in words in pictures poetry A poem by a young girl in an almanac inspired me to write my first poem when I was around 13 or 14. I scribbled a little during my teens - nothing great, but I never really stopped writing. My first publication was in a girl magazine called Mädchen where my poem was voted one of the top 100 out of many many thousands. I remember writing most of that poem during a geography lesson. *grin* A couple publications in the magazine My Way followed. Around the time I went to Australia, I began to write in English occasionally. During my university years (1991-1997) I went through phases when I wrote a lot, and then nothing for months. More and more of my poetry was in English, and by the time I returned from my round-the-world trip in October 1998, English had by far become my "poetry language" no. 1, much to the regret of my father whose English is not good at all. Over the last five years, I have barely written in German anymore. I don't think I wrote one poem in my mother tongue in 2006. I found my first poetry workshop / community on the web in 1996. I moved on after a while, when I felt I had outgrown that kind of forum where people were supportive, but not offering too much c&c. I tried various boards, posted at the Melic Round Table for a while, but found a real home at Blueline, where I was a moderator for years. Tension between staff and management made me resign, and for a while I thought I would not return to the online community at all. But - I was wrong. ITWS has become a second home, though I mainly use it for the 30:30 challenge (writing a poem per day for 30 consecutive days). I don't normally post poems for line-by-line crits anymore, I'd rather send my poems to friends whom I trust with my work, who are familiar with my style, and who won't rewrite my poem. I was very lucky in that I met some wonderful people along the way. Teresa White was my first mentor when we met at a poetry board. Alex Stolis has been a great inspiration. He kept kicking my butt when I would not get to work on my chapbook. Arlene Ang, Annette Hyder, and Nathan McClain have been helpful and inspirational, particularly over the last few years. Others have come and gone. I know I would be nowhere near where I am without the web. Try publishing English poetry in a German-speaking country. Ha. I always thought I could only write when something was "there", when something "came" to me. When Arlene Ang kept nagging me to try writing daily, I never thought I would last more than three days. But I underestimated myself. Not only did I last longer than three days, I lasted 90 days. And last autumn I set out to do another 30:30, and ended up writing a poem per day for 180 days. Madness. I know. In October 2006 I finally read in front of an audience. I nearly died of stage fright, but I did it, and I did okay. I have been to more open mics since then, and I am getting used to reading, slowly but surely. Lots of room for improvement, however. Poets I admire and return to include Wislawa Szymborska, e. e. cummings, Pablo Neruda, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Louise Glück, Leonard Cohen, Marie Howe, Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker, John Siddique, Rommi Smith, Jackie Kay, Cecilia Woloch; and among my favourite small press poets are Alex Stolis, Arlene Ang, Ros Barber, Teresa White, Suzanne Frischkorn, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Kristy Bowen, Sarah Sloat, Sharon Hurlbut, Susan Culver, Collin Kelley, Amanda Auchter, Kelli Russell Agodon, Hillary Keel. [For publication details see the link to credits.] music Not a day goes by without music. I have always been a music fan, and I have never been content with what's on the radio, with knowing a melody, I have always wanted to know more. I remember hundreds and hundreds of lyrics, I know who sings what, and I am also quite good with release dates. My taste is eclectic - the only styles I can't stand, or can't find access to, are extreme forms of jazz, hiphop, rap, whiney country&western, trash metal, and the kind of wishy-washy blahblah pop trash that is to be heard on so many stations these days. A list of my favourites is long, and includes Tori Amos (one of my music goddesses, and someone I find very inspirational), Björk, Billy Joel (one of the best songwriters of all time), Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, The Walkabouts, Portishead, ABBA, Regina Spektor, Aimee Mann, Belle & Sebastian, Muse, Amy Winehouse, Sarah McLachlan, Loreena McKennitt, Martha Wainwright, Feist, Element of Crime, Radiohead, Attwenger, David Bowie, Nick Cave, Franz Ferdinand, Jenny Lewis, Adam Green, Richard Hawley, Kaizers Orchestra (best live band), Nellie McKay, Pulp / Jarvis Cocker, U2. And this, as I said, is only an excerpt. At the moment I am listening to Lhasa and Martha Wainwright a lot, also Spanish music, Balkan music, female singer/songwriters in general. The last concerts I went to were Rufus Wainwright and Kaizers Orchestra. home & away I was born and grew up in a small Austrian town called Spittal/Drau, not too far from the Italian / Slovenian border. It's actually quite a beautiful part of the world, though I did not appreciate that when I was a teenager and could not wait to get out. I caught the travel bug when I explored Australia in 1991: I went off on my own after High School, and travelled the Land Down Under for six months. Needless to say I loved it. Countries I have visited: Germany, Italy, former Yugoslavia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the USA, Réunion, Mauritius, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga. My favourite is New Zealand - for several reasons: it's magical, especially the South Island, and while it is not very big, it has so much to offer, from wonderful white beaches to glaciers. I'm also in love with the Scandinavian countries, the trip to Lapland was fantastic, and I intend to return there. friends & family What, where, who would I be without them? Some of my friendships have lasted over 20 years. My closest friends here in Austria are Gudrun (whom I first met at age 9, who was my Siamese twin throughout our teens, and who has supported me through many a crisis); Birgit, Babs, Sabine and Tom; Nathan, Hillary, Daniela; but I have very dear friends all over the world: Bo, Lotta, Rachael, Teresa, Arlene, Nanci, Özge, to name but a few. Some of them write poetry, some of them don't. My parents live in my hometown, with my one remaining grandmother. Both my brothers are younger than me, Markus was born in 1975, and Martin in 1983. Markus lives in Vienna, Martin just finished his Master's Degree in History at the University of Klagenfurt and is now going for a PhD. night & day I was born two minutes to midnight on November 21, 1971. Perhaps that explains why I am such a night owl. I love night time. Watching the moon. Silence. I work best during the night. I am definitely not a morning person, although once I am up, and have had my shower, I am usually alright. I don't need much sleep. Some people wonder whether I sleep at all - but I can assure you, I do. During the day, I teach English classes for adults, mostly unemployed people, I am trying my hand at job-coaching etc for under 21's for the first time, and doing translations on the side. I taught computer classes from early 2004 through autumn 2007, it was great, but I am happy that it's mostly English now for a change. I love my job. Five years ago I would not have thought I could do such a thing, but I am definitely in the right place. food & drink The smell of Red Bull makes me sick (and quite literally). I don't drink coffee or soda pops. I cannot stand tuna, spinach, olives, mussels, tomato juice, and vanilla cream. I loooove strawberries, Indian food, pasta, Tichy's chocolate ice-cream (come to Vienna - I'll take you to Tichy's across the street from me, very popular ice-cream parlour). I like to experiment when cooking. My favourite drink is water, followed by Australian Shiraz, but I also like Bailey's, bubbly, Caipirinha, Tequila Sunrise, and Spritzer (white wine with mineral water). If you ever want to take me out to dinner, an Indian restaurant will be fine, also Akakiko (Japanese restaurant chain) or a nice Italian or Mexican restaurant. Do not suggest McDonald's. *S* this & that Klimt, Miró, Schiele, Matisse, and Kandinsky are among my favourite painters. A poisonous spider bit me in Darwin, Australia. Yes, I survived. Not sure about the spider. Although I am pretty convinced I outlived it. Among my favourite movies: The Piano, The Apartment, Down by Law, Breaking the Waves, Dogville, The Hours, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Amélie, Love ... Actually, Moulin Rouge, La vita è bella, Lost in Translation, Little Miss Sunshine, Into the Wild. (This list is by no means complete.) I used to play tennis for years (but with the divorce I also lost my tennis partner), and love watching a good game (and, contrary to popular belief, not only when gorgeous James Blake is playing). At age 15 I swore I'd never want to have anything to do with computers. Ha. Just goes to show, doesn't it? I type very fast though I never learned it the "proper" way. I sleep on the right side of the bed.  I am not a fan of heat. Anything over 25°C (77F) is completely unnecessary if you ask me. I don't believe in God. I don't drive. I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks as well as mild depression since September 2007.