Jo Eshuys

Words…. slippery things that won’t stay still….little nuggets that punch you in the gut…..long squirmy worms that confuse your brain…..but… if we can just hold them still, listen to their sound, grasp their meaning, then our world opens and blossoms into stories and poems and sayings that lift our spirits, make us laugh or cry, hungry to see how the tale ends…that is the power of words.

I first realised this when, as a child, I wrote a story from the point of view of the race horse, Hi Jinx, winning the Melbourne Cup. No one expected him to win. It was a sad story because, although he had won, he still felt alone in his stable while all the humans were celebrating. My parents were so enamoured with the story they showed it to all our neighbours. It was then I came to realise that people liked stories filled with emotion and drama. It taught me the power of words. It taught me to share.

Later, my career as a writer was very different… books filled with facts for students and teachers. It taught me a lot…keep the language clear, easy to follow, precise, transparent words. The words were the means to get facts or ideas across….not much interest in the words themselves. The interest (if there is any interest in text books at all) was in the information… whether it was about the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the killer whales of Antarctica, a gold medal winner in the Olympics, or a volcano in Pompei. Not much chance to catch and tame slippery words.

However, one text book, The Power of Poetry, made me feel once again the power of words themselves… the rhythm and flow of feelings and ideas, lifting and making stories live again. And so, teaming up with illustrator, Craig Jackson, it brought me back to the world of storytelling for all ages: the poignant love story of Fire & Water, the adventures of Harpo and Boo, the frightening journey of Marley and the Magic Stone, and more. They’re all about human emotions and how we deal with them as children, teenagers and adults.

I love grappling with the words… sometimes they run amok like a bolting racehorse, other times they slide perfectly into place like a key in a lock, or rest quietly purring like a kitten on your lap. My granddaughter constantly feeds me little scenarios for stories. I play with the words, over and over, until they finally stay still and the story is born. I hope you like them.