Calling all writers of stories, scripts and poems. It’s time to start writing so you can send us your best fiction on the theme of storm.
Storms trigger visceral reactions in us — our vulnerability in the face of something more powerful. Our strength to keep going in the face of adversity. Admiration of wild beauty. Community spirit.
As a child the intermittent flashes of light and the crescendoing booms as thunder moved closer terrified me. My nan told a story about a lightning bolt that came in through the window of a farm house and rolled around the floor. Rain brought the spiders in too and there was much angst and action whenever a large huntsman was spotted on one of our walls.
On Christmas day 1974 after lunch we gathered in the lounge room to distribute presents and images of the devastation left by Cyclone Tracy filled the black and white TV screen.
On holiday in Majorca I was woken from an afternoon siesta, when an explosion shook me awake. It was lighting – out of the blue, almost cloudless sky which had struck a tree and killed several people out for a day at the beach.
In Melbourne a hail storm struck suddenly when I was out walking with my daughter. We sheltered as best we could at a covered tram stop, my body shielding her, as big balls of ice smashing around us. When it eased momentarily we dashed into a surf shop.
Part of our idea of storm is formed by imagined constructs. The twister that transported Dorothy to Oz, the haunted storms of Wuthering Heights, the magic of Prospero, the playfulness of Ariel, the storminess of Caliban and so many more.
The winning entries of Minds Shine Bright Storm writing competition will together create their own literary storm.
Photograph by Lily Mulholland.
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Here on the north coast of NSW any storm means rain, and we’re all afraid of rain. During the drought and the enigma and sight of the bush fires destroying our hinterland we prayed for rain. Now we all pray that it won’t rain.
Thank you Lily for the beautiful storm photos.
They are wonderful to behold.