Reader Responses

Who is the greatest next artist? My personal opinion: you are in the running.
Tom Tonkin

The total impression is of a first-rate artist at work.
Overland magazine

Incredible writing, breathtaking in its courage.


Candy Royalle

Your writing keeps my feet on the ground.
Fraser Mackay

Wow. I was there. I was with you. It was the greatest experience of my life.
Megan Green

Your words are an elixir for my life ache.
Samantha Potter

Immensely readable and entertaining, hers is a voice quite unlike any other. A writer to change your thinking, your writing and your dreams.
Melissa Lucashenko

My God. What a beautiful story. I’ve read it three times already and don’t plan on stopping there. Absolutely enchanting, I can’t wait to read more.
Julia Mitton

Your writing is exquisite. I stepped into where you’re living. Thank you.
Russell Krass

What you’ve just written will become my nightly prayer.
Alex Smith



Your writing makes me happy to be human.
Peter Wilkins

I practically swooned with the pleasure of reading that. Thank you.
Loni Mills

Cathoel Jorss is a poet of telling observation whose images burn in the dark. A born poet.
Robert Adamson

Every hair on my body is standing on end tingling at your words. Your words!
Andrea Fraser

You are my hero!!
Vincent Arbona


You are one of the world’s great treasures.
Brendan Kelly

The divine Ms Cathoel.
Sandra Ruth Phillips

Your writing is sublime.


Ilsa Evans

You feel it acutely and say it clearly for all of us. I salute you.
Alison Lambert



I’m turning it over and over again, just can’t stop listening. It’s fabulous. And it’s a blast. Your songs are full of juice. Thanks.
Uros Stern

Brave and loving and all kinds of wonderful.
Heather Marsh

Such an inspiration to so many people.
Carol Lefevre

The wonderful warrior Cathoel.


Willem Schwillem.




In my opinion you will be one of the greatest artists this country has produced.
Bob ‘King’ Crawford

So witty!
Obelia Modjeska

Cathoel. My long-distance ladycrush. Writer, songstress, bastion of democracy.
Deborah Farrell

Your thoughts and writing are bright spots on my social media feeds.


Lin Hatfield Dodds

Absolutely love your words.


David Russell Barton

You are a hero, a light on the hill.
Bronny Phoenix

This made me cry. I love your writing. You really are exquisite.
Kate Forster

God, you make me laugh! Your turn of phrase is delightful.
Kate Forster

Madame Wordsmith.


David Cotter




This book is a beautiful piece of work.
Kate Wild, reviewing in Cordite

Why can’t there be more women (or men for that matter) like you?
Travis Earsman

Take your time, say it all, we want to hear it all.
Jon Mason

Cathoel Jorss’s poetry is a real find. There isn’t a dud poem in this collection.
James Sutherland-Smith, reviewing in Bow-Wow Shop

You really know how to take the reader on a journey.


Atum Amandla


Like Leunig, but on fire.
Alex Bradley

Your story made me bawl.


Victoria Fitch

You are a fucking Amazon.


Grottie Locket

Thoughtful, eloquent, poetic, and concise.
Mia Armitage



In the bowl of life, you are the peppercorns.
TJ Hunter

This is the most accurate and insightful assessment of racism I ever heard! I wish more American Blacks could see this.
Infinity Joelle

Cathoel Jorss is one of the most beautiful souls on this planet. My conscience of the best sorts.


Aubrey Harper


My dear, brilliant Cathoel, why aren’t you famous?
Phillip Adams

What a powerful and piercing story. Too many people are ashamed to even broach these subjects. You are a daily inspiration.
Vira Sachenko

There’s something strange and dark and impressive being created here.
Helen Garner

I was powerfully affected by this book, the product of a truly remarkable talent. It is a treasure, the free creation of an original mind.
Judith Rodriguez

Listening and watching you sing was like falling in love.
Slawek Supski

Poems trembling with insight into the human condition, full of air but grounded, written with a sensitive hand, this is a gem.
Seamus Moginie, Midnight Oil

Cathoel has a way of leaving me mute.
Russell Obst

I feel your deep strength.
Naoko Nakamura

Extraordinarily witty and sharp.
Tom Kent

Stunning me all the way to my core.


David Russell Barton

If my eyes could see as yours… I’d be drunk, unable to write. Thank you.
Russell Obst

Truly Cathoel Jorss your writing is like a spring of tenderness.


Sharon Meagher

You add so much richness to my life.
Romana Challens




It is a pleasure to watch you work through these difficult issues of our time.
Stephen Cole

Your words and images bring me comfort in this world full of noise.


Michelle Stevens

Sincerity and vulnerability in every word.


Sabine Symply




You consistently offer the best commentary on the human condition I read anywhere. Let me know when you are published. I’ll buy two copies.
Gregory Cardinal Dilley

Grateful tears. Thanks Cathoel.


Elle Kaye

I love your words, touches my heart.


Destiny Kerr

I’ve missed your words!


Louise North




I keep your book on my coffee table.
Carolyn MacKinnon

Life is never shit with you around.


Simone Andrea


Your book is a blueprint for a habitat supporting uncensored life, and I thank you for it.
Alison Lambert

You are so sincere and brilliant.


Charlie Rae




These lines from the Cathoeliad, generations of school-children should read about them.
Ross Clark

Masterful understatement, delicate irony and very, very funny.
Chris Anderson

Brilliantly moving.


Will Tait

Dark and brilliant.
Dale Ballard



I’ve liked you since before I knew you.
Heather Taylor Johnson

A very powerful writer.


Miranda Field



Your words stimulate my sensory intellect.
Sufiyo Rubyn

Cathoel’s writing is a constant inspiration to me.
Jennie Hill

I could feel myself in your place. Your descriptions of the hospital experience are uncanny, raw and absolutely true.
Sofia Ribis

You are such a great person. I think this whenever I see your name.
Regan Good

I read your words and am so compelled by their poetry that I begin to tap my feet and nod my head though only silence surrounds me.
Marisa Quigley

I love your you-ness Cathoel. You ameliorate, solidify, disrupt and rearrange language to cast light over doubt in women’s lives. My deep thanks. X
Michelle Stevens

Courage, conviction and creativity!! That’s Cathoel
Shaun Bindley

The power of Cathoel is mighty and all-embracing.
Neva E Wartell


I miss you Cathoel like I miss my cat.


Gary Baumgarten

As a writer reading a writer, what captures me most is your facility with language, your images, your voice, and the pain felt viscerally behind your honesty.
James Hart

The deep beauty of your soul shines brightly.
Sherry Johnson

Dedicated to Cathoel Jorss’s eternal light: thank you, for your activism, Cathoel.
Bronny Phoenix

Thank you Cathoel. You are a hero of the little moments.
Barry Earsman

Such a beautiful, resonant, sad, husky, interesting, soothing, well-disciplined voice.
Jordie Albiston

I live a stressful life at present. Cathoel’s writing makes me breathe more evenly. She opens up for us the most beautiful and enriching, the most bitter and disappointing moments. Her imagery has touch, taste, sight, scent and sound.
Megan Young

Your voice is hypnotic.
Gel Hondroukakis

This is poetry taut with intelligence, modest only in not falsely inflating its subjects, with supple lines freighted with clear, sensuous imagery combined with a raw tenderness that is nicely judged.
Doug Leonard, reviewing in West End Neighbourhood News

We love your work, great spinning Cathoel Jorss. Rad candour, audacity and searing honesty.
Harro Watjen




A great example of someone living a creative and intimately authentic life.
Alex Bradley




I recommend your writing to all my friends.
Ian James

I wanna read a book by you.
Kylie Madden

Cathoel is so alive.
Rough Acres



Awesome, poetic, and a bit grand.


Emily Cooney

Wow you are one of the most open minded people I know.
Andrea Fraser



I am always inspired by your comments and insights.
Kandace Dick

Heartbreaking experience retold with fairness and honesty, and it’s a testament to something stout and noble in your soul.
James Hart

Thank you, what a radiant being you are. I love your writing, your peculiar brain. I have not yet listened to your music. I will.
Sophie Thompson

Intriguing short stories and gem vignettes.


Balkan Falcons

How many times have I stopped in the supermarket and thought: what would Cathoel do? Answer: a lot. I’ve learned a lot from you, Cathoel.


Jamila James Barry

You’re such an honestly extraordinarily open-hearted, pure-hearted, wise, self-aware, self-responsible, kind, brave, strong and vulnerable person.
Christine Grodd



You speak the truth, and beautifully.
Loni Mills

Beautiful and magnificent.
Nic Williams

Thank you for your relentless activism for women. Thank you for ignoring or dealing with what I expect must be a relentless tide of hate. I am not strong enough for that battle. I am grateful you are. I’m crying as I write this.
Megan Anne

It’s an absolute pain, but you are extraordinary. I had no idea you were this tall, this stunning, this vibrant physically. Couple all that with your exceptional intellect, creativity and emotional clarity… you’re something else. Alpha plus.
Cherry Austin

Cathoel of the gimlet eye and the profound stare. Writes like the blazes. You never cease to create wonderment in me, Cathoel.
Rhyll McMaster

You’re one of the great ones, Cathoel Jorss. If you were Prime Minister, well, there’s nothing better than perfect, but I know your government would come pretty close. You’re such a caring and loving person.
Alex Miller

My life is enriched through your eyes of connection and love.
Travis Earsman

Beautiful words from my favourite poet. The comfort, care and beautiful nature with which you treat every living thing is beyond what any mother could hope to be. You ground and comfort me by simply being.
Nick Rose

I love the way you think, Cathoel!


Laura Taylor


I see you as amazing and brave and unapologetic and wild and powerful and beautiful. I know that standing in who you are often comes with a price but on this day you are my inspiration. Travel well wild woman and thank you.


Elizabeth Bartram

Strikingly, powerfully beautiful. You radiate womanhood, that state of existing in simple truth.
Norma L Case

Such beautiful words Cathoel Jorss, from your depth and sadness. You have the passion, the voice, the soul and the wisdom.
Susan Brame

I’m a grateful person for knowing you, Cathoel. You’re a most fascinating individual. Very learned, very heart-oriented.
Roberta Pittock




Cathoel, I love you my friend, for the depths of your curiosity and the truth of your empathy alongside and underneath the strength of your humanity. Please keep shaking the walls of the world with your beliefs and your views and your uniqueness.

David Russell Barton



You look beautiful and you are beautiful.


Lina Numan

Beautiful and uplifting.
Raymond Evans

Stop making me think, Cathoel!


Tariq Osborne




Powerfully engaged and sensitive observations.
Stephen Lawrence

What a wonderful clear mind you have!


Robyn Foskett

Really profound thoughts.


Tammy McCrory

A luminescent wonderful writer, and music maker.

 A true warrior for love and spirit and human/children’s rights.
Bronwyn Evans

I just wanted to thank you for your words of wisdom yesterday: “Honour your grief. It’s only love.” That’s going to be the mantra that gets me through this dreadful journey. Of all the kind things people wrote, that meant the most to me, and sang to my heart. So, thank you.
Victoria Strike

Great advice as always. I like how you craft your responses and engage with people.


Kirsty Ferguson


The wonderful Australian author and musician Cathoel Jorss.
Martin Oppermann

Best to you, bright one!


Thom the World Poet

A real amount of contained emotion.
James Hendry



Happy Birthday, Light in the Darkness. Keep showing us the joy that still lingers in the world.
Brendan Kelly

Her words are always, invariably beautiful.


Esther Essinger


You’re awesome.


Uros Stern

Very touching! You’re a perfect prime example of excellence! The world needs you to rule and put a stop to racism!


Iddrisu Lebrecht Sascha

Utterly brilliant as ever: the divinely creative Cathoel Jorss, a traveller and an inspiratrix.
Kate Forster

Always the poet.
David Art Wales

That is beautifully put, Cathoel.
Jane Caro




Brilliant.


Kathleen Van Zandt

Rape is one of those universal crimes. I’m a writer/editor as well as a survivor. Your sentence structure shocks me in a way I don’t remember since I last read among the great vocabularians of literature. Your sentence structure reminds me of allegorical tales, crafted across millennia, until their meaning is archetypal and fewer words are needed to express it, thus.


E.J. Landwehr



Your writings hold me like gentle hands on an adventurous journey. So beautiful to get pulled through the stories yet so heartbreaking when the end of the piece comes and I have to move on!
Faustina Tantie

Your words are beautiful and insightful as too are your drawings.
Peter Williamson

Bravo for your compassion and eloquence on this subject.


Susanna Nelson



Thanks for sharing yourself, Cathoel. Your presence on my timeline is always refreshing.
Chris Waites

You see the beauty in me and appreciate it. You are such an adorable creature and we appreciate you so much.

Nana Kwame Scoda

All of these lovely vignettes have your clear eye and heart!
Stephen Cole

I want to eat some of these photographs.
Wwhorhey Lorzeno

SO imaginative and eloquent, what a mind! YAY for you mighty Cathoel!
Chris Gaskell

Very evocative and cool.
Andrew Ingens

In any group of people, Cathoel is going to be the heart.
Kwame Abwela

Your bravery helped me get over my scaredness and stand up for women.
Eliza AC

My love to you, lady. Always.
Megan Green

Thank you, your words are vivid snapshots, like photos, not black and white or colour. I hear the shrieks of laughter on the square in Spain and the remember the glee I felt as spring buds pushed the long winter into the past with astonishing rapidity, flooding fresh green onto a tired gray canvas.
Ian James

Thank you for your imagery and your clear, deep, vulnerable wisdom.
Sophie Thompson

Cathoel is a prolific and incredibly beautiful writer.
Karsy Bee

You are a wonderful, warm, kind and caring person Cathoel and I hope your friends and family remind you of that every day. Love your soul!
Red Bingham

Legend.
Amy Leland

I hope I become as good a writer as you. Exquisite.
Russell Krass

You write such beautiful paragraphs, Cathoel. I’m reading Helen Garner’s new book “Everywhere I Look”, and you’re both like a lettuce and cheese sandwich before the first bite.
Rhyll McMaster

You always make people feel good about themselves.
Michelle Stevens

As usual you captivate the essence of things beautifully.
Lia Petridis Maiello

You are experiencing that the gift of love is in the seeing and the giving. This is superlative writing because that genuine, non-possessive, totally promiscuous love of life is feeding it.
Raymond Evans

Cathoel Jorss brings ceaseless creativity into every aspect of her life and fully explores life from the perspective of creativity, refusing in any way to compromise this vision.
Tom Kent

Writing both intimate and crystalline.
Raymond Evans

You write so beautifully.
Jessica Eaton

Authenticity has a price some people with character decide is worth the effort. It is easy to go along with the ‘way cool’ generic flow. But to buck the system and propose debate frightens and threatens a lot of insecure, opinionated, or closed-minded people. There’s room for intelligent unemotional debate and new perspectives. Experience helps, too. Thank you, Cathoel.
Balkan Falcons




Wow… I’m older than Methuselah and I’ve not read such passion till now… beautiful soul.
Patrick O’Connor




Beautiful observations.


Sophie Burnham

Crisp yet lingering, modern but playfully so, decisive, refreshing, and brimming with myriad treasures of awareness.
Bronwen Manger

Cathoel is no coward. She is brilliant and passionate about people being treated fairly and kindly. She’s a god damn fairness machine.
Regan Good

Inspired observation, excellent writing, compelling human honesty. A free spirit who reacts to her fellow humans on Planet Earth with a true compassionate honesty.
James Hart

You have a beautiful perception.
Maxine Stibbe

Take your time, say it all, we want to hear it all.
Jon Mason

Much love and solidarity to you Cathoel. One day I hope that we meet in person somewhere in the world. You are an inspirational person, it is an honour to know you.


Jon S Kaub

I love your spirit! So positive and refreshing.


Mariana S.

Very cool!


Priya Reddy

Unique, strong, opinionated, intelligent and at the same time soft and caring woman.
Marilyn Masters

Beautifully put, as usual.
Deborah Farrell

Utterly beautiful.


Amanda Mack

You have made an effort. You have brought me great joy. We need people to make an effort. We need people like you to bring us joy.


Peter Gleeson

The beauty of your words serves a purpose, they make other people smile inside.


Rik van der Velde

It’s heartwarming to be connected to such an intelligent, passionate, women-centred woman.
Zoe Lafantasie

Great article, beautiful writing and salient points.


Sandra Kelly

Cathoel Jorss your words were so softly lyrical… they just floated over me… and I’m sitting here feeling very contented now, so thank you!
Kathryn James

A strong voice in any place.


Mark Wickett

Have I told you lately that you totally rock?


Kirsten Tona

Stick with Cathoel Jorss, she sees the wisdom and beauty in your actions.
Ed Drain

To my literary friends, especially you, the brilliant Cathoel Jorss.


Red Bingham



I wish I could have met you much sooner so that I could have enjoyed being in touch with your fine mind and wise soul much longer. Your thoughts, your perspective, your wonderful words: on behalf of the world I say — thank you, Cathoel Jorss!
Esther Essinger




You are such an Artist, Cathoel. Good advice is hard to find and very generous to give. Worth a small mountaintop of disengaged applause to my mind.
Amanda Joy




Best smile in the universe. Your posts make my day.
Peter Williamson

What a singularly gorgeous spirit you have.
Brianna Schrum

Thanks so much for your genuine empathy, kindness and humanity. Beautiful people like you do honestly help to ease the pain.


Atum Amandla




Your mediation and conflict resolution skills are supreme!
James D.

I would never ever want to seem to silence you. You are one of my favourite minds and voices.


Esther Essinger



I’ve admired your writing for quite a while.
Josh Slocum

You are a proper wake up beautiful woman.


Jellie Kay


I do so love your kindly intelligence, your sensitivity, your courtliness. How rare is that combo? If anyone can make a hateful troll think about their actions, it’s you.


Jamila James Barry

The business. I dig it indeed. Thank you for this brilliance, Cathoel Jorss.


Matthew Simpson-Morgan

Get an eyeful! She’s a bloody great writer.


Hinemoana Baker

This was absolutely stunning. I’m so sorry for this terrible time. I know it well.
Asha Rajan


It is nice to have a few great writers around.

 I salute you for your fight on this issue!
Claudia Clara Vera

The world would be a better place with more Cathoels!


Christine Grodd

I’ve got Cathoel quotes banked up and I still smile over them.
Jamilla James Barry

Thank you for being a beacon of living love, moving this planet into its next evolution.
Harro Watjen

I appreciate your gentle tone.
Sophia Maelstrom


Thank you Cathoel and as always a very reasoned point of view, which I appreciate.


Matt Williams

Deep insight, wit and whimsy.
Mark Allen

You fucking rock! I have so much respect for you

.
Mhor Doyle

My appreciation for poetry has been rekindled thanks to this luscious work. Candid and unpretentious, each meticulously crafted line rings with truth and beauty, scenes conjured instantly. These words stay with you.
Kirstin Laser

Her lines run through my head as I’m walking to work in the morning, when I step out to look at the stars before I go to bed. Reading Cathoel’s work makes me want to be a kinder, gentler, truer person, as well as a wittier one.
Jamila James Barry

What a truly wonderful piece of work. A treat to read.
Kevin Brady

Your prose breathes, it pulses, it hums with life.
Melanie Selemidis

What a pleasure to hear, it’s an absolute gift. Your voice is like earth: soil, dirt, grass, foundation.
Alex Bradley

I wish I could have met you much sooner so that I could have enjoyed being in touch with your fine mind and wise soul much longer. Your thoughts, your perspective, your wonderful words: on behalf of the world I say — thank you, Cathoel Jorss!
Esther Essinger

Bless you, bless your gift of writing, thank you so much for sharing it, Cathoel; I am touched and a little teary x
Dawn Albinger

Breathtaking.
Shaun Bindley


Oh you bring tears to my eyes – writing so beautifully you are actually channelling

.
Raymond Evans



Evocative as always. Respect.
Mohair Slim


Wise words.
Danny Kennedy

Cathoel, I like the way you think, and I love the way you write, amazing clarity

.
Rik van der Velde

You were meant to share your posts with me! I love them.
Mark Mackay

You are simply amazing… make me smile, sometimes cry a little with your profound and astute perceptions. World according to Cathoel I call it.
Andrea Fraser

Your daily, unobtrusive, observations warm my heart Cathoel!! My best friend and I are encouraged by your notes, each one striking a resounding chord with our own lifestyle, beliefs and values. They’re a flickering flame of hope in a world dominated by the artificial, shallow and transient. Thank you for taking the time to note and post the good things you see.
Phil Morrison

Now there she goes making magic with those things we lamely call words and she paints with them, combinations you cannot imagine until they’re there in full shape. Art in common places, Cathoel such as is uncommon and more beautiful for its result.
Dale Ross

OK Cathoel Jorss, you are now banned from being such a good writer. You are no longer allowed to write such interesting material, have such insightful observations, nor be a person we all admire. Forbidden. The new world order cannot tolerate compassion, love, thoughtfulness nor disorder. You have your orders! xx
Tony Foley

You have a magical aura around you and this was really complementing your performance. And your voice, so fragile but strong. I loved when you started to dance and move. And your warmly natural smile was overwhelming descending from the stage. I have listen to your songs on your website and you are a natural performer with the such individual voice magically complementing your lyrics and music. Listening and watching you sing was like falling in love.
Slawek Supski

I wish I could explain its worth, depth and intensity… the way the hairs on my arms stand up when I read her work. But I can’t. You’ll just have to find her for yourself.
Bec Fitzpatrick, Fable Illustrations

You are always wisdom and joy, dear friend.
Romana Challans

Apt and startlingly relevant.
Sydney Wayland Smith




What you’ve put to words is really extraordinary. Brave, brave Cathoel.
Mark Rogers 



Cathoel for president!
Jane Roper

Your music, your lyrics, your writing, your vibration will be with me all my life Cathoel — favourites all. Your vibration resonates with my being. A pleasure to walk with you.
Jeff Foley

Unabated power.
Stephen Cole




Oh Cathoel, you deep genius. Beam brighter.
Thom Woodruff

You’re a shiny shiny gem, Cathoel.
Chelsea Avard

A pure work of art.
Diane McLaughlin

I love your vision/s and expression. You paint pictures inside my mind & I adore you for it.
Garry Crook

You are so gorgeous, spiritually, intellectually and physically.
Megan Green

So beautifully written, my heart shifted.
Leila Simon Boakes

I’m all goosebumps. Your writing is exquisite. We share those deep perceptions… your comradeship means the world to me.
Kandelka Koreovit

I have you to allow me to vicariously live and love the world. Thank you a million times over.
Brendan Kelly

To dear Cathoel, Wonderful photo, you always make me smile. You give me confidence knowing there are wonderful people like you.
Peter Williamson

You are so wise and you speak in pure poetry.
Charlie Rae

“Racism is envy”. Your words are perfection, my wonderful friend.
Lia Petridis Maiello

The world is a better place for having you here.
Aubrey Harper

Light in the darkness.
RoughAcres Rita L McKee

Without your creativity, the universe is lacking.
Chris Waites

Cathoel Jorss what you give is priceless.
Murray James

You are so wonderful. I love knowing you.
Amy Louise

It’s a joy to sit around the camp fire with you.
Vickie Mg

My heart is always with you and your words are in my heart.
Brendan Kelly

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