INSPIRE: Poet and author Giles Watson escapes from his world of pain in beautiful wetland of Eungedup

Giles Watson is a teacher, writer and poet and his latest work is a book which transports the reader from everyday life into the wetland around the Wilson Inlet — a secret, nature-infused utopia. He teaches literature at Great Southern Grammar and his latest work, Eungedup: A Wetland Summer Diary, which was launched in Denmark at the RSL club on Wednesday, is available with a handy set of teachers’ notes. It is a mix of poetry and prose that details his delight in the natural world and the importance of wetlands to our ecological system. But while it is clear that the reader can enjoy the wildlife (and learn, pupils, learn), the writing is also a thing of beauty, every word as important to each page as the species, big or small, are to the environmental sanctity of the planet. He could be David Attenborough, seeing wonder at every turn, but he would prefer a comparison with Emily Dickinson, the 19th-century American poet famous for her introspection and on whose style he bases his verse. “I’ve been writing poetry for as long as I can remember, certainly harping back to my teenage years,” Watson said from his parents’ home in Bayonet Head, his own nearby home being under siege from a colony of bees. “I spent 18 years in the UK and there were landscapes, histories and folklore there which I found fascinating. “I came to Eungedup seeking out a special place that would be somewhere I could hold in my heart in the same way. “When I visited, I was just utterly enchanted. “There were dragonflies and a thick tissue of birdsong everywhere I walked. “I knew I would have to write about the place.” The book is a free-form diary with the following extract from December 19, 2022: “A flock of Carnaby’s Cockatoos traverses with cries that seem to etch the sky with echoes – and as the water – thick with writhing tadpoles – wells about my Wellingtons – I feel it welling up within me also – wildness and the wild swift adoration – solitude not solitude but obliteration of every human scheme in the hemmed-in sap-green texture of the reeds.” A stunning verse, where every word is evocative, placing the reader firmly in the wetland, listening intently to the natural drama even as their boots are squelching. Eungedup is a large, freshwater wetland covering about 100ha, a biodiversity hotspot which has been threatened by climate change and human encroachment. Lying between Albany and Denmark, it is home to many priority and endangered species, including the Australasian bittern. It was bought by the Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee in 2023, a cause to which Watson contributed and said was close to his heart. “Wetlands are the kidneys of the land purification system that filter the water before it goes into the inlet, so they are vitally important,” he said. He was so taken when he was there that he recorded a narration on his phone. “I was dictating things like when I saw a tiger snake or a kingfisher,” he said. “Some narrations are word for word in the book, others I considered afterwards. “I saw an Australian bittern — they are so rare — and that moment of excited attraction, although it was just a glimpse, became the fulcrum for the book.” Watson struggles daily with fibromyalgia, a chronic condition causing widespread body pain and fatigue, and said even writing the book was a toil. “I wasn’t feeling very well when I was doing all of this, but it was cathartic, especially in the sense that I could free my mind,” he said. “Occasionally I just hit a brick wall, and there’s not a day goes by when I’m not in a haze of pain at some point. “It’s a constant companion but variable in intensity. “It’s just a thing I am learning to live with, so the natural world is a bit of a solace for me.” He said he was not worried about over-sharing details of his illness, given that he teaches in a local school. “I hope it gets a wide audience — there is personal struggle in the text but not documented in a way I wouldn’t want young pupils to read,” he said. As well as poetry and teaching, he has turned his hand to songwriting and contributed to local musician Simone Keane’s latest album. “I heard her music and loved her expressions and her emotional clarity,” he said. “I wrote to her about co-operating — she wasn’t sure at first — but I sent her something about karri trees in the rain, and it’s on her latest album. “Another track, Ancient Paths, is inspired by some of the ancient routes in Britain.” He’s walking a tricky path himself, given the struggles with his health, but he finds the pain eases when he’s among the bitterns and snakes, the possums and dragonflies. “That there are places like Eungedup,” he said, “gives me this little island of hope.” Eungedup: A Wetland Summer Diary is published by Fremantle Press and is available in bookshops and online.