On Rankin Street

(10%) of the hundreds of poems and short stories received are published. The journal is supported by the NSW Ministry for the Arts, The Australia Council for the Arts and Charles Sturt University. Publication in a peer reviewed literary journal of this standard and longevity is a significant outcome.As part of the Charles Sturt University Course Plan, staff is encouraged to 'consolidate the profile of disciplines and fields of study in order to improve the depth of staffing and resources.' Creative arts practice, as a research and teaching strength of my professional profile, is important to the teaching of literacy and literature subjects within the School of Education. It is important to teach writing skills from the perspective of a practitioner.Title of Work: On Rankin Street Reference: Thompson, J. (2004). On Rankin Street. In D. Gilbey (Ed.), fourWfifteen: A collection of poetry and prose (p. 5).Wagga Wagga, NSW: fourWpress. ISSN: 1035-7920Research BackgroundPoetry. This poem was written in Bathurst during sabbatical leave from Lakehead University, Canada. As an expatriated Australian returning after twelve years overseas, I was struck by the number of public domestic disputes I witnessed in this small country town. The poem was an attempt to capture the voices and demeanour of this disaffected family as they trudged past my front window. I was later to learn that the Women's Shelter was in the next block and our street was a thoroughfare. This dispute, unlike the one I witnessed in the post office, was not physically abusive but the involvement of the female child made the scene more devastating. Contrary to expectation the child took her father's part. This made me reflect upon the child's sense of shame rather than the cuckold's concern with infidelity. Research Contribution All creative work is innovative being as it is the synthesis of experience, language, written text, form and expression. The stance of outsider or observer is well documented as a common psychological attribute of writers and poets. This stance is automatic when one lives outside of ones own culture, and even more stark upon returning to a social and cultural setting that is at once familiar and made strange through absence. The poem in a small way contributes to a national literature that is often disrupted by the voice of the 'returning' artist.Research SignificanceFour W is one of the few literary anthologies that have survived to publish both prose and poetry for a national audience. The excellence of quality is evident in the international and regional authors represented in its pages (Sam Wagan Watson, Pat Skinner, Matt Schultz). Submissions are blind reviewed by a panel of writers and only a small nu