Antarctic Journeys
Antarctica Writer-on-Ice
by Hazel Edwards, ANARE 2001 writer-on-ice.
Words are a way of coming to terms with the 'awesome' nature of Antarctica, once you've run out of film. Or you have time to think. 'Wintering' or being ice-bound for 18 days provides that time.
Since I was researching my YA eco-thriller 'Frozen Chosen', being ice-bound with Antarctic experts on law, illegal long-line fishing, Patagonian Tooth-fish, blue ice, and ele-seals, as well as polar pilots, diesos and electronic 'Gods' who fixed satellite links for e-mail, was actually a benefit. Bored, they were delighted to talk to an author plot-hunting.
Officially I was researching ice-plays for primary students, doing radio interviews and writing articles for 'The Age' and 'The Canberra Times'. Informally I was learning to navigate Antarctica, via tall stories, interviews and participant-observation of wild life, polar immersion suits, Hagglunds and icebergs. As a children's author, I have an international readership but one which changes every five years, so child readers will learn indirectly about Antarctica, especially if they perform play scripts. Dual value as both actors and audience participate when a play is performed.
Few imagine Antarctica to be a literary haven. Apart from photographic books, 'The Lonely Planet Guide' lists only a few works of fiction inspired by Antarctic settings. Several explorers have published their journals and recently I reviewed for The Sunday Age, 'The Antarctic Dictionary', an amusing and well researched collection. As the designated 2001 author for the ANARE 'humanities berth' on the re-supply ship M/V Polar Bird bound for Casey Station, I hadn't anticipated the range of contributions at the on-board poetry lunch, a VR (virtual reality) book launch or even the number of expeditioners who wanted hints on writing their novel, autobiography, poems or children's stories. I did know about the tradition of winterers' anthologies. All pluses.
On Sunday, Jan 21st, the 15th day of being ice-bound, Voyage 5 expeditioners, on the 'Polar Bird' performed poetry to express their feelings about being be-set. A limerick was the required entry. Parodies were popular, and army psyche Damien's 'Ode to Ice-breaker' was sung to the tune 'Heart-breaker'
Polar Bird, why can't you be an ice-breaker?
Would it help if we got out and pushed?
If ANARE won't send us a proper ice-breaker.
Listen up and I'll tell you what we'll do.
Suddenly I think I've come up with my own plan.
Refloat the Nella Dan.
Henry the Comm God sang the 'Antarctic Blues' with real 'HRRMMPP' sound effects and others joined in.
Yes, I'm going to Antarctica.
Yes, I'm going to Antarctica.
Yes, I'm going to Antarctica (and I'll get there some day)
Now we're still on ice..and Casey's got no food.
Kingston's forgotten us, they're just not in the mood.
The Aurora's conducting science and they just don't care.
It's really sad and I'm so mad, I've really got the blues.
Psychologically, writing can be therapy. After the helicopter crash on board where miraculously no-one had been injured, the wry humour which surfaced during some limericks was laughing 'with' not laughing 'at' the heli-pilot who was still stranded on board and at the poetry lunch. Mike, who was also a pilot,contributed:
A helicopter pilot named John.
Tried to land on the deck, one skid on.
The other skid caused a lift.
The helicopter did flip.
And landed poor John on his scone.
Then there was the Lachie-berg saga. Six year old Lachie had requested that I write an Antarctic story using his name. Seduced by translucent iceberg beauty, and because the guys had jokingly named one the 'Hazelberg' I wrote a story about a jade iceberg. The title was 'Lachieberg'. I checked the facts with the glaciologist onboard and e-mailed it to Lachlan. Mick the barge-driver requested a copy for his niece and offered to trade a beautiful photo of a jade iceberg. Bartering skills is common Down South I learnt. So we did 'find and replace' with his niece's name and changed the pronouns. Then scientist Garry, a fine water colourist offered to paint a jade iceberg as he was going 'stir crazy' while beset, and painted it that morning. Then the requests started. Expeditioners with young children wanted a copy to e-mail with their child's name on. E-mails are vital with Antarctic families and it's important to have news other than 'we're still stuck at such and such degrees.' So I put a male and a female version of the 'ice-berg' story on the communal e-mail computer for downloading. 'Hope my daughter never meets one of the other kids, and they fight about whose story it is,' said the father of 3 year old Grace. Then we had a chat about copyright. (Read more about Hagglunds)
Later I wrote 'Antarctic Dad' which should be available in picture book form later next year.
Next came the VR (Virtual Reality) book launch. My 'Non-Boring Travel Writing' book had been due for publication in Melbourne, but our three ice-bound weeks meant the publishers had a book and no author. So the launch had an author and no book and was launched by Antarctic Co-Operative Research Centre's Dr Julia Green, on board the M/V Polar Bird on Saturday February 3rd at 9.59 am. The timing was crucial, because the ship was still within the 60th parallel which the Antarctic Treaty designates as Antarctica.
Initially the virtual-reality book launch had been planned for the previous Monday, by incoming Casey station-leader Paul Cullen, himself an author and former international hotelier. Ice-bound expeditioners needed distractions but then the ship broke free of the ice, and managed to get though to re supply Casey Station and changeover the winter personnel.
Since the book is concerned with writing in a non-boring way about travel, and the six week Antarctic voyage on the 'Polar Bird' had included a helicopter crash plus being ice-bound for eighteen days, it seemed an appropriate non-boring place for a launch of my 137th book.
My favourite memories include stately icebergs, breaking through the ice-edge into Antarctic proper, the graceful pod of plunging whales and Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' played from the Aurora Australis as the icebreaker cut a path ahead of us amidst surreal icebergs.
Antarctica is a literary haven, but after 18 days beset perhaps writer-on-ice could be renamed writer-in-ice!
