Olives: A Recipe Book by Bhavna Khanna

Olives was launched for a second time last week at Opia Cafe and Bar, Clarence Street Sydney (thank you for keeping us topped up with bubbles and for hosting the event so well!) by renowned poet, David Wansbrough.

David entertained the crowds with readings from his forthcoming book of poems Le Pain Quotidien: Poems on the Pleasures of Life (Green Olive Press, July 2011). David recited four poems, each one with a connection to olive oil or olives, including the wonderful 'Extra Virgin' and 'Fragment'.

Extra Virgin

I have sponged spots

off my last atavistic summer suit

and I lament that my last silk tie

may soon be soiled.

I know that I am invisible

to skinny-waisted big-breasted girls,

so I will continue to dip slices

of le pain quotidien,

in extra virgin oil.

Fragment

I am guardian of an Etruscan bowl

with an alternating pattern of olives

and their leaves. Some joys are timeless.

Perhaps a priest used this for libations

to sun and earth.

Or a temple prostitute painted her nipples

with honey from it, and made her body glisten,

and wove olive leaves in braids

with red river wire-of-gold

to sanctify her hair. But I prefer

to think some honest couple, resting from garden tilling,

emptied their baskets

of weeds, and sat in the shade

of trees, and cut hard crusts

and dipped them in a bowl of oil,

and with the contentment we fee now, ate.

Both Olives and Le Pain Quotidien are available to purchase from www.greenolivepress.com

Olives is a limited edition hand-bound, illustrated recipe book. Only 150 copies are being produced.

Writing for your reader

Today I have been writing copy for a funding application. Not only is it imperative to the success of the application that the project I am applying for funding for matches the funding body's criteria, it is also essential that I keep the intended reader in mind.

Here's a list of the things I consider when putting together any copy material:

1. Language - technical or simple; specialist or general. If I am writing for lawyers, it's okay to use legal terms. If I am writing for a layperson, I avoid technical terms.
2. Style - formal or informal. I always consider what the reader will be looking for. Is it okay to address the letter with 'Hi James' or should I address it with a more formal salutation.
3. Length - long or short? How much time will the reader spend reading my material? If they only have five minutes then they are not going to be able to read a 300 page tome. However, if they are assessing a funding application, then I expect they will spend longer than 5 minutes reviewing it. My copy, therefore, needs to be of sufficient length to describe my project whilst not being overly verbose.
4. Structure - there's a lot top be said for the techniques we all learnt at school... Structure your copy with a beginning, middle and end (and if it is long copy, it's okay to have lots of 'middles').
5. Content - before I start writing I always make a list of the items I need to cover. Before writing this piece, I jotted down a list of five headings (language; style; length; structure and content) as I knew that this is what I needed to cover in this blog. I keep a list of notes next to me as I write and cross them off as I cover them.

The other important aspect of any copy - particularly in job applications, funding applications or any material that is designed to persuade people - is the ability to convey passion and conviction without being over the top. I will blog about this soon, but in the meantime, try and think of phrases that people use that annoy you or come across as insincere... you should avoid using such phrases in your own writing.