Art: A City for All by Aphrodite Lutz
BEFORE THE PARTY
It must have just stopped raining
When we arrived. The road, licked for hours
By the quiet slap of countless passing tyres,
Gleamed blackly under the streetlamps
Like wet liquorice. We sat for a moment
Watching the mist descend
Cobwebbing the edges of trees and hedges,
The silver turning of a leaf in the damp air,
And the tenting of the telegraph wires
Carrying beads of water like fairy lights
Backlit by the moon.
Feeling privileged to witness
This heady scene, we realised
(as car doors slammed and gravel crunched)
That our reason for having driven here
Was, for a moment, quite forgotten.
About the author:
Denise O’Hagan is an editor by trade. Born and raised in Italy, she lived in the UK before emigrating to Australia in 1990. She holds an MA in Bibliography and Textual Criticism, and worked in book publishing in London (Collins, Heinemann, Routledge) and Sydney (Harcourt Brace, Cambridge University Press, State Library of NSW). In 2015 she set up her own imprint, Black Quill Press, to assist independent writers.
She has written fiction (short stories, Papyrus Publishing) and poetry. Her published poems include: ‘And the nuns wore lipstick’, ‘Honolulu breakfasts’, ‘I am lucky’ (New Reader Magazine, 2018 (https://www.newreadermagazine.com/ issue 2) and ‘Now he is here’ (Other Terrain Journal, 2018 http://www.otherterrainjournal.com.au/issues/issue-five/now-he-is-here ). ‘And the nuns wore lipstick’ was also discussed at Sydney’s Speakers’ Corner. ‘Recalling Sarah’ is due to be published by Pink Cover Zine this October and is shortlisted for the ACU Poetry Prize 2018. Her favourite poet, and the biggest influence on her, is Seamus Heaney. Website: Black Quill Press.
Art: A City for All by Aphrodite Lutz
In the artist’s words:
Completely self-taught, I grew up in Athens, Greece, and spent my summers in Palm Beach, FL – where I now live with my husband and daughter. Discouraged at a young age by my art teachers with comments such as “you are not doing it right,” or “this is not how your drawing should be,” I shut that creative door for many years. Now, after managing two successful businesses in marketing I began reinventing myself at age 40. I started painting as a new years resolution and was amazed at the power of my creative energy. I’m insanely motivated, I have the confidence now, and no one will tell me off anymore. Aphrodite Lutz, 2019
