Category: Uncategorized

Journeys – Australian Women in Mexico

Compiled and edited by Ruth Adler, Jacqueline Buswell and 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.

The book is printed in Mexico, and the ebooks are available now from your usual ebook retailers or directly from Riverton Press.

Lucky to be Here: Jack Bewes 463 Lancaster Squadron

Compiled by Lyn McGettigan

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.

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.

Salmons of Ashmont

family memoir by Anita Buswell, 1996, E edition 2020.

Anita Buswell talks 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.

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.