What I See with Peter Fiorenza: Literary talent of Geraldton’s youth evident in Randolph Stow Awards

I recently had the pleasure of hosting the Randolph Stow Young Writers Awards. The awards have been running since the late 1980s and are a unique showcase of young local literary talent, named in honour of the celebrated Geraldton author. Randolph Stow, or Mick as he was more known to family and friends, grew up in our town and spent a lot of his formative years in the farming surrounds. In the early years of the award and up until his death, Stow, who spent his adult life in England, was kept abreast with its happenings, which he regarded as a delight. To be quite honest, I haven’t even read The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea, one of his most famous works, but I’ve learnt a lot about Mick, where he lived, went to school and chose to spend his days around Gregory, Francis and Shenton streets. I’m also fascinated by Weelaway House, his grandparents’ beautiful home in Gregory Street and, of course, the iconic swing next to the old railway station. As a kid, we used to play on it during hot summers at the front beach, not knowing its significance at all. And it’s this tangibility that makes the awards more than just a local celebration of emerging writing talent — it’s a uniqueness that sets the event apart and puts it in a category all of its own. It was a windy, cold night outside the Queens Park Theatre but inside, the atmosphere was anything but. From poems by primary school students a little over three feet tall to short stories by Year 12s who are university bound, the Randolph Stow awards put a spotlight on some amazing creativity. None more so than a young lady from School of the Air, who bravely read her piece of writing — live — to a packed auditorium. You would have heard a pin drop as those in the audience sat in awe as this pint-sized individual read out aloud with both confidence and poise. There were stories about sport, living in country WA and poems that came straight from the heart. But it was one quiet Year 7 boy who stole the show for me. He wrote an empathetic yet comical account about a cricket match. The story had a tremendous Australiana flavour about it, with reference to cleverly described characters and situations. However, it was all capped off by how he read it, with a stylised voice and passion that would have made Banjo Paterson proud. There is no doubt we live in a town where sport is arguably king, but the Randolph Stow Awards is an event that lifts the lid on so much more. Peter Fiorenza hosts Sports Shed Saturday (9am to noon) and Fiorenza on Sunday (10am to noon) on Radio MAMA