable.  To explain what this means, let us briefly look at the categories of PNG Literature, as taught in a PNG Literature course:

Anti-colonial literature

These are literary works by Papua New Guineans the central theme of which is the effect of colonialism in Papua New Guinea and how the incursion that was colonialism caused much disharmony and conflict with traditional Papua New Guinean cultural values.  Sir Vincent Serei Eri’s The Crocodile is one such literary work.

Works of social criticism

These are works that only began to appear after Independence.  The central theme in these works was the self-assessment of PNG’s national consciousness.  Only after achieving nationhood did Papua New Guineans start to look at the future of the country in a less romanticised and much more analytical fashion.  The death of this romanticism is clear in the observations some of these works make.  Norah Vagi Brash’s Which Way Big Man is one such literary work.

Works of self-appraisal

This category of works is autobiographical or semi-autobiographical in nature and tells the story of Papua New Guineans and their experiences, often from the pre-independence era into nationhood.  This is one of the central themes in these works – the transition from colony to nation through the eyes of a person who lived through the moments. Sir Michael Somare’s Sana is one such work.

Myths, legends and oral literature

These are folktales from traditional Papua New Guinean society.  According to Russell Soaba, oral literature and traditions constitutes 80% of the country’s literary material, much of which is yet undiscovered.  But there is enough to be delved into and understood.  It best represents the arena of PNG’s very attempts at re-discovering and knowing itself, and in further observing the epistemological reconstructs of its own cultural identity. 

Ok Tedi sponsors 2012 women's literature award

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE HEAD OF Ok Tedi Mining Ltd in Papua New Guinea, Musje Werror, has said his company will sponsor the 2012 Dame Carol Kidu Award.

The Ok Tedi Mining Prize for Women's Literature will be announced in September next year from stories, essays and poems drawn from all the women and girls who enter the Crocodile Prize competition.

The 2011 Prize was won by Lapieh Landu, who said later:

Thank you for providing the avenue for us all to uncover our hidden talents.  You have not only given us an opportunity to express our writings but also assisted PNG in the preservation of its national treasure, our culture!  Yes indeed, it is our GOLD.

I have no doubt this initiative will draw a lot more participants for next year’s competition.  There are some really talented writers out there, they just don’t know it yet.  Once they start writing, they'll realise that anyone can write.

We all want to change the world, we all want to make a difference, we all want to safeguard our culture. It will take a miracle to make it all in one big bang but we can all do it in the smallest way, and that is to start writing.

Thank you for putting that fire in me to continue what I do best...and that is to WRITE!

Nearly K30,000 has already been committed to sponsor the Crocodile Prize in 2012, but there is a long way to go before the second year of Papua New Guinea’s national literary awards achieves its K84,000 budget.

The goals of the Prize are to encourage PNG’s creative writers to excel in their writing, to provide them with opportunities for publication and to ensure Papua New Guineans can read original literature from their own country.

The Prize organisers have been inundated with ideas (and some funding) since a letter was circulated to readers of PNG Attitude and The Review on Saturday, but some of the major awards still need to be funded.

Discussions are underway with a number of potential funders and, after offers by others, it has been decided to create two new awards which will be announced in the near future.

Of course, the functions of the Prize go far beyond handing out cash awards.

Activities for 2012 include publishing a second edition of the Crocodile Prize anthology of the best PNG writing – and distributing it widely throughout the country.

It is also intended to extend the 2011 Writers’ Workshop into a series of Writers’ Forums held not only in Port Moresby but in regional centres.

And planning is also underway for the establishment of a PNG Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers, further details of which will be announced early in 2012.

Meanwhile, links are being established with Australian writers' groups to get PNG writing connected to a broader community of international activity in literature.

But back to sponsorship, which is the critical focus of the Crocodile Prize Steering Group right now. 

You can read where we’re up to here and we still need your assistance to ensure these ambitious goals are not only achieved but are made a sustainable part of the arts in Papua New Guinea.

Writers, please start your notebooks, the race is on

BY KEITH JACKSON

AS I SIT HERE at my desk in Sydney this sultry Sunday afternoon, with one of our city’s notorious thunderstorms (all thunder, no storm; all wind, no piss) sweeping in from the south-west, my mind turns to the Crocodile Prize.

One reason for this contemplation is because the Prize is on my mind.  This morning I asked all subscribers to The Review to collaborate in the search for sponsors (there’s no such thing as a free read) and to add their weight to the efforts of the Steering Committee to make the 2012 awards deliver PNG writing to the world big time.

The other reason is that, with the year looking like it might end any month soon, and with many of us contemplating holidays, writers’ time might just be freed up for some creative endeavour - the kind that saw so much by way of fresh and compelling stories and poems and essays emerge from Papua New Guinea during the course of the first Crocodile Prize.

Remember, dear Papua New Guinean writers, exactly what it that is being offered here; five thousand kina each for:

The Poetry Award

The Short Story Award

The Essay Award

The Dame Carol Kidu Award for Women’s Literature

The British American Tobacco (PNG) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature

Full details for writers here

“Every nation needs its own characteristic voice – and this is provided through literature in all its forms,” Dame Carol Kidu DBE, PNG’s former Minister for Community Development told PNG Attitude.

“The oral tradition is well-established in Papua New Guinea; but the written tradition has existed only in fits and starts.  The Crocodile Prize aims to change this.  In seeking to encourage a home-grown literary culture, the Prize represents a significant project in PNG,” she said.

“I have been particularly interested in its role in developing women's literature and boosting the position of women in this country.  There is also a great need for a stronger national literature to parallel our economic development and to reinforce our social development.

“There are many reasons why companies operating in PNG should support this Prize – but the one that most appeals to me is that it will assist define a coherent Papua New Guinea identity,” Dame Carol said.

Yep, we need writers and we need sponsors.  And it’s now time for all hands to get on deck and get busy.

Sponsors, check with me for details here

Now we’re taking PNG literature to the world...

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

TO REALLY SUCCEED Papua New Guinea literature will have to eventually spread its home grown roots out into the wider world.

Remaining parochial in a country with such a small readership will only see it wither and die.

Papua New Guinean writers must always keep this fact in mind.

Once a firm local footing has been established writers must lift their eyes to the horizon.  They must seek cracks into which to send their tentacles in the literary brick work of Australasia and Oceania and then Europe, Africa and the Americas.

One of the entrants in the 2012 Crocodile Prize noted on his entry form that he has been influenced by African literature.  How is it that someone banging away on an ancient typewriter in a mud hut in Nigeria can have their words read in such a distant place as Papua New Guinea?

The answer is very complex and we probably all have our own ideas about how it might have happened.  The point is that it did happen.

After literature in Papua New Guinea briefly flowered in the 1970s, nothing similar occurred.  Those wonderful tropical flowers withered and died on the vine.

This must not be allowed to happen again.  Sometime soon Papua New Guinean literature will have to pack its bags, somehow inveigle a visa and climb aboard an international flight for parts unknown.

The well-worn cliché, on a wing and a prayer, springs to mind.

The organisers of the Crocodile Prize have been aware of this eventual and necessary step since day one.  This is why we approached the idea of a competition with trepidation.

That trepidation has now been replaced by hopeful optimism.  We know the talent is there in abundance.  With the help of modern technology the pitfalls of the 1970s can be avoided.

In December this year the premium reviewer of popular fiction in Australia, Good Reading Magazine, will carry a feature story on the 2011 Crocodile Prize in its bumper Christmas edition.

And, in early 2012, Sil Bolkin’s first book, which I edited and found a publisher for, will be launched.

We are going to promote that as widely as possible.  We are hoping that Sil’s effort will give us a foot in the door of the Australian Book Review, the premium literary journal in Australia.

After that, who knows.  It’s a big literary world out there beyond the mountains and nambis, and Papua New Guinea isn’t even on the doorstep yet.

Good Reading Magazine (gr) has a website at www.goodreadingmagazine.com.  You can subscribe to either the paper or online version at subscriptions@goodreadingmagazine.com.au.

Otherwise the December edition will be in newsagents in late November.

All in the same boat & there be crocs in these waters!

BY ICARUS

AS FAR AS I KNOW The National newspaper’s Writer’s Forum has not been properly thanked by PNG writer’s entering The Crocodile Prize, at least in the poetry section.

Whether that is because few of us have submitted works to the forum or it is merely an unfortunate oversight, I believe a vote of thanks is overdue (and maybe a welcome, even if temporary, flag of truce!).

At least for myself and a few others, I know the Writer’s Forum provided the first opportunity for us to read our creative work and that of our fellow poets, in print at no cost to us, produced every Friday, almost without fail.

Today we have The Crocodile Prize literary competition for poems, essays and short stories, brought to us by the PNG Post Courier and this inspired website, PNG Attitude.

But the Writer’s Forum broke the ice first. And if The National’s daily circulation is really bigger than their competitor, then I’d say that, for my literary pursuit, it’s all good!

Rivalry, and sometimes enmity, between the two dailies is a natural phenomenon in the news world. It is acceptable when it keeps the news hounds on their toes and (hopefully) their readers are better informed. Personally, I hold with the motto “know your enemy”, so I buy both papers.

But perhaps this competitive chasm can be bridged, at least at this crossroads where there is so much effort being put in and good opportunity for resurrecting PNG literature. The Crocodile Prize is a first ‘small step’ before the next ‘giant leap’. In my opinion, to not seize this day would be counterproductive to our shared cause.

There may be synergies to be gained by addressing national literature in separate but parallel avenues.

My first poem submission to the Writer’s Forum was as in early 2007. I recall buying that day’s edition of the newspaper and turning directly to the Weekend Magazine to read my name in the byline of the poem When it falls, penned 10 years earlier. How cool was that?!

Thank you to The National newspaper.

Realising for the first time that I had a forum to share my works was a crystallising point, a creative resurgence for my writing. Until that moment I had felt that I was stagnating, for what is a writer without an audience? “Lost messages/hold no meaning/or thoughts would speak / and tongues / all be silent”.

Five years after the first publication I now realize that I have submitted and had the pleasure of reading some of my best work (that’s a private opinion) in the Writer’s Forum.

By propitious arrangement, the poetic submissions share page borders with Russell Soaba’s Storyboard, so that small segment of the newspaper provides an entertaining and elucidating mini-library of literature on a single page!

I get the same feeling of pride and satisfaction in sharing my work through that same avenue today, albeit with no other prospect of reward down the line.

On the other hand The Crocodile Prize is a great advance in building up PNG writer’s to tell the great tales and share poetry that expresses our identity as individuals, as diverse peoples and to define and celebrate our promising nationhood.

What’s more The Crocodile Prize achieves this broad and worthy objective in a competitive spirit that encourages and rewards excellence.

Thursday 15 September was an exceptional day, for a group of budding young PNG writer’s to receive and read the first ever copy of The Crocodile Prize 2011 Anthology, with our works printed in the pages, bound in dark green covers and delivered to us by Pukpuk Publications.

Many of my poems from Writer’s Forum have been resubmitted to The Crocodile Prize, and two original works were published in the first anthology. This outcome, for me, would not have been possible without the opportunities afforded by all three parties named.

To our two daily newspapers I would propose that on this literary cause our ends are the same, that is, if we’re all in the same boat. Let us work together on the means of achieving our shared goal.

The following four poems are forwarded for sharing on The Crocodile Prize web pages.  The author is sincerely grateful to The National and Weekend Magazine editor Margaret Daure, for first publishing them in the Writer’s Forum. 

British American to sponsor lifetime literary award

BY KEITH JACKSON

BRITISH AMERICAN Tobacco (PNG) has announced that it will sponsor one of the major awards in the 2012 Crocodile Prize.

The British American Tobacco Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement will be given to a prominent Papua New Guinean writer who, in the opinion of judges, has contributed with distinction to PNG literature over a period of many years.

“We feel privileged to be a part of such an important contribution to our nation’s culture,” said Ako Toua, BAT(PNG)’s head of corporate affairs.

“We are delighted to sponsor the naming rights for lifetime literary achievement," he said.

Meanwhile the respected award-winning journalist, Sean Dorney, has lent his support to the Crocodile Prize.

“I would encourage all Papua New Guineans to think seriously about picking up a pen or thrashing your keyboard to turn out an entry,” he told PNG Attitude.

“It is simply terrific that there is an avenue now for Papua New Guinean writers to see their work in print.

“I was fortunate enough to meet Sir Vincent Eri and The Crocodile was one of the first books that I bought and read when I first arrived in PNG in 1974.

“PNG is going through such an interesting time that I have no doubt that there are talented people there who can translate this constant, exciting transition into quality literature.

“I would encourage all potential sponsors to support this most worthwhile initiative.”

Potential sponsors interested in naming rights are asked to contact Keith Jackson here.

Writers who wish to find out more about the competition should link here.

The dilemma of editing and the Crocodile Prize

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

THE STRATEGIC PLAN for developing the Crocodile Prize in 2012 includes a proposal to establish a Papua New Guinea Society of Writers, Editors and Publishers.

You might wonder why editors and publishers are included with writers.

So here is the case for editors.

If you send a manuscript to a publisher and the publisher likes it, the next step is usually a prolonged period of editing.

This involves the manuscript being bounced back and forth between the writer, an editor or editors, and the publisher.

Many writers loathe having their work edited.  What they send to the publisher is usually something they’ve nursed and refined until they think it is just right.

Other writers dislike the drawn out nature of the process.  When you put down your pen or turn off your computer, the last thing you want to do go back to square one and start again.

Other writers rely on editors to polish their work for them.  They know that writing, rewriting and revising a manuscript, especially a long one, eventually makes them blind to its shortcomings.  Big time writers often have a team of editors and researchers.

Editors also has a difficult task.  They take a unique piece of work and try to improve it without altering the things that make it special.

The publisher, on the other hand, wants a manuscript that will appeal to as wide an audience as possible who will buy it and read it.

Publishing is changing very rapidly at the moment.  Self publishing and digital publishing are speeding up the whole process and good editing is going by the board.

This is a disconcerting trend and, quite frankly, it shows. 

Before cheap digital printing made self publishing easy, it was referred to as vanity publishing – writers who couldn’t interest a publisher in their work would pay to publish it themselves.

There are a few success stories - A B Facey’s A Fortunate Life springs to mind - but generally self published books are terrible.

In a country like Papua New Guinea, where English is most often a second language, I think editing is very important.

It is made more so by decreasing literacy in schools.  The universities are now full of otherwise talented people who cannot string together a coherent sentence in English.  How often do you hear of children being taught to read and write in schools where the teachers themselves are barely literate? 

Prominent PNG identities get behind Crocodile Prize

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE AUSTRALIAN High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ian Kemish, has once again thrown his substantial support behind the 2012 Crocodile Prize.

This year’s inaugural prize was strongly back by the High Commission, which provided human, material and financial resources to ensure its success.

‘The Australian High Commission was pleased to assist facilitate the program in 2011 and is committed to continuing similar support in the future,” Mr Kemish said.

“The Crocodile Prize is designed to develop and nurture Papua New Guinea's rich national literature, an important component in the social and cultural development of any country.

“In endorsing the Prize, I would encourage commercial and other organisations in PNG to support it in any way they can.”

Mr Kemish’s view was supported by Mari Ellingson, Director-General of PNG’s Office of Tourism, Arts and Culture

“The Crocodile Prize is recognising, and facilitating publishing opportunities for the best of the emerging writers in Papua New Guinea,” Ms Ellingson told PNG Attitude.

“I cannot really overstate the value of this project for PNG.  There was a flurry of creative writing around national independence in 1975, which has waned since. 

“Now we need a renaissance – and The Crocodile Prize offers this opportunity.

“The Office of Tourism, Arts and Culture, of which I’m Director-General, is strongly committed to this project – and we will be supporting it in every way we can,” she said.

“I hope that the companies that are operating in this country will recognise its importance – both to our culture and to our people’s understandings – and provide it with all the support they can.”

Potential sponsors interested in naming rights are asked to contact Keith Jackson here.

Writers who wish to find out more about the competition should link here.

“If you can’t get a job … you can always write!”

BY KEITH JACKSON

When I was in Port Moresby last month for the inaugural Crocodile Prize awards, I had the great pleasure of hearing the veteran Papua New Guinean poet and novelist, Russell Soaba, talk about his literary career and his writing.

I absent-mindedly left my notebook at the Australian High Commission, from where it has now been recovered, and I want to share the notes I scrawled while Russell was presenting to our writers workshop….

“I SPEND so much time writing about Papua New Guinea that I feel as much part of it as it is part of me,” says academic and leading PNG writer, Russell Soaba.

“I started writing in the seventies, and I had immediate success. Perhaps I was too successful too soon.

“After two volumes of poetry and two novels, I became so famous I felt I could never again measure up to the quality of that early work.”

Speaking of the practicality and utility of pursuing a literary career in PNG, Russell said: “I tell my students not to worry – if you can’t get a job, you can always write!”

“The joy I felt,” Russell said of judging the 178 poems entered in the 2011 Crocodile Prize (the poetry award was won by Jimmy Drekore).

“There were so many various new voices coming into PNG literature.  Some of the work was new, some traditional, but mostly it was exciting stuff; probably the most exciting I’ve ever read.

“I got the thrill of our poetry today!

“Writers should not be discouraged by critics; we should be challenged by them.

“A poem is a poem only because of its dramatic force.  Never forget that.”

Minister endorses the new K25,000 Crocodile Prize

BY KEITH JACKSON

TRADE MINISTER, Charles Abel, has said Papua New Guinea needs “a more vibrant literary culture” and has praised the Crocodile Prize as being “a remarkable success” in its first year.

Mr Abel has also urged PNG-based companies to get behind the national literary awards and “support this important contribution to our national culture.”

Meanwhile, the organisers of the 2012 Crocodile Prize literary contest are seeking to boost the value of awards from K8,500 to K25,000 as the project extends its reach throughout Papua New Guinea.

The prize was established in 2010, with the first awards being made last month to four Papua New Guinean writers in each of the categories of short stories, poetry, essays and women’s literature.

Some 80 writers contributed 400 original works to the 2011 prize, and these numbers are expected to at least triple in 2012.

A higher level of corporate sponsorship will be sought to underwrite the prizes and other activities associated with the awards.

And a new category – for lifetime achievement in PNG literature – will be added next year, with organisers allocating K5,000 prize money to each of the five sections.

Naming rights are being offered for the contest itself (the Sir Vincent Eri Awards) and for each of the categories:

The Russell Soaba Award for Short Stories

The Sean Dorney Award for Essays (Journalism)

The John Kasaipwalova Award for Poetry

The Dame Carol Kidu Award for Women’s Literature

The Sir Paulias Matane Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement

“We need a more vibrant PNG literature, and the government of which I’m a member is committed to this objective,” PNG Trade Minister, Charles Abel, told PNG Attitude yesterday.

“The inaugural year of the Crocodile Prize was a remarkable success, and this national literary contest is already achieving its primary goal of encouraging Papua New Guinean writers,” he said.

“As a person strongly committed to our nation’s culture, I recognise that the prize is both motivating our writers and also facilitating publishing opportunities for the best of them.

“In the future, the prize will seek to make their work available to as many Papua New Guineans as possible.

“We need a more vibrant PNG literature, and the government of which I’m a member is committed to this objective,” Mr Abel said.

“I hope that many PNG-based companies will be able to offer support to this important contribution to our national culture.”

Potential sponsors interested in naming rights are asked to contact Keith Jackson here.

Writers who wish to find out more about the competition should link here.

Writers, pick up your pens: Crocodile 2012 is go

BY PHIL FITZPATRICK

AS KEITH has already reported, the inaugural Crocodile literary awards, workshop and book launch were a roaring success and we are now enthusiastically developing ideas for the next contest in 2011-12.

The bad news is that the first print run of the anthology has been snapped up.  Those people who have paid for copies in advance will be receiving theirs in the mail shortly but everyone else will have to wait until we can arrange a reprint.

If you desperately want a copy you could try Minister for Trade and Industry, Charles Abel, or Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Benjamin Philip, but I don’t rate the chances of them giving up their personal copies signed by all the writers too soon. 

Neither do I think Prime Minister, Peter O’Neil will give up his copy easily.  The University of Papua New Guinea might still have a few copies for sale and you could try there.

Blessed by the wave of success we have decided to open up the 2012 competition as of today.  The original plan was to have a break until January next year but with all those writers that we kept tripping over in Port Moresby who are chafing at the bit we’ve changed our minds.

The 2012 Crocodile literary competition is therefore now open and you can start sending in your entries. You can download the entry form here.

The writers at the workshop decided that it was best to run the next competition in the same three categories, short stories, poems and essays.

We are expecting an increased number of entries in 2012.  To make life easier we will accept entries in Times New Roman font size 12 at 1.5 spacing set on the left margin.  PDF entries with elaborate artwork are great but the work transferring them to a standard anthology document is too hard to be practical.

While we will look at expanding the categories in later competitions we also have an open mind.  If anyone has a short play (around 10 minutes long) or novella (about 20,000 words) we are happy to look at it and consider including it in the competition.  Unfortunately, we won’t be geared up to accept full length novels and non-fiction for a while yet.  Rest assured the plans are on the drawing board.

We had several published PNG writers at the workshop.  One, Jerry Henson, has been completely blind since birth.  Another was Patrick Nii, who came down from Kundiawa in a wheel chair.  If those inspirational guys can do it there’s no reason why the rest of you can’t too.

A few writers didn’t make it to the workshop where all the others each collected two free copies of the anthology.  I’ve asked Mari Ellingson, who is going to distribute the reprinted book, to supply copies to any writers who missed out.  Contact Mari at mjellingson@rocketmail.com.

I also have a request.  During the workshop and presentation ceremony I was preoccupied and didn’t get the chance to take many photographs.  If anyone has any good shots they don’t mind sharing I’d be deeply appreciative.  They could also come in handy when we are seeking sponsors for the 2012 prize.  Send them to me at pacificasene@westnet.com.au.

Finally, I’d like to thank Keith for facilitating the competition.  For me it has been a wonderful and exhilarating experience.  I would also like to thank all those wonderful PNG writers.  Without them the competition would never have been possible.  Special thanks must also go to the grand old dinosaur of PNG literature, Russell Soaba.

 
The 2011 winners: Martyn Namorong; Lapieh Landu; Jim Drekore; Jeff Febi [Phil Fitzpatrick]

Port Moresby and that great writers’ workshop

BY KEITH JACKSON

TO SAY THAT Port Moresby is, by and large, a bit of a mess is a proposition I believe to be beyond contention.

That the city presents such an ugly gateway to the beauty of Papua New Guinea and the wonder of its people is more than a contradiction.  It is a shame.  But, even 40 years ago, when I knew the place so well, it was rather that way.

Whether it’s the shambles of the “members lounge” at Moresby International with beer cans overflowing from bins and an American sports channel blaring from the wall or the hit and miss nature of what happens when you order a meal or a coffee at the multiple-starred Crowne Plaza hotel overlooking Fairfax harbour, PNG’s national capital is a place of acquired seediness.

The traffic is dense, the vehicles ramshackle, the roads inadequate, pedestrian safety an oxymoron, the streets dotted with mounds of beer cans and coconut debris, the footpaths streaked with thin red trails of buai spittle.

In short, Port Moresby could be a most unprepossessing place.  Except for the people.  And they are the exception that proves the rule.  The rule that says it's not as bad as it looks.

Before my arrival, as I planned the trip, I thought it might be like this.  A city I didn’t hanker to visit (on my last trip to PNG I avoided it altogether) but with people I yearned to meet.  Which is what this essay is about.

The Australian High Commission – located in a walled compound with an impressive security gate and enough AusAID SUVs (40 I was told) to mount a plausible attack on Tripoli – is known by wags as ‘Fort Shit Scared’.

But the epithet is unjustified.  The seven or eight embassy staff I spoke with on the day I spent there, including high commissioner Ian Kemish, were anything but shit scared.  They were on top of their jobs, solidly addressing the challenge, and engaged realistically and productively with the country and its people.  They induced in me a high level of optimism and confidence.

Earlier in the day, in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza awaiting my transport, I observed various mining types maumauing the front desk, exhibiting the uncivilised manners of the worst type of colonial (I know of what I write, I was once president of an association that had more than its fair share of these).  The expressions on the faces of the traduced employees told the story: downcast eyes, frozen faces, shame on the lips. 

Finessing the writing talent of Papua New Guinea

BY MARI ELLINGSON

BEHOLD! The conscience of PNG speaks from the shadows no more!

I was most privileged and honored to take part in the inaugural launch of The Crocodile Prize Awards, which took place on Thursday at the Australian High Commission.

No-one would have known that on the grounds of the Australian High Commission, taking place behind closed doors was a birthing of the PNG writers’ collective resolve: to make writing as prominent as the eye can see, the nose can smell, the ear can hear and the mouth can spread the news, that PNG writers are not a dying breed. Far from it!

I found myself holding back my emotions as I gazed into the happy expectant faces of upcoming contemporary PNG writing pioneers and the assurance of the future of PNG literature.

A group united in spirit to make their mark on PNG’s future and its destiny. I felt an overwhelming sense of oneness with this eclectic group of vibrant and perceptive writers whose country is the bedrock of the content of their literary expressions.

PNG writing has come of age, olgeta! The new generation has discovered its own ‘wave of motivation and inspiration’ to drive their literary talent into the public domain.

Thanks in no small measure to Keith Jackson and Phil Fitzpatrick and the great support received through Keith’s PNG Attitude blog that saw yesterday happen. It was a labour of love that was not in vain.

I could hear and feel in my spirit that for each of these writers their literary journey has truly begun. It was a long time coming. This is a journey that they most certainly will not travel alone.

Wherever we are these are our voices too. We must lend them our strong support so that they can continue to give us, through their writing, the checks and balances we need to maintain, in how we relate to each other as Papua New Guineans and how we should deal with the challenges that we advertently or inadvertently have brought upon ourselves and from which we are struggling to free ourselves.

Read the full version of Mari’s article here, and see some neat photos, on the My Magic Moments blog.

The Crocodile prizewinners: the best of the best

BY KEITH JACKSON

 
Photo: Winners Martyn Namorong, Lapieh Landu, Jimmy Drekore and Jeffrey Febi [William Natera]

THIS MORNING Independence Day has dawned in Port Moresby – the 36th anniversary of the birth of Papua New Guinea as a nation.

It’s a fine day, with just a little early morning cloud, as it was back then in 1975 when I was a pup, albeit a privileged pup, at the National Broadcasting Commission.  I was allotted a box seat at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium to witness that pivotal moment when Australia's colonial rule ended and PNG's statehood began.

Yesterday evening, the winners of the inaugural Crocodile Prize literary contest were announced at a ceremony at the Australian High Commission.

Speaking at the ceremony, amongst other notable people, was Lady Margaret Eri - wife of the late Sir Vincent Eri, after whose novel, The Crocodile, the prize is named.

It was a great day - a writers workshop, followed by the awards ceremony and book launch, all capped by a function where writers, media, diplomats and others socialised in an event hosted by the High Commission.

Now, PNG Attitude is proud to announce the four winners – and offer extracts from their work….

The Short Story Award was won by Jeffrey Febi, 34, from the Eastern Highlands Province.  Jeff is a geologist working in the oil and gas industry and lives with his wife and child in Port Moresby.  Writing and reading are his favourite hobbies and he has had some success in publishing his work locally.

The Poetry Award was won by Jimmy Drekore, 35, from the Sinasina area of Simbu Province.  He works on Lihir Island as an analytical chemist.  During field breaks at home he spends time helping sick and disadvantaged children through the Simbu Children Foundation.  In his quiet moments, Jimmy says, he likes to “paint using words”.

The Essay Award was won by Martyn Namorong, 25, born at Baimuru in the Gulf Province.  Martyn grew up in a logging camp at Kamusi on the border of Western and Gulf.  He was a medical student at UPNG until 2009 but is now a street vendor, blogger and a prolific chronicler of the PNG condition.

The Dame Carol Kidu Award for Women’s Literature was won by Lapieh Landu, 22, born in Port Moresby of mixed Eastern Highlands, Milne Bay and Sandaun parentage.  Lapieh is a student at Divine Word University in Madang studying international relations and has been writing poetry since Year 8.

 And now, extracts from the winning entries ....

 

PNG literature today: writing with a cause

In yesterday’s opening session of The Crocodile Prize writers’ workshop, PHIL FITZPATRICK addressed the far from straightforward question of Papua New Guinea writers and their writing and what the literary contest has revealed about them

FIRST OF ALL let me make it quite clear that I am not about to impart any great wisdom about writing.

I’m as mystified as anyone else about what compels people to write.

As far as I know there are no magic formulas.

Some of us are not even very good at it but for some inexplicable reason we persevere.

I guess there is a certain pleasure in a well turned phrase.  It must be similar to a well executed brush stroke in a painting or a particularly well rendered tune on a guitar or piano.

What I do know is that there is rarely money to be made from the habit.

To make money out of writing you usually have to lower your standards, catch a populist wave, write to a tired but tested formula and, last but not least, be extremely lucky.

If you follow this path and somehow crack the big time you might make money but you’ll probably never be famous.

Either way, while that is happening, it is handy to have another job so you can afford to eat and pay the bills.

The alternative is to live in relative but noble poverty.  Trendy lefties call that a lifestyle choice but poverty, no matter how sweetly labelled, is still poverty.

Writing is also a solitary occupation.  Having an understanding wife, husband or partner, not to mention children, is a positive advantage.

It is also useful to have somewhere to publish your work, even if you make very little money, or even nothing, out of it.

Feedback is good too.  It’s nice to know that someone has read what you have written, even if they are overly critical.

So there you go – there’s not much wisdom there at all.  I imagine that if you’ve been writing for some time you know all about it.

Now, what about writing in Papua New Guinea?  After all, this is one of the reasons we are here today.

Again, some clarification is needed.  I wasn’t born here and I don’t live here.  I lived here a long time ago but things were very different then.

These days I only occasionally visit, mostly to earn money to support my writing habit.

I’d like you to keep that in mind when considering the following observations.

I think everyone will agree that the 1970s were a watershed for writing in Papua New Guinea.

Those times gave us books like Ten Thousand Years in a Lifetime, Sana, My Childhood in New Guinea and, of course, The Crocodile; not to mention all the plays and poetry that were performed or appeared in a number of exciting journals.

The visual arts also flourished at this time.

The accepted wisdom is that a lot of this creativity came about through the efforts of Ulli Beier, a lecturer at the University of Papua New Guinea.

I’m not so sure that this is entirely accurate.  While Ulli and others provided the ways and means for creative expression I suspect that the raw material was always there just waiting to be released.  In other words, it had a life of its own and a definite reason for being.

The reason, of course, was colonialism; or to be more specific, anti-colonialism.

It was a simmering, albeit gentle, anger, both at a personal level and at a national level.

This anger and concomitant creativity was directed, not so much inward, as outward towards the Australian administration and the world at large.

While the writers hoped their own people might read what they had written they were more concerned that their colonial masters were aware of what they were saying.

These people were writing for a cause.

This made life for Ulli and his friends just so much easier.

It is also probably why writing in Papua New Guinea went flat after independence had been achieved.  After 1975 there was no cause to inspire writers.  The storm in the colonial teacup had abated.

Since then there has been plenty written about Papua New Guinea but very little within Papua New Guinea.  Most of the post-independence writing about Papua New Guinea has been done by Australians who once lived there.  Their audience has likewise been mainly Australian.

If you look at the meticulous research and detail in the works of people like Jim Sinclair, for instance, you quickly realise that he is writing for a much wider audience than just Papua New Guinea.  Even his commissioned works, like the history of Morobe or the South Pacific Brewery are largely populated by Europeans.

I’m a great fan of Jim Sinclair and I’m not sure if this is a fair comment but hopefully you get my drift.

So what were Papua New Guinean writers doing in this time?  Well, apart from a couple of exceptions, they seem to have been languishing in obscurity.

Was this because those writers lacked a suitable cause, like in the 1970s, or was it because they lacked a suitable venue in which to publish their work?

Was it because people didn’t want to hear what they had to say or was it more sinister; a fiendish government plot to keep dissenters quiet for instance?

I’m not a great fan of conspiracy theories but as for the rest I’m sure it’s been a combination of those reasons; they are, to a great extent, interrelated and inseparable.

So why do I think that many writers in Papua New Guinea need a cause before they put pen to paper?

The simple answer is by reading the many entries in the Crocodile competition.

The causes these writers espouse are many and varied; the sad loss of history and tradition, the treatment of women and children, the damage to the environment that development or greed brings, the list goes on and on.

But don’t get me wrong; there are also some great pieces of pure whimsy among the entries – I just love Bernard Sinai’s story about the grunge queen for instance.

Overall, however, the cause is greed and corruption among Papua New Guinea’s leaders and public servants.  It is a theme which has pervaded the competition from start to finish.

I think, when you see the winners in the three categories, you might agree with me.

My other observation about the competition is that of edification.  Being involved in it has personally been a very great learning curve.  I think it might have been the same for Keith and many of his Australian readers.

One of the things I’ve learned about is the power of the Internet and the way it is being used by people in Papua New Guinea.

I was initially concerned that restricting the competition to PNG Attitude might exclude a great many people in Papua New Guinea. 

While this is still a concern I now feel a lot more comfortable about it.  People in Papua New Guinea are becoming rapidly computer savvy. 

With the future broadband developments flagged by Digicel and others I think that what is now the domain of the relatively well-educated middle class will soon become available to the population at large.  That is, to enough people to really matter.  When that happens, writers in Papua New Guinea will really come into their own.

So where to from here?

This is what the workshop is all about.

Do we now largely have a bunch of fired-up, indignant and angry writers looking for blood or is there something deeper and more rational at work?

What will carry Papua New Guinean literature into the future?

A few words to begin: Write, write, write!

BY SIR PAULIAS MATANE

Today in Port Moresby, a range of activities will mark the culmination of the inaugural Crocodile Prize for Papua New Guinea literature: a writers’ workshop; the launch of an anthology of PNG writing; the awards ceremony which will honour four emerging writers; and a reception at the Australian High Commission to mark the event.  Former Governor-General and author Sir Paulias Matane penned some words for the occasion….

IN LATE JANUARY 1947, when I was over 16 years old, I went to school for the first time to learn how to read and write.

Toma Village Higher School - Tauran Primary School - was a jungle school, inland and many kilometers from Kokopo.

After completing Grade 4, I was sent to Keravat Central School, which later became Keravat National High School. You may find a lot of information about this in one of my first books, My Childhood in New Guinea.

When I retired from the Public Service at the end of December 1985, on the next day, New Year’s Day, Lady Kaludia Matane and I went back to our jungle village to work in our farms and assist the people in many communities with projects.

I was also very much involved in writing weekly columns in newspapers, producing Chit Chats for EMTV for almost 16 years and travelling to many parts of the world. In December 1995, I went to the last of the seven continents … Antarctica.

During these travels, I wrote many books to inform the people of geography, history and other things. I have written and published 45 books. Volume 1 of my 46th book is being edited by Professor Edward Wolfers of Wollongong University. I am still writing Volume 2. The title of these books is From Jungle House to Government House.

Since 1986, I have been encouraging Papua New Guineans to write books on any subject about our country. I have helped them to have their books published here and overseas. So far 49 people have written and published over 70 books. I am very proud of these authors.

Late last year, when I was still Governor-General and this national writing contest was announced, I urged my Papua New Guinean sisters and brothers to “Write, write, write!”

As a much-published author myself, I am pleased to note there has been a marvellous response to The Crocodile Prize: well over 200 entries from 60 writers.

The Prize is named for the first novel written by a Papua New Guinean, The Crocodile, published in 1970.  I knew the author well.  Sir Vincent Eri, as he was to become, was, like me, an educator, and he knew the power and influence of the written word.

So when The Crocodile Prize was established by the Post-Courier and PNG Attitude, as a passionate proponent of Papua New Guinea literature, I welcomed it warmly.

We need to have more writers and more readers in our country and this contest has been a marvellous initiative.

Our nation has a rich oral tradition and this has slowly extended into the written form.  I hope these awards for stories, essays and poetry will strengthen the process of enhancing our national literature.

We want Papua New Guinea to have a flourishing literature, we want creative and bold writers and we want the means to publish their work

In this context, I note that The Crocodile Prize is today launching an anthology of the best works submitted in this first 2011 contest.

I extend my sincere congratulations to the people who organised these awards.  Congratulations to the award winners.  And congratulations to all you writers who are relating the experiences, anxieties and hopes of yourselves, your people and your country.

May the good Lord continue to bless us all.