STORY - "Moving Pictures - And Words"

When poet John O’Callaghan of Charlestown suffered the deaths of both parents and other losses in a short period of time, he couldn’t have envisaged that these trials would have an unexpected, and ultimately positive, impact.

After Darkness, Light, a stunning collection of photographs and poetry, was published to honour his parents, Timothy and Kathleen and also to honour the place of reflection and contemplation in the life of the individual.

“The original vision” says John, “was for people to be sitting on a lounge with a drink, by themselves, having a look at a section, then moving away from the book so they’re reflecting on their own lives, and ultimately about their God.” While the book’s organisation suggests a flow from darkness, through shadow to light, the reader may well choose to navigate his or her own path, or to be led by Stuart Scott’s beguiling black and white photographs.

Many of the images that complement the poems portray familiar landmarks, and indeed it is the ‘localness’ and ‘extraordinary ordinariness’ of the collection that most appeal. John grew up in Merewether and retains a love for the beachside suburb that, not so long ago, was far from a prestigious place to live. As he says, “Even into the 1960s you were looked down upon if you lived at Merewether. St Joseph’s and Holy Family primary schools were established because it was a poor area.”

John is not one of those writers who can’t remember a time when he didn’t write. He isolates clearly the moment when writing became a real choice: “In Year 12 at Marist Brothers Hamilton, Joanne Atkins was teaching us the poetry of TS Eliot, and she read to us ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’. At that time I’d just begun walking around the coast late at night, and I thought, ‘I understand that poem’. It was an incredible moment.” While his own writing did not begin immediately, he has been writing poetry for most of his adult life.

John has been a teacher and a social worker, and currently he’s a pastoral care worker at San Clemente High School. He describes his role there as “all about trust, praying for wisdom and discernment, trying to be there for people without rescuing them.”

His faith is central, and a key motivation for publishing is his lamenting the fact that “Our culture’s becoming a huge shopping centre.” Hence he is offering a ‘coffee table’ book that invites the reader to take time to reflect. “There’s a two-way flow - some will journey into the words through the images and back again.”

John is conscious of the element of exposure involved in publishing what are at times very personal reflections on life. However, he feels strongly that “grief and loss and hope and death and birth and love, all these things everyone experiences but our culture doesn’t talk about most of them.”

Among his poetic influences, as well as Eliot, John numbers Gerard Manley Hopkins, William Cowper, George Herbert and Les Murray. He has often been struck by the creativity that has emerged from suffering, and is convinced that “Poetry is not without a cost.”

John acknowledges the love and support of his wife Kathryn, and daughters Hannah (11) and Grace (8). The importance of family is evident throughout After Darkness, Light, and the poet should have the last word:

The longest journey
On this pilgrim road
Is from our head to our heart…
(- “The Longest Journey”)

After Darkness, Light is available from John O’Callaghan, P 4920 7355 or E johnkathryn0@bigpond.com for $30.00.

Tracey Edstein

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