General News
26 October, 2022
Finding breathing space
TWO writers have found “space to breathe” as the newest artists in residence at the Commercial Hotel in Terang.
TWO writers have found “space to breathe” as the newest artists in residence at the Commercial Hotel in Terang.
Commercial Hotel proprietor Les Cameron launched the concept with the intention of stirring creativity as artists immerse themselves in their work.
For Melbourne author Jim McIntyre the program provided an opportunity to work on his next venture while embracing what he had previously created; ‘Nikolai the Perfect’.
Mr McIntrye said he quickly gravitated towards the vision of finding kindred spirits through the artist in residence program when he first reached out to Mr Cameron.
“I always thrive being around other writers, other free spirits,” he said.
In shared respect, Mr Cameron had been captivated not only by the quality of Nikolai the Perfect but the compelling story behind the book’s origins.
Nikolai the Perfect had been in development for more than three decades.
It started as a short story which won a number of prizes, during which time a judge stated it read like an excerpt from a much larger work.
“I thought I might be on to something so I persisted, and gradually got more serious,” Mr McIntyre said.
The dedication to develop the short story in to a novel paid off, with Nikolai the Perfect earning recognition as a runner up in the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award in the unpublished manuscript category.
The book finished joint-runner up in the award behind Jane Harper’s ‘The Dry.’
The Dry would go on to become a critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller before being adapted to the big screen starring Eric Bana, and launching Harper to international recognition.
“I thought finally I’ve arrived, but it wasn’t so,” Mr McIntyre said.
“There was a flurry of interest between publishers and agents (for Nikolai the Perfect), and one by one they basically didn’t think it was going to sell enough.”
One person who did have faith in the novel was acclaimed writer-turned-publisher, Jen Hutchison, who ultimately published Nikolai the Perfect through her company Journeys to Words in late 2020.
But the adulation of opportunity quickly turned to a new heartbreak.
“There was an uncharacteristic silence from Hutchison, and she texted me at the start of July,” Mr McIntyre said.
“She’d had leg pain and went to the doctor, and found she had aggressive, late stagebone cancer.
“She said her future was looking limited, and sure enough she was gone within a month.”
At Ms Hutchison’s instruction, her estate informed Mr McIntyre she had 400 unreleased copies of Nikolai the Perfect in storage which he could purchase for $5 each.
When Mr McIntyre told his story to Mr Cameron, he pitched an idea to give the book its due.
A one-man book shop at the Commercial Hotel, retailing only the 400 copies of Nikolai the Perfect which its author had reclaimed.
“When Les first told me I thought it was hilarious, and I still think it’s hilarious,” Mr McIntyre said.
“But then I thought why not?
“It’s that or landfill. So here I am.”
Joining Mr McIntyre at the Commercial Hotel is screenwriter and comedian Gavin Ingham, who became interested in the artist in residence program after reading a story published last year in The Age.
He visited Terang for a few days soon after and said he was “struck by the town”.
“I just had an inkling,” Mr Ingham said.
“I felt this could be a place with a genuine vision for artists to come, to create, to havea space.”
Mr Ingham said he knew having space and time could facilitate larger works, and “couldn’t be wasted on something frivolous”.
As projects in Melbourne began to take off with COVID restrictions lifting, he delayed a stay in Terang to ensure his timing was optimal to dedicate himself to a larger artistic vision.
“It feels like there’s a lot of short-term projects happening, it’s a good and a weird vibe in Melbourne, so people are trying to do as many gigs as possible because it feels like we’ve all come through a kind of near-death experience,” Mr Ingham said.
“But for me there’s been a fall back from what feels a little chaotic, so sitting down to have time to create a bigger project rather than just doing a five-minute gig can be hard to find.
“It’s a little reactive to some degree, and not having the space and time to breathe, sit down and create a bigger project which requires artistic struggle.
“It’s good to come out to Terang, to have some of that space, even for a week here or there; there’s nothing like going somewhere else to get a bit of perspective on the day-to-day hustle and bustle.”