Launceston poet, playwright, actor and author Cameron Hindrum couldn't write a better script for his July: this month, he'll re-issue his first novel and publish his third collection of poetry.
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Fresh from winning the best-unpublished manuscript at the 2022 Tasmanian Literary Awards for his upcoming novel The Sand, the acclaimed writer eagerly awaits the double-release of The Blue Cathedral and Every Sunrise.
Hindrum's novella, The Blue Cathedral, was released in 2011 and is being republished by Forty South Books to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Franklin River Dam blockade of 1983, which is a topic the once Poetry Festival director has written on in prose and for the stage.
The coming-of-age story follows two young people, one a troubled boy dealing with family turmoil, the other a hitch-hiking protester caught up in the Franklin River Dam blockade in 1983.
"[It is] set against the backdrop of the blockade action, as a young delinquent in Queenstown struggles to come to terms with a world that is changing beyond his control," Hindrum said.
"I'm hoping this re-release can give younger audiences a sense of what happened on the West Coast with that campaign.
"Not very many writers have the chance to re-issue their books, so I'm extremely grateful for this."
Hindrum's new collection of 35 poems, Every Sunrise, collates verse developed for festivals and projects since 2017 and will officially release on the same day as Blue Cathedral.
"Having both books enter the world more or less at the same time wasn't something I planned," Hindrum said.
"You toil away at these things for a long time, and when they're ready, they emerge."
Hindrum's third poetry collection is named for a suite of short poems written for Junction Arts Festival, each of which attempts to "tap into the universal human experience".
"Sunrises are something we can always relate to; dawn and day, the experience of getting older," Hindrum said.
The Blue Cathedral and Every Sunrise will be launched in Hobart at the Battery Point Community Hall, with tickets via Hobart Bookshop, on July 21, and in Launceston at Petrarchs Bookshop on Thursday, July 27, at 5:30pm.
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Declan Durrant
Declan Durrant has a passion for poetry, visual arts, and theatre, and is The Examiner's arts critic and culture reporter. Got a story? Get in touch: declan.durrant@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Declan Durrant has a passion for poetry, visual arts, and theatre, and is The Examiner's arts critic and culture reporter. Got a story? Get in touch: declan.durrant@austcommunitymedia.com.au
