Janine Haig

I began writing poetry as therapy while healing from a bout of depression. It began with deep, dark work and developed into tongue-in-cheek humour. “Victims” were the people around me, often as a form of revenge on someone who had annoyed me in some way. That was nearly 20 years ago.

Although I wrote serious poetry at times, I kept those pieces hidden away at first and only showed the world the humorous ones. It wasn’t until 1998 that I found the courage to actually stand up and perform in front of a crowd. My eldest daughter, Jennifer, has to take the blame for this. Her enthusiasm for the idea carried me along and we headed to Winton, Qld, to see what this Bush Poetry thing was all about. And we were hooked.

Living in the Outback gave me much inspiration – so many odd characters in the real Australian bush, so many simple stories to be told, so many people to laugh at.

All these years later I am still battling with bi-polar disorder and still finding my chosen therapy is what pulls me through the rough times. Bush Poetry is intertwined with the poets I have met who have become friends in that time. I have been able to travel more than I would have without my poetry.

Winning competitions has been the icing on the cake. Unexpected, always.
Someone asked me once how long I would continue writing and performing. My answer – when it ceases to be fun. So far, so good.

Janine Haig's poem Not Gone

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