I have some exciting news, my friends.
Deep in the heart of another Victorian lockdown (can’t remember which one, all a blur) I was contacted online by Margin Alexander who is an international composer, currently based in New York. He had come across one of my old poems via Instagram and it had inspired him to write a song, and he was wondering if he could use it for a concert in Manhattan. Now, I have to be honest, I was in the midst of homeschooling a 9 & 7 year old, caring for a 4 year old who couldn’t go to kinder, trying to do a PhD, finish my poetry manuscript, plan my post PhD career, run my holiday business through covid, renovate an early Victorian home and just generally survive, so I thought this must, surely, be a scam.
But it wasn’t, and I’m thrilled to announce that my poem has been turned into a beautiful piece of music which will debut this week in New York. My words will be read by an actor, and I’ll get the chance to watch online. Tickets are available here
Melissa Watts 
OMG, this is fabulous Melissa—your very own example of inspiring ekphrasis. Congratulations. I hope to hear your song.
Dare I ask how the PhD is going?
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Thanks Angela, I’m pretty excited by it all.
The PhD is progressing as well as it can be with home schooling! I’m spending this school holidays marking up my printed manuscript, getting it ready for another supervisor read through.
I’ve also been selected as a Ballarat Arts Foundation mentee for 2021, so I’m fine tuning a poetry manuscript as well. My mentor is also a PhD supervisor, so she keeps me focused by asking me if I am working on both projects, not just the fun stuff!
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Excellent news- well done.
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DH, you have been on my list of people to email. I hope you are well. I will send an email soon, I’ve been working on a poetry manuscript!
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DH, you have been on my list of people to email. I hope you are well. I will send an email soon, I’ve been working on a poetry manuscript!
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This is wonderful. Congratulations! Good on you for putting it out to the world!
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Thanks Suzanne. I just decided the old work was doing nothing in the cupboard!
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Did the event actually happen?
I’ve also been contacted my Margin as he was inspired by one of my paintings. Can I confirm it was a real event? Did he get you to buy a ticket also? So many scammers out there, it’s so hard to tell. Would appreciate your feedback 🙏🏻.
Thank you
Michelle
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Hi Michelle,
Yes it did happen. But I didn’t mention it too much before hand because I was worried that it was a scam too. I have been meaning to link to it on here, you can find the recording on YouTube I think. And Margin did actually take the time to understand my work. I was worried he wouldn’t because it’s very feminist and Australian, but he did.
Hope that helps ☺️
Melissa
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