on not being a brand

Had to write a blurb about myself – a bio – for Queensland Poetry Festival. Oh, the horror. Describing oneself & talking about one’s work… is there anything yukkier. I hammered out a couple hundred words, only to discover I had been too verbose (who whuddha thunk?) and they needed a brief 100 words for the website & for the programme, an even briefer 25.

25 words! There is a reason I suck at Twitter. The deadline was rife. In a crowded wifi cafe I pulled something out from under my hat and I feel so boastful about it. Whaddaya think?

100 WORDS: “2014 sees two new releases from Cathoel. Her new poetry collection is hailed by Robert Adamson as the work of ‘a born poet.’ The debut album of Cathoel & the New Government was recorded in New York, Melbourne, and at home, by a collective of twenty-eight jazz, folk, and funk musicians. 50s impresario Bob ‘King’ Crawford on first hearing Hey, Big Splendour said, ‘In my opinion you will be one of the greatest artists this country has produced.’ Even fresher new work can be found at houseoflovers.com.”

25 WORDS (woot!): “Cathoel writes poetry and jazz. Robert Adamson says, ‘a born poet.’ Overland journal call her ‘a first-rate artist at work.'”