Bugs and Bliss

A Collection of Contemporary Northern Territory Writing

Northern Territory Writers Publishing Group Inc., 1991, [First Edition], ISBN 064601420X, paperback

Very Good Condition, some edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges, corners and covers, no inscriptions, un-creased spine (see photographs)

“The Northern Territory Writers Publishing Group – an outcome of a series of writers workshops held in Darwin during 1987 – published its first successful collection of contemporary Territory writing, Life Beyond The Louvres, in 1989.
A labour of love for a small group of highly dedicated volunteers, the book left most of that group shaking their heads and saying – “great for the experience but never again!”  Nevertheless, writers around the Territory who say this forum as one of the few for their work believed the venture was worth repeating.  Members of the Jabiru Writer Group consequently moved to take several of the Publishing Group’s executive positions.  From this base has come a unique collaboration between writers in two communities separated by hundreds of kilometres: Darwin and Jabiru.
Publicity through TAFE colleges, community noticeboards, newspaper advertisements, radio promotions, schools and libraries around the Territory resulted in just under 400 submissions.
As you will discover, those poems and prose pieces selected cover a wide range of subjects and styles.  The comprehension in so many of them, of the dualities of Territory life – the isolation as both oppressive and liberating; the impact of nature as both overwhelming and seductive – naturally suggested the collection’s title.
Bugs and Bliss is also a result of the Publishing Group’s ongoing commitment to writing as a community art form.  In this effort we have received valuable support from both the NT Government’s Office of the Arts and Cultural Affairs, as well as Jabiru Arts Council.  We would like to express our grateful thanks to both.”