Nearly a decade since the release of his last book, Moree's own poet and Australia's favourite yarnspinner Murray 'Muz' Hartin has just released his latest 'best-of' collection of poems and columns featuring some brand new yarns.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This latest offering, Fair Crack of the Whip, was released just before Christmas and in true Muz style is a collection of totally Aussie, character-filled stories which promises to have readers laughing one minute and choking back tears the next - "but mostly you'll be laughing - a lot".
"It's a good dunny book," Muz laughed.
"You can read it in blocks, which makes it a book you can go back to."
Fair Crack of the Whip is a collation of Muz's best heart-warming and hilarious yarns, including his most well-known poems - his career-making Turbulence about the late great Alice Springs' cattleman Billy Hayes and the haunting Rain from Nowhere about drought and depression which is now as relevant as ever.
READ MORE:
It also features a collection of the columns Muz wrote for the Moree Champion, Northern Daily Leader, Newcastle Herald and The Border Mail during his years as a journalist in the late '90s and early 2000s.
"I worked out I wrote 170 columns when I was working in newspapers," Muz said.
"They were about little stories that would have been in the news, things I thought deserved more comment. So I'd write an 800-word column."
There's also some never-before-published new material including a tribute poem for mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who played a role in the creation of Muz's latest book.
Fair Crack of the Whip is Muz's fifth book, but his first launched with a publisher.
He wasn't planning on putting together another book anytime soon as he didn't have enough material to "justify" it, however a chance meeting with publisher Michael Wilkinson at the launch of Gina Rinehart's book, Things we Love (which includes Muz's poem Rain from Nowhere), resulted in a book deal and a book six months later.
Fair Crack of the Whip was published on December 2 and is currently available for purchase online and at a number of bookstores, as well as at various locations around Moree, including Wise Words Bookshop, Sullivans Newsagency, Balo Square Newsagency, The Royal Hotel and Agriware.
Moree Golf Club is hosting a book launch and signing at 7pm this Saturday, January 11. All are welcome to come along, pick up a signed copy of the book, get together with mates and have a laugh while listening to Muz spin some of his classic yarns, including The Legend of Bobby McGee which mentions a few local golfers.
Muz will also be doing a book launch in at the Pirates Rugby Club in Tamworth on January 25 during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, which launched his poetry career back in 1987.