EASTBOURNE LAUNCHES EASTBOURNE WITH BELLS ON

media release for Bookman Beattie

The people of Eastbourne packed out local bookshop Rona Gallery last night to launch Eastbourne : an anthology published by new Mākaro Press. The collection of poetry, fiction and creative memoir writing by 96 different authors was a hit with the Wellington harbourside community with over 200 copies pre-sold or sold on the night – some people buying as much as ten at once – and people promising to come back for more.

The book was launched by former Eastbourne mayor Elaine Jakobsson (who writes as poet Helen Jacobs) who commented on the breadth of the writing and how beautiful the 300-page book is to have and to hold. Printed on high quality munken paper by Wakefields Digital in Wellington, the book has a stunning cover image by local artist Stacey O’Neill, and includes line drawings by local artists.

A dozen writers read from their work on the night including Elaine Jakobsson with her poem Eastbourne, former York Bay resident Lloyd Jones and his son Avi Duckor-Jones, as well as Lorae Parry, John Horrocks, Marilyn Duckworth and Melissa Day Reid. They were joined by new writers Stephen Press, Donna McLeod and seven-year-olds Lauren Excell and Tatum Collins. Former adman and poet Len du Chateau’s poem Labour Day, 1925 was read by his daughter Robyn du Chateau. The readers reflected the range of work in the book.

Three-quarters of the writers selected for the anthology live or have lived in Eastbourne and the bays, and the writing is set firmly in the place with chapters given to each of the bays. Editors Mary McCallum and Anne Manchester spoke of the thrill of discovering work that had slipped from public view and work that was completely new, and the pleasure of including writing by well-known authors who had connections with their community. Along with the third editor, Maggie Rainey-Smith who is currently teaching in Cambodia, they say they have a strong feeling of the weight of Eastbourne’s tīpuna at their shoulders.

Mary McCallum, also the publisher, says if sales continue as they started, she will have to look at reprinting before Christmas. She acknowledged the work of her co-editors, her assistant publisher Paul Stewart, and her mentor Roger Steele of Steele Roberts who, she says, has been generous in sharing space and skills with her.

‘I am still reeling from the reception the book has been given by this community. As editors, we worked on Eastbourne because we love this place, and those who love it like we do want to own the book for the same reason. We can’t ask better than that.’ She quotes the final stanza of Helen Jacobs poem, Eastbourne.

on the days of endless blue
there are three white lighthouses
to choose from, the sea a slow swell,

a fishing boat sitting distant,

and you walk to one lighthouse or

the other over sand, clay, rock,

rhythm your steps to a remote clarity
that you can only paint –

or stare at;

in the stillness of the sun

count seven seals, or the houses

on the other shore, and take home one
fingernail-sized shell to code it all,

this question of where the heart lies.

Below -Two of the editors of Eastbourne- an anthology, Anne Manchester and Mary McCallum. The third editor, Maggie Rainey-Smith, is currently in Cambodia.