Writer-a-Day: Moya Pacey reading “The Wardrobe”, “Smalls” and “Food of Love”

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“Hi, I’m Moya Pacey. I’m going to read some poems.  The first is called The Wardrobe  from the collection of the same name.

The Wardrobe

A dress of turquoise like the sea
with silver threads and a skirt heavy

with the weight of silk.
High-heeled strappy shoes

for her dancing feet. A coat of
astrakhan impregnated with face powder

and Soir de Paris perfume.
In the pocket, a lipsticked handkerchief

lace-edged with a violet embroidered in one corner
and the letter ‘P’; some copper coins

to spend a penny at the Astoria Dance Hall,
and a letter from a man whose name I do not remember.

Smalls

Keep the secrets of your laundry basket
close to home. should a visitor call,
on washing day, unexpected–
your french lace knickers
forlorn & ragged as a bed
of wild silk pansies
at the end of a hot summer’s day,
& his boxer shorts, extra large now,
shirring elastic sagging like a top-
heavy sunflower– seeds all gone,
can be whipped indoors
double quick.

Food of Love

‘I don’t give a fig’, says Adam to Eve.
She is silent thinking
of the small orifice on the fruit
a narrow passage for the fig wasp to enter;
set down eggs; pollinate the flowery fig.
Bloom and ripen.
She reveals none of this to Adam
who shields his manhood with a leaf from the fig;
seething at his ejection from the Garden.

Eve isn’t sorry that she bit
into the temptation of the fruit;
found its secret self.
She never forgot that first taste
of paradise; brought the knowledge with her
beyond the garden into the world of weeds and thorns.
Of course Adam put it about–
it was the snake’s clever lies  that had beguiled her.
She was deceived (he said). Eve knew better.
She had bloomed. Ripened; tasted truth.”

ABOUT MOYA PACEY:

Moya Pacey was born in the UK but has lived in Canberra, Australia since 1978. She has published her poetry widely in journals and magazines and has won prizes for her work. In 2006, she was selected for a Macquarie Bank Longlines Poetry Master Class and went to Varuna House with five other regional poets. Her first collection, The Wardrobe was runner-up for the ACT Poetry Prize in 2010. Her poetry has featured on ACTION buses in Canberra and this year, she won The Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Writing Competition Nova Scotia and was shortlisted for the Frogmore Poetry Prize UK.

“In September, 2006, I was selected for a Macquarie Bank Longlines Poetry Master Class and went to Varuna House with five other regional poets. This was a wonderful affirming experience and as a result of this first encounter with Varuna, I was given the confidence to continue writing my poetry and began to get it published. The Varuna experience was central to my development as a poet and I am indebted to Varuna for this especially to Peter Bishop and Deb Westbury. Ginninderra Press published my first collection, The Wardrobe in December 2009 and I don’t think this would have happened without the support and encouragement I received from Varuna.” Moya Pacey

PUBLICATIONS:

The Wardrobe December 2009 Ginninderra Press, Adelaide Australia

Shortlisted and Runner -up for ACT Writing and Publishing Awards 2010

Published Poems
Aphasia Frogmore Papers No 78 September 2011
Foxes Canberra Times Panorama Magazine Canberra Australia June 18 2011
The Gate Poetrix Altona, Victoria, Australia May 2011, Issue 36
At the Beaumont Hamel Memorial France 2011 ‘The Canberra Times’, Panorama Magazine Canberra, Australia
Disapproval and Tidbinbilla 2010 featured on ACTION buses Canberra ACT Australia
Victoria Falls December 2010 ‘Canberra Times’ Panorama Magazine Canberra Australia
To the Young Soldier 2010 CRUX Publishers London
Food of Love 2010 Eureka Street on-line Journal, EurekaStreet.com .au Melbourne, Australia
En route to Alaska 2009 ‘Island Magazine’ #119 Hobart Tasmania Australia
My father’s prayer 2009 ‘Studio’ Number 116 STUDIO Albury, Australia
In the High Country 2009 ‘The Canberra Times’, Panorama Magazine Canberra Australia
A is for Aleph, 2009 ‘The Canberra Times’, Panorama Magazine Canberra Australia
It seems he was loved until that moment and Once upon a time May 2009 ‘Poetrix,’ Altona, Victoria, Australia
Omen Sky 2009 in ‘Friday 13th’ Boris Books Canberra ACT Australia
Girl at the Window 2008 ‘The Canberra Times’, Panorama Magazine Canberra Australia
Dali’s Paintbox May 2008 ‘Poetrix’, Altona, Victoria, Australia
The Weight of Trees 2008 in ‘capital letters’ anthology Boris Books Canberra ACT Australia
Wintergrief and At Darfur 2008 in ‘Prismatics’ NSW Poets Union, Sydney Australia
At Darfur November 2007 ‘Canberra Times’ Panorama Magazine Canberra Australia
Recipe for an apple cake May 2007 ‘Poetrix’ Altona, Victoria, Australia

CONTACT:

writersonradio@gmail.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moya-Pacey-Poet/162226857195634

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