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22 Be: Well Read Good Will Reading CQUniversity has joined with libraries across Australia in a national campaign to highlight the great things that are happening around books, reading and literacy; and in this edition of Be editor Priscilla Crighton speaks with well-known and much-loved Australian actor, author and patron of the 2012 Year of Reading William Mcinnes about his first experiences with reading and his growing love of the written word. WIN A SIGNED COPY Be magazine is giving you the chance to win a signed copy of William’s new book Worse Things Happen At Sea. In 25 words or less, tell us why you love reading. Email your entry to be@cqu.edu.au before 30th June, 2012 to be in with a chance. View the eight titles in the National Year of Reading 2012 Collection at Be Extras. www.be.cqu.edu.au ISSUE 13
23 Q What are your earliest memories of reading? A I think at about three I was impressed by Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Look I don’t know, I can vaguely remember a book about a couple of rabbits running from a band of gypsies. They had a friendly donkey and a carrot on a fishing line. I know I liked Digit Dick on the Barrier Reef. There were a lot of Little Golden Books like Lil Toot about a tug boat. That’s when I was quite small. Q Did you have a favourite book or author as a child? A I quite liked the Smocker books which was a series about a smart alec cat. But I think my favourite book would have been Treasure Island by R L Stevenson. Had it all, pirates, treasure and when I think about it quite a lot about loyalty and friendship and childhood; about growing up and time passing. Q When was the first time you put pen to paper to write? What was your first piece? A It would have been a birthday list. I probably wanted a GI Joe doll. I think something at primary school about my holiday or some such blather would have been my first proper writing. Q Remembering back to your time here at CQUniversity as a student, did reading/writing play a big part in your life? [William studied an Arts degree in Rockhampton in the mid 1980s] Or, like many young people, was university a time of ‘maturing’? A My time at CQUni was a hoot. I wrote articles for a campus newspaper called Four Wind and almost all of them were made up, so I guess a lot of the time was taken up with writing. As for maturing, well I am still a work in progress. I know at uni a lot of creative thought went into partying and use of recreational substances for societal research purposes. Q As an adult, what do you love about reading and the art of writing? A Reading is something that allows you to give yourself an escape from life or to immerse yourself in it more. Reading lets you know that you are never alone wherever you may find yourself. It helps you understand where you’ve been, where you are and where you may be headed. It’s also a lot of fun. Writing? Well writing is a lot of hard work for a pathologically lazy man like me so the big plus is just telling a story. That is why I do it I think – to tell stories and hopefully have people read and enjoy them. “READING LETS YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE NEVER ALONE WHEREVER YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF.” Q Now as an author, what do you hope your readers take away from your writing? A I’d like to think people would come away from reading something I’ve written with a bit of enjoyment really. And not be narked off with whatever amount of money they have parted with to read what it is I have written. Q Is there a link between what you do as an actor and as an author – just different means of storytelling? A Acting is a group project, although most actors probably think they are the centre of whatever is going on. It’s fun being a part of a team of people. Sometimes it can be a bit of a bore, but then that’s the plus of writing. Writing is a case of being on your own by and large. If you don’t write, you’ve got nothing. Both things are a way of storytelling and that is the key to enjoying them I think. Q Can you tell us about your new book Worse Things Happen At Sea? What do you hope people learn from reading it? A Worse Things Happen at Sea is a book about people sharing a life together and starting a family and living a life. That means, lots of things I suppose, but it is definitely not a guide to living a life the William McInnes way or some ghost-written misery tomb. It’s a book that I hope people may recognize a bit of their own stories in and a way of celebrating that idea that life is always a glass half full proposition. In his first book A Man’s Got to Have a Hobby, William wrote about family life in the 1960s. Worse Things Happen At Sea does the same for family life in the 2000s. Written by William and his late wife Sarah Watt, who passed away in November 2011, it’s portrayed in a way that many Australians can relate to and enjoy. The book celebrates the wonderful, messy, haphazard things in life – bringing home babies from hospital, being a friend, a parent, son or daughter, and dog obedience classes. It's about living for 20 years in the family home, raising children there, chasing angry rabbits around the backyard and renovations that never end. It is also about understanding that sometimes you have to say goodbye; that is part of life too. The book has been illustrated throughout with Sarah’s photographs of family life and beautiful, everyday objects. Worse Things Happen At Sea recently took out the award for best non-fiction book by Australia’s independent booksellers. INSET PHOTO: HATCHETTE AUSTRALIA ISSUE 13
Page 1 and 2: WHAT YOU ARE. WHAT YOU CAN BECOME I
Page 3 and 4: Be: Contents 3 26 With the trademar
Page 5 and 6: Be: Calendar 5 FOR MORE DETAILS AND
Page 7 and 8: 7 KOALA SIGHTINGS Koala hot and col
Page 9 and 10: 9 ART COLLECTION Jon Cattapan | Ope
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Page 13 and 14: Be: Committed 13 PHOTO:PETERY WALTO
Page 15 and 16: Be: Challenged 15 Helping Hands Nur
Page 17 and 18: 17 GETTING A CHECK UP We checked a
Page 19 and 20: 19 Circle of Friendship by Kerry Re
Page 21: 21 For those of you who enjoy the h
Page 25 and 26: Science and technology Apart from t
Page 27 and 28: 27 Gustavo-Falciroli-vs-Soo-Chul-Ki
Page 29 and 30: Be: Engaged 29 Read, write and twee
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