BethSpencer.com

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May you be able to handle whatever comes towards you
with grace and ease.
May life always be a grand and glorious adventure.

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And yeah… ok, maybe it’s not real…

But isn’t that the way with so many of the things we allow to disturb us?

What about this one?

Nerve wracking to watch!
And then she just handles it all with such sureness and skill.

So, how about this for a take home message for 2016?

–identify what you want to change
–devise a plan
–persist (even when it looks like you might have some heavy lifting to do)
— grab onto it when a possibility presents
— and always have help lined up in case you need it.

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So 2015 was a good for me as it was a year of having books out again (after a very long break) — sending Vagabondage out into the world with readings and talks, reviews interviews etc..  and then in November and December, launching The Party of Life. (Copies available here if you’d like one.)

And if you missed it, Bernard Cohen’s great launch speech
for The Party of Life — both text and video version
– is just up today at Rochford Street Review.

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Thank you for your contribution to the planet in 2015,
look forward to collaborating again in 2016!

Wishing you a very happy. creative and aware 2016. 

And if you can’t make the Sydney launch and you’re on the Central Coast – send me a message for the address and come along for a small launch-drinks at my house in Terrigal on Thursday 19th November at 6 for 6.30pm. If you’d like to know about any Melbourne event — just send a message and I’ll keep you informed. (And also let me know if you have any venue suggestions for Melbourne in December!)

And if you can’t make either launch and would like a copy — you can order one here. Limited numbers at the moment, so grab a copy if you want one, only $10 plus $2 for post and packing.

If you’re on FaceBook, the event invite is here for Sydney, and here for Central Coast. Feel free to invite yourself, and to share it with anyone you think might be interested. 

This is a bilingual (English and Chinese) new and selected poems, published by ASM/Flying Islands for the Pocket Book translation series, edited by Kit Kelen. Big thanks to my translator Ruby Chen and to Iris Fan for additional translations, and to Snow Li and Maria Wong for reading in Mandarin at the launches. (It will be the first time I’ve heard the poems read aloud in Chinese and I’m looking forward to this.)

And thank you to those who will be helping out at at the Sydney launch — Bernard Cohen for launching it, Pam Brown and Snow Li for reading poems, and Claudia Taranto for being contributing MC.

If you would like a review copy, let me know. And if you know any teachers of Chinese who might like a PDF copy, I’m happy to send them one. 

Feeling very lucky to have another book out and another excuse for a party (it’s almost exactly a year since I launched Vagabondage) — hope to see you there!