You may be wondering what this is and indeed I have been rather quiet about it. For years I wrote poems, more than a thousand. By the time I was ready to consider publishing, poetry was being dropped off the submission lists. The message that went around was that no one bought poetry. So the project was shelved.
History repeats itself
In 2019 the first real interview with my mother, Sally, was released in a podcast “A Perfect Storm: The true story of the Chamberlains” by John Buck. My parents rarely speak about when we met the Chamberlain family at Uluru on 17 August 1980. The event is too painful and reminds them that it could have been us.
Expression in the form of words
My parents have always loved my poetry. For years I thought they were being completely bias. After all, isn’t that what parents do? I sent off some poems to John Buck who said I should publish them. It’s been almost forty years since I met Azaria. There comes a time when all that grief needs be let go. The book of poems has helped my parents talk about that day.
Azaria Poems
The book contains ten photos taken by my father on 17August 1980, and fifty poems about Azaria. These describe people, events and some of the emotions that went with it. The poems are quite personal and I have thought long and hard about publishing them. It is time for forgiveness and it is time to acknowledge the grief and loss of a beautiful baby.
Chantelle Griffin 