Releasing my very first book: Paperbark Wetlands

Paperbark Wetlands: Ten Little Multimedia Poems Lyricing the Australian Landscape

Inspired by one of my favourite childhood places, “Paperbark Wetlands” hit me suddenly during my last trip back to Australia in June. Feeling low my feet wandered again to one of those quiet, local places that is always a source of comfort.

Along the black sand trails, wintered by the cold and scattered with the leaves of the melaleucas, I found poems inside the photographs and short videos I was gathering for my blog.

After publishing some of the poems right here on lovethepeopleyoumeet, I thought, ‘why not transform these poems and their photographs into a little book’. Something small enough to read over coffee or in a lunch break. I thought about how many times over the years I had  bought books (both print copies and eBooks) which sat for months or years (or even longer) untouched. I didn’t want my little book to suffer that fate, I wanted it to be not just readable, but finishable.

So over the past three or four months I’ve immersed myself in creating and publishing this compact eBook Paperbark Wetlands: Ten Little Multimedia Poems Lyricing the Australian Landscape which I am offering to you free. I invite you to read it and hopefully finish it.

What is a mulitimedia eBook?

Paperbark Wetlands is a multimedia eBook, and what is that exactly? Well it reads like a coffee table picture book, but instead of being limited to photographs you can interact with the high resolution picture galleries, listen to the sounds of the Australian bush or hear narration (yeh my voice) and commentary. It’s a unique, interactive experience and all of the media (meaning the photos etc) is my own work. Grab a free copy now for iBooks and Kindle or in PDF format.

the Paperbark Wetlands is a little place to get lost in your lunch break

Paperbark Wetlands is my first eBook: a collection of multimedia poetry. I’ve been a reader of traditional poetry for most of my life, yet it is in the writing and construction of my own poems I have moved into multimedia and transmedia forms.

The poems in the book all began differently. Sometimes as I was out strolling headlands in the late afternoon remembering times on the same path when a young girl: poems would emerge days later while journalling. At other times while out bushwalking with purpose in the Australian summer heat, inspired I’d settle under a tree with my notebook and scribble away until ants or unsettling thunderstorms would move me forward to my destination. The poems crafted later in a coffee shop or in the car while that storm hit. At other times I was after a specific photograph for an unrelated task and months later a poem would leap out of the image I was editing. A few of these poems were even written (unplanned) in the author publishing tool as new possibilities in the pictures presented themselves.

But no matter how they emerged, all the poems represent a shift in my thinking toward poetry. For as I began presenting them on my blog, new pieces of media would suggest themselves to me. Like adding little bits of video which felt like tiny poems in themselves.

My shaky-hand iPhone videos, smartphone images, and bedroom recorded narration are all deliberately included to engage a tough 21st century audience with no time and almost infinite competition for their attention. Also I wanted to remain in the poem as if you were right there with me when I wandered the shoreline or my bare feet padded into the forest.

I invite you now to walk with me among the paperbarks and some of the magical places I have happened across during my lonely drives across the Australian landscape.

Mel Irvine
October 2016

PS: Don’t forget if you love it leave some nice feedback, otherwise send me an email with some constructive feedback so I can produce better and better books.

How to get your free copy of Paperbark Wetlands

iOS devices and Mac (free)

Paperbark Wetlands is an interactive experience best viewed on iBooks and Apple devices. Get your free copy from the iBook store now.

Click the iTunes logo to get your free copy of Paperbark Wetlands right now. To help me continue to improve and refine my books, if you loved Paperbark Wetlands please leave a review, otherwise you might send me an email with some feedback or suggestions.

Kindle (Free)

After speaking with the customer service crew, the Amazon store allowed me to offer the book for free. Yay. Works best on Kindle Fire and

Click the Amazon/Kindle logo to get your copy from the Amazon store now. Please note it’s a fairly big file (maybe 300MB) so make sure you are using your mum’s WIFI when you download it.

PDF (free)

Click on any of the links below to download your free PDF eBook. Please note the PDF version does not contain the interactive features like video, image slideshows and narration.

Paperbark Wetlands by Mel Irvine (download high resolution 216 MB)
Paperbark Wetlands by Mel Irvine (download med resolution 38 MB)
Paperbark Wetlands by Mel Irvine (download low resolution 12 MB)