sprinting on quicksand, a book of poetry by Jacqueline Buswell, appeared in 2020. It is Jacqueline’s second volume of poems and her themes include biography, social commentary, a Japanese travelogue and reflections on art.

Jacqueline Buswell is a poet with a strong Irish background, a nomadic mind and sharp eyes and ears. This collection is written in a wide range of tones and forms, offered to the reader in precise language and dynamic cinematic narratives. A very sincere desire for a world of love and justice runs through her poems. 

Me in the Middle, our first book of poetry by Anita Buswell, was published in January 2018. These are selected poems written over more than 60 years by Anita Buswell, who lived in the Riverina, NSW. Her poems, in rhyme, free verse and other forms, cover life stories, reflections on family and spiritual matters. The illustrations are by Denise McKenzie.

Anita Buswell was 94 at Christmas time in 2016 when she told her family she regretted that she had never published a book of her poetry. The family saw no reason why it had to remain that way, and now that book is available in print and electronic versions.

Lucky to be Here: Jack Bewes 463 Lancaster Squadron

Jack Bewes wrote a memoir “Lucky to Be Here” about his experiences as a bomb aimer on Lancaster planes in World War 2. His daughter Lyn has taken Jack’s memoir, logbooks, diaries, newspaper clippings and correspondence to tell a story of war as seen through the eyes of young men who flew together and saw their mates killed.These carefree, fun-loving boys of about 22 used black humour and understatement to see them through this job. They had to regard it as a job, one that involved the death of so many – enemies and friends alike. They came home as men – often misunderstood and labelled “war neurotics”.

Lyn shows war from a personal perspective, the black humour, the mateship, the acceptance of a life that you were only sure you had today.

Journeys – Australian Women in Mexico

Compiled & edited by Ruth Adler, Jacqueline Buswell & Jenny Cooper

Our latest release has a Mexican flavour, it is a collection of stories, poems, song lyrics and reflections from Australians in Mexico. The book began as a passing idea in a casual conversation a few years ago and became a reality especially thanks to the constant dedication over all that time by two of its editors, Jenny Cooper and Ruth Adler.

Some of the 13 contributors lived in Mexico for a long time, some still live there, others visited once or several times. They vary in age and in their motives for travelling to Mexico;  their writings span a period of 50 years since the 1970s. One set up a business, another established a refuge and surf project for children in the southern state of Chiapas; another undertook gender transition between her visits and so experienced the country from two different gender perspectives.  Our contributors include academics and poets, a diplomat, a singer, a model, and women who went to Mexico to accompany or meet a partner.

The Australian Embassy in Mexico made a welcome donation for the book design and printing costs. Riverton Press is very happy to say this is our first book made in Mexico! We  warmly thank the contributors and the designer, Ricardo Gallardo Sanchez, of Mutare Editorial & Communications in Mexico City.

Salmons of Ashmont, by Anita Buswell, tells about her family as she was growing up. The memoir covers several decades of the 20th century in rural New South Wales, as seen through the eyes of one of the younger members of a large family.

Ashmont was the name of the land where the family led by James and Mary Ann Salmon lived from around 1922. Then on the outskirts of Wagga Wagga, NSW, it is now part of a suburb in that city. James and Mary Ann had 10 children and this book tells of their personalities, interests and conflicts and the financial difficulties faced during the Depression years.

In telling the stories of each of 10 children and their parents, Anita Buswell shows how rural New South Wales changed during the first half of the 20th century. The children went to school on horseback, by horse and sulky or on bicycles. Dad finally bought a car for his eldest daughter. Family pastimes included exploits on horses, flying lessons, violin classes, singing and dancing, bush poetry. The book includes photos of family members and their beloved horses, and the cover drawing by Denise McKenzie is based on iconic family imagery.

Anita Buswell wrote and published this book in 1996 and held a memorable book launch at the time. Anita did not intend the book solely for family members, as she was well aware that her stories are relevant for the local history of rural Australia.

It is available only as ebook.

The Legend of Busby by Vittoria Pasquini is also published as La Leggenda di Busby.

Riverton Press has published the books in two languages, the English version has been translated from the Italian by Gino Moliterno.

Pasquini’s memoir, written in the third person, is a journey inward, a journey through the rooms of the sandstone house, a non-linear telling of life experiences. We move around Rome, Nairobi, Sydney and Canberra via the table of family and guests, an unloved laundry, a shared bathtub. It’s a generous table.  As Filippo la Porta says in his introduction, “a cosmopolitan space where diversity is fraternally welcomed”.

The narrator’s style is poetic, meditative. The woman has lost two husbands, and is always self-questioning, always full of ideas and initiative. This is biography, memoir, family story, and explores the complexities of life for people who move from one country to another.

La leggenda di Busby di Vittoria Pasquini è anche pubblicato in inglese come The Legend of Busby.

Riverton Press ha dato alla stampa il libro in due lingue, la versione in inglese è stata tradotta dall’ italiano da Gino Moliterno.

Il memoir di Vittoria Pasquini, scritto in terza persona, è un viaggio interiore, un percorso attraverso le stanze del suo “castello di sabbia”,  un racconto non lineare delle sue esperienze di vita.

Ci si muove da Roma, a Nairobi, a Sydney, a Canberra, ci sono le tavole da pranzo di famiglia, gli ospiti, una lavanderia poco amata, una vasca da bagno condivisa. È una casa ospitale. Come dice nella sua introduzione Filippo La Porta “ è uno spazio cosmopolita dove la diversità è accolta fraternamente”.

Lo stile della scrittrice è poetico, meditativo. La donna ha perso due mariti, si fa sempre molte domande, è sempre piena di idee e di iniziative.

Questa è una biografia, un memoir, una storia di famiglia, che esplora la complessità della vita di coloro che si spostano da un paese all’altro.

No Way Back: Revolution and Exile, Russia and Beyond by Nathalie Apouchtine spans three generations, three continents and nearly 100 years. Her family left Russia following the 1917 Revolution, some travelled alone, some in groups, many lived in France, very few of them ever returned to Russia. But some of their descendants did, including Nathalie, who has done magnificent research to document the personal telling of her family’s story amid the historical events they witnessed and experienced.

The book includes a photo section where we see the continuity of life: men of one generation dress in military great coats with medals, while the migrating younger generations wear simple worker’s garb, and later, the family finally puts down roots in new lands. As with refugees everywhere, this is no small achievement.

A story of exile and migration, one that continues to resonate in today’s troubled world.