natalie Damjanovich-napoleon
WRITER - POET - MUSICIAN
praise for if there is a butterfly...
“The metaphorical resonance of butterfly and its tears takes on a haunting significance against the backdrop of rising walls and environmental degradation.”
- Ellie Fisher, Arts Hub
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“No one, though, could accuse Damjanovich-Napoleon of reducing motherhood to sentimental Hallmark moments. These poems chart the complexity of motherhood: articulating its frustrations and challenges as much as its rewards and joys.”
- Miriam Wei Wei Lo, Rochford Street Review
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“This is a must-read for those who study the poetic form and who love the art of language.”
- Karen Richards, Spill the Tea Book Reviews
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“Of woman, for women. Natalie Damjanovich-Napoleon’s words and phrases, settle light as butterfly on the page, and yet are utterly grounded in the reality of motherhood: the grief, pain, the suffering, the complete love. This is a heartbreakingly beautiful collection. A joy to read.”
- Carolyn Abs, Poet and Educator
“These poems sing an incantation of endurance across the trajectory of a woman's life. The words ring like anthems full of beautiful phrases that linger long after reading.”
- Josephine Clarke, Poet
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about
Natalie Damjanovich-Napoleon (D-Napoleon) is a poet, songwriter and educator from Walyalup/Fremantle, Western Australia.
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She is the winner of both the Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize and Katharine Susannah Prichard Poetry Prize, shortlistee for the Peter Porter Poetry Prize and a two-time finalist for the Penelope Niven Prize in Creative Nonfiction. Her debut book of poetry, First Blood, was published by Ginninderra Press in 2019 and her second book, If There is a Butterfly That Drinks Tears, is out now via Gazebo Book’s poetry imprint, Life Before Man Books.
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Natalie's work has been published in various anthologies, journals, and periodicals including Cordite, Antipodes, The Australian, Westerly, Entropy, Griffith Review, StylusLit, Meanjin, Southerly, and Australian Poetry Journal. Natalie is also a singer-songwriter who has toured Australia, Europe and the United States and her 2021 album, You Wanted To Be The Shore But Instead You Were The Sea reach #1 on the Australian Independent Albums chart.
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She recently completed a doctorate in erasure poetry and forgotten histories at Edith Cowan University.
anthologies
publicationS
*82 Review | Antipodes Journal | AMWP | Australian Book Review | Australian Poetry Anthology |
Australian Poetry Journal | Backstory Journal | Bukker Tillibul | Blue Bottle Journal | Cordite | Fem Static Zine |
Found Poetry Review | Ginninderra Press | Griffith Review | Gunpowder Press | Hecate Journal |
Mascara Literary Review | Meanjin | Mona Magazine | Rabbit Poetry Journal | Recent Work Press | Red Room Poetry | Right Now | Solo Nova Press | Southerly | St. Martin's Griffin | StylusLit | The Manifest Station | The Weekend Australian (Review) | Tincture Journal | Unlost Journal | WA Poets Press | Westerly Magazine | Writers Digest
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australian WRITING RESOURCES LIST
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A list compiled by Natalie and provided to you for free in the spirit of paying it forward.
(Please acknowledge any copyrighted use of this list.)
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Natalie's work was recently featured on NPR's The Great American Folk Show. Listen here:
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erasure poems published in journals
I Gave My Best Years To Australia, Red Lessons, Slavs Sing, Yugoslav Liner in Kalliope X |
Only One Bullet, Shot by Guard: Palimpsest, The Domination of Watched Men in Axon |
Axe Marks in Tree Trunks in Westerly | Weaving them Home - StylusLit | Marry Right Man Mary in Cordite | Immigration Triction in Australian Book Review | No Moon and Salt in Rabbit | Singing Statistics from Rottnest Island (Wadjemup) (1915) in StylusLit | 4 Poems in Axon | Interrupted in Cordite
natalie discusses erasure poetry on the poets' corner podcast
PRESS
The messiness of motherhood in Damjanovich-Napoleon's hands thrives on and creates energy.
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As a body of work, If There is a Butterfly That Drinks Tears deserves respect, and beyond that, it's a truly entertaining book.
HEATHER TAYLOR-JOHNSON
Events
Croatian Women's Stories:
Poetry Reading & Writing Workshop with
Natalie Damjanovich-Napoleon
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Proudly supported by the WA Government
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Join Natalie, award-winning poet and writer, for a poetry reading and writing workshop where she will bring to life stories from her latest project, Axe Marks in Tree Trunks, a docu-poetry project chronicling the lives of Croatian immigrant women. The reading will be followed by a writing workshop where Natalie will guide attendees through the process of putting their own stories and history on the page.
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Saturday, 8th November​​​
10am - 12pm
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Spearwood Dalmatinac Club
42 Azelia Rd, Spearwood WA 6163
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Writing to the Ancestors:
Writing Workshop with Natalie Damjanovich-Napoleon​
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Proudly supported by the WA Government
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Saturday, 15th November
10am - 12.30pm
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Museum of the Goldfields
17 Hannan St, Kalgoorlie WA 6430
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The stories of those in our family who came before us are a rich vein to explore through either oral history, family myth or factual research. In this workshop we will explore creating writing based on your own ancestor’s stories. With several poems published which engage with the stories of her ancestors and community, Natalie will use this experience to lead writers to create their own ethical stories. Creative writers are encouraged to bring in old family photos and documents to provide inspiration for writing exercises - don’t worry if you don’t have photos or documents as we’ll have prompts too! We will engage with photos, letters, documents and prompts to inspire our writing.​
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