Poems Hoarded and Boarded
Chris Andrews
Lucy Aykroyd
Ruth Bean
Lilian Cameron
Carol Ann
Susan Cunningham
Anne Forbes
Phyllis Goodall
Margaret Grant
Haseley Hinton
Haworth Hodgkinson
Annie Lamb
Anne Rogers
Maureen Ross
Linda Smith
Fiona Wilson
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2005
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East Writers website for the latest literary news throughout the year.
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Carol Ann
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I was born a 'cockney' in S.E. London in 1948. Now a grandmother in my early sixties,
I have lived in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains for the last 14 years and
after 34 years in the IT industry have 'retired' to indulge my passions for travel,
writing and photography. I enjoy travelling adventurously and have explored much
of North and South America, Europe, South Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Recent travels have included a journey to the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan, following
ancient pilgrim routes to remote temples and monasteries; a search for the 'Cathar
connection' around Toulouse, the Pyrenees and south-west France; a hiking, boating
and glacier expedition to explore the geology of Southern Greenland; a month on
board a French scientific research and supply vessel visiting remote islands and
wildlife havens in the Indian and Southern Antarctic Oceans; and a month exploring
remote areas of Mongolia and the Gobi Desert. Seeing sacred places, spectacular
landscapes and meeting indigenous peoples, has given me ample source material for
my writing and allowed me to explore the links between sacred landscapes, their
legends and underlying geology.
In spite of an increasing tendency to short-term memory loss, I continue to learn.
I have never considered myself to be either a scientist or an explorer, but in March
2010 I finally completed a BSc Honours Degree in Geosciences with the Open University,
studying subjects which have helped me to understand the mountains, volcanoes and
landscapes I have encountered. One of my long term goals is to descend in a submersible
along the northern section of the Atlantic Ridge, to observe volcanic activity and
hydrothermal vents at first hand and then write about my adventures! Unfortunately
I'm not as young as I used to be and the stiffening of joints, etc. that comes with
old age, is probably going to limit my ability to lie in the cramped, confined,
cold conditions which such a trip would entail — still I can always dream.
My writing experiences are varied and have often faltered along the way, but the
Huntly Writers' Group has given me the impetus and confidence to renew my efforts.
Two decades ago I wrote a series of poems about the nature of love, from the death
of the old, to the birth of the new. I am now revisiting these poems and hope to
have them in print some time soon. For two years I was invited to pen a regular
column in the bi-monthly Australian magazine Eagles Wings, providing articles
with a unique blend of travel and the exploration of sites of spiritual significance
around the world. I have also published a children's book called Rifka, the Adventures
of a Gnome and have given talks and slide shows about my travels.
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Pachamama — Sun Island
Carol Ann
At the southern end of Sun Island on Lake Titicaca is a sacred place, used by the
local Andean Indians and their Kallawuaya for rituals and offerings to Pachamama,
the Earth Mother. The Kallawuaya is a fortune teller or native doctor of the Andean
Altiplano and this one is a small man, dressed inconspicuously in a white shirt,
dark trousers and crumpled old hat on his head. With thin sandals on his feet, he
walks purposefully south along an unseen trail through eucalyptus trees, past the
stone monument at the summit of Cerro Keñhuani (4024m), until he reaches
his destination, a small, round stone enclosure. On his back a grey sheet encases
a medley of strange shaped objects which are clearly heavy, because he's bent over
forwards to balance the weight.
Once inside the stone enclosure the grey sheet is emptied of its contents. First
he takes out a pile of wooden logs half a metre long and proceeds to build a square-shaped
stack around a pile of shavings and small twigs. We admire the view — this
is a beautiful spot with the snow-capped Cordillera Real and the sacred mountain,
Nevada Illampu (6368m) in the east and the shores of Lake Titicaca in the west.
It's mid afternoon. The sky is clear and very blue, the lake surface is placid and
the Sun is still very hot. We turn back to the Kallawuaya who is now dressed in
a bright red, sleeveless poncho with an intricately patterned woollen hat on his
head — he is ready to begin a ceremony which has been handed down through
his family over countless generations.
The offering package was bought from the Witches Market in La Paz and every item
has a special significance. The contents can vary depending on the price paid, but
this one contains a small llama foetus, coca leaves, sweets, small gold and silver
coloured trinkets, images of the sun and the moon and crushed quartz and other crystals.
We take turns to present the offering to the north, south, east and west, saying
a few words to Pachamama in each direction. We are asking for peace and prosperity
for the Lake and the people who live in and around it, but the words can be anything
depending on the occasion. Offerings to Pachamama are made to celebrate marriages
and births; to ask for rain and a bountiful harvest; to ask for luck in exams; anything
the giver chooses. The package is finally handed to the Kallawuaya who murmurs his
own incantations, before placing it on the wood stack and lighting it. The heat
from the fire is fierce and we move away to the edges of the stone enclosure, where
we sit and watch as the logs and offering burn down to embers.
The ceremony is complete, the Kallawuaya is thanked for his services and we leave
the sacred area to its guardian spirits, beckoned on by the need for a cold drink
and seat in the shade.
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