Spotlight On Writers
Johnch
- Where do you originate from?
I originate from Renmark, a small country town in South Australia. Well it was small when I was growing up, a bit bigger now with a population of around four thousand. An area of irrigated crops fed from one of the largest rivers in Australia. Without the river it would be a desert. It’s a hot climate but the irrigation area was always a good place for an evening drive. Much cooler out amongst the fruit orchards, which we call fruit blocks but that is probably a local idiom.
- What do you cherish most about the place you call home?
These days I call Melbourne home having lived here for just over thirty years now. However the one thing I truly miss is the ability to wander out on a summer morning and pick a perfectly ripe peach that’s still cool from the night air. That’s about the only thing. Living in Melbourne is a great joy, it’s a vibrant city. More worldly, great entertainment, world class museum and art galleries, coffee to die for, and many beautiful parks and gardens. One might even say it has some history in its architecture, mostly remnants from the gold rush. There is also starting to be a recognition of Aboriginal culture and heritage, a history that unfortunately has been crushed.
- What ignites your creativity?
That’s a difficult question: in a short bio I say it’s because of the words that float around in my mind. But that is obviously shallow. Not to say I don’t have words or phrases pop up that might spark a poem or story. The truth is I only started writing poetry last year in September. Mainly because we were on a holiday and my wife caught a cold. So instead of wandering alone around the streets of Noosa, I stayed in the resort room and started writing poems. So from there I could say boredom ignited my creativity. Once ignited it’s not boredom now, it’s the joy of writing a piece of art. Being able to encapsulate in very few words an emotion or story. Poetry is painting a picture in words.
- Do you have a favorite word and could you incorporate it into a poetic phrase?
A favourite word, hmm I guess at the moment my favourite word is intersection. That is because everything happens at intersections. It’s also the most frustrating word at the moment because I am trying to write a poem that encapsulates that sentiment.
This one of the poems so far: (there is also another poem but I don’t want to bore readers with a poem that I am not happy with)
CONVERSATIONS
Sounds bloat the air in
Jumbled mumbled cacophony
Roaming to find, not an ear,
But an intersection— a congruence
To parse the bloat and there find
An understanding.
But what if I talk to myself—
Is that an intersection?
Two parts of the mind
In conversation, unless it’s not
That at all.
What about when I write a poem
Is that the same, a written conversation
Waiting for its reading, its intersection.
What if it’s never read?
Or only by an AI engine, the only comfort to a lonely mind.
So what is a conversation
Is it the babble of a baby to its mother
Another type of noise—
A conversational intersection,
Sounds thrust into air seeking
Resonation.
- What is your pet peeve?
I am not content with one peeve, I have two: Peeve one is not being able to write poetry like W B Yeats or poets of that standing. I have written a number of poems on Greek myths, but when compared to say “Leda and the Swan” by Yeats I grumble privately (well publicly in this interview) at my incompetence.
Peeve two is the use of metaphors preceded by like, eg like a piglet roasting on a spit, my apologies if you have written this metaphor. Why is this a peeve, I am not sure perhaps because some poets have whole poems filled with “like…” whereas I desperately try to avoid using that form of metaphor. Mostly successfully, you know, like a wordsmith hammering at his nails, and thereby finding another way of expressing a sentiment.
- How would you describe the essence of Johnch?
Tricky question:
In poetry I want to reach into people’s hearts, to tear them from their chests, and leave them sobbing on the floor. But that is just my poetic ambition.
From Parliament station
A thousand fireflies weave.
One flutters into darkness
A whispered word— breathe…
Generally speaking I believe in kindness and treating people with dignity and respect. Something that world needs a bit more of. Most times I can achieve this aim. Especially since I have become older, which I prefer to the alternative.
It’s been nice talking to you, and a special thank you to the Spillword team for inviting me to this interview.
- Spotlight On Writers – Johnch - June 7, 2025
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