About

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This blog has a purpose, several purposes, actually. The initial purpose is to connect with people and to encourage them (you) to become interested in my new book. If you have MS (multiple sclerosis), or you know someone living with this chronic illness, you may be interested in how I’m getting on with my life, since this illness came into my life.

I’ve written a memoir about this, and hope to share my words with other people, connect with other people, and form a caring network of people who know, or want to know what living with MS can be like. It’s a strange disease. There is currently no cure, and there is no definite explanation for what causes the disease.

I was diagnosed with MS in February 2010, and I’m working to understand how I can still live a good life, even with this disease …

126 thoughts on “About”

  1. carolyncordon Post author

    I haven’t heard anything since before Christmas, John, so I have no idea how it’s going… I’ve sent a few images for consideration for the cover, and that’s it. I’ve just realised I’ve forgotten to contact the Tea Tree Gully Library re a launch there, so I’d better follow up on that tomorrow. They have a long waiting list …

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      It’s good to have someone who can do the carrying of boxes, and as Adelaide Plains Poets have adopted the Gawler Poets at the Pub monthly gig, and Alex is the treasurer for the
      Adelaide Plains Poets, it makes sense to have him involved. It’s also good for Alex to be involved in these things, to get better known by other poets, and so on.

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  6. johnlmalone

    it’s a good team, Carolyn. I bet Martin is proud of you and a little relieved that you are carrying on his good work 🙂

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      Yes, I think you’re right there John. I see Martin every now and then around Gawler, and it’s always good to have a chat with him. Martin has gone on to things more to do with music, but he still gets his poetry ‘out there’ at various things.

      Are you going to be able to get to Gawler this month John? I’m looking forward to having Avalanche run a workshop in the morning, and in the afternoon he’s our guest poet. I’m hoping to introduce some really exciting poetry ideas to the people who are doing my weekly poetry workshops at the Poetic Justice Cafe Gallery. We won’t have our usual workshop there on the last Sunday, but we’ll go to the Prince Albert Hotel instead.

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  7. johnlmalone

    I won’t be able to make it this Sunday, Carolyn as Caty and I are heading in the opposite direction, Carrikalinga where we intend spending a few days .Still working out details regarding a launch 🙂 btw how did your workshop go on the quantum theory of poetry?

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      I haven’t done such a thing John, if you’re referring to the workshop with Avalanche, that happens on Sunday morning, so it hasn’t happened yet … If this is something else then I’ve forgotten all about it, not an unusual thing for me unfortunately.

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      Great news John. If June suits you, then you will be our guest poet for the month of June. We will need you to be at the the Prince Albert Hotel in Gawler by 11.30am for the Poetry workshop you will present, and then at 2.00pm for the Guest Poet slot at the Gawler Poets at the Pub Poetry reading.

      Please get back to me if this month for you. If it does, then tell me, and Alex and I will lock it in. There is payment for both roles, and of course you can sell your new book, and any others you have available.

      Regards.

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  10. johnlmalone

    thanks Carolyn, I didn’t sell many books but I sold a few and that helps to get my poems out there. and there’s June 12 at Goolwa and after that ….?

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  11. johnlmalone

    Hi Carolyn. I did sell a few more books but it’s still less than the thirty Blake sold in his lifetime. Make me jealous. How many did you sell of your book? 🙂

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      Which book, John? I have a few now. My poetry collection with Ginninderra isn’t published yet. The Ginninderra collection will be title ‘Tense and Still’ and has a cute but appropriate photo on the cover. I’m hoping it’s printed well in advance of the planned launch in October at the TTG Library. My best selling book seems to be the funny one I wrote ages ago, that has pictures in it, done by a friend of mine. It’s self-published, so I can easily run off more copies when they run out, if I want to (if I can afford to!).

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  12. johnlmalone

    I mean your poetry collection with Ginnindera. I can’t wait to get a copy. The self published books — like my ‘Big Blue Mouth’ —- as long as they are illustrated tend to do pretty well in the short term 🙂

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      My book with the illustrations is do well, long into the long term, John. It’s so popular I’ve done another book in the series (launched during the Gawler Festival of Words), and I’m seriously planning the third in the series, to be launched next year.

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  14. meglewellyn

    Hi!
    I ran across your blog while reading a post on Declan’s blog (https://able2access.wordpress.com/) I would love to add your blog to my super long MS Resource page (http://www.bbhwithms.com/resources-all-things-ms/) AND your book if it is available (link on this page didn’t work?) My aim is to keep it as current and extensive as possible. If you know of any other resources I don’t yet have, I would love to add them as well.

    I look forward to reading more of your stories!

    Cheers!
    Meg (aka BBH)

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      If you’re referring to poetry suitable for Schools Magazine John, then yes I believe I have some poetry they may appreciate. I’ve been ignoring it, along with a couple of other writing possibilities, which is not a clever thing to do. I hope tomorrow might be a suitable day for checking out what’s on my computer, and print things out to send.

      I also need to work on something bigger, the third book in my illustrated series that began with “Dig It! Gardening Tips for Dogs”. I have around ten thousand words to write, and then I can send it to the illustrator, and to my friend who is going to write a foreword. I could possibly get going on some more of that tomorrow too.

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  16. carolyncordon Post author

    Thanks John, I did quite a bit of work on “Dog Buddha’s Thoughts” yesterday, and another half hour or so today. Tomorrow I’ll have a few hours in the morning, and I now have access to it when I am out and about (I hope), so perhaps could do something at Poetic Justice Cafe Gallery tomorrow if nothing much is happening.

    I would still like to have some poems published in Schools Magazine again though, I love what they do with illustrations!

    Life is a constant roller coaster of things to look at, duck around, leap over! And then there are blogs … I did another blog post on one of my blogs and I’m seriously thinking of actually changing it to a paid for blog rather than a free one. The Gardendog blog has lots of things in it that are really interesting to me – Nature, dogs, the garden, sitting around on the back veranda thinking about things … Life.

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  18. johnlmalone

    I don’t know how you go about making money from blogs. I have too few constant visitors to make it a worthwhile proposition 😦

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  19. johnlmalone

    never even saw a Jane Austen novel filmed either. it wasn’t conscious avoidance ; it’s just that other texts more interesting to me kept coming up; maybe it’s a male thing ?

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  21. johnlmalone

    you’re right. Carolyn. I have read many books by female writers, Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Jane Eyre’ and all of Barabra Hanrahan’s books, for startres but yes should give JAne Austen a go 🙂

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  24. Tom Cordle

    I wish you health, and while I’m at it, wealth, though certainly the former is far more important than the latter. My wife was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in 2010, but thanks to a great doctor and chemo, she’s still with us. I guess that’s my way of saying never give up hope.

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  25. carolyncordon Post author

    Well, it’s launched, not I just have to find people who want to but it from me. I haven’t heard anything about how my poetry collection (Tense & Still) is going through, but I sold a copy of it myself at a U3A Poetry workshop I did yesterday, lots of fun! I got the gig through Maureen Mitson, and it was lots of fun. I’d love to do more of that kind of thing, but I’m hopeless at promoting myself, as many writers would also say, I think …

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      1. carolyncordon Post author

        There’s a line between being a humble poet/writer and being an irritating self-promoter, and the line seems to be a scary one, and we humble people are terrified of crossing it, I think … I know my work is good enough, as your work is too John, so why can’t we just stand up there and tell the world?

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  26. johnlmalone

    I guess my blog is my way of telling the world but few take notice 😦 which is why any ‘likes’ I receive and particularly comments are valued. thanks for yours:)
    and readings too: the fourth sunday each month isn’t it?

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      Not necessarily the fourth Sunday, John, but the last Sunday of every month. There was a great session there today put on for Mental Health week, there were well known SA poets ], two of them doing a poetry workshop in the morning, and after that, those two (Aidan Coleman and Thom Sullivan) plus Rachael Mead and Jelena Dinic reading their own work. After that was an open mic session for others to read their own poetry. It was a great reading and I was very glad I went along!

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      Yes indeed John. I have no proof, but I do feel that my positive attitude to life, and my various connections to my different ‘communities’ has helped me with my MS diagnosis. There have been sad things, but ultimately, I’m feeling at least OK, every day.

      Speaking of positive things, can you get to the Gawler Poets at the Pub event this month? I’m excited about it, we’re having Martin Christmas as our guest poet, reading from his new poetry book, and he’ll have books there for sale … I want to buy my mum a copy and give her a Martin Christmas book for this Christmas!

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      Martin Christmas is excited about doing this event, and if Martin Christmas is excited, I’m excited too! I’ll be there early, and having lunch before the event starts. In fact, I’ll be facilitating a poetry workshop in the morning, which is a fun little thing I do there, I’ll be looking at a new (to me) poetic form …

      Cheers! 🙂

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  30. johnlmalone

    will try to make the January one. December is unlikely as my family from Vienna and Brisbane is descending upon us 🙂

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    1. carolyncordon Post author

      Up on this blog? I think I have put one or two up here, way back. I could look at putting more up here, for sure, if I have something that fits the blog … I may look into it tomorrow, John.

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