Look and Listen

Biography

Born in the 1950s in east Kent, England, Marlene emigrated to Australia in the 1960s. Apart from spending many years living in and around Sydney she has also lived in rural New South Wales and Queensland. Marlene has worked in managerial roles within the community sector and is a trained psychotherapist with qualifications in liberal arts, and counselling psychology. Marlene has travelled extensively throughout Australia and brings much of her knowledge and love of the country to her writing. Until recently, the focus of her work has been poetry. Things I'm crazy about:- my grandchildren, everyone else, country living [I live in Sydney now but my heart seems to have remained in the country], old things [not just myself], crafts [knitting mainly at the moment] and my cat.

Inspiration

I often find nature very inspiring, rugged mountains, rolling green hills, a thunderstorm and maybe snow. I'm not quite sure how to explain what it is exactly about these things that inspire me, it's a momentary event usually, like a spark that sets off a wildfire of imaginary people, places and happenings. The way the light hits a building in a particular way or the perfume of a particular flower, or maybe just the grass after a rain shower, these things too I often find inspiring.