DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME? By CULTURE CLUB Story by Rijn Collins
I hung out at punk squats with pet rats and drum kits. The black lipstick wasn’t a success, but then, is it ever?
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? by THE CLASH Story by Rijn Collins
If you can mark your steps in the grooves of your favourite records – and we can, of course – then there will always be those songs that guide you in your leaps of faith until you land, safe and sure footed, on the other side.
A certain song by Van Morrison. Story by Rijn Collins
With a scowl that could scorch the tops of crème brûlée, I would stalk through the bar to the alleyway to glower outside until the song ended. Even the rotting potato peels and pools of stale beer were preferable to hearing it again.
Lit Fest ’18 – Rijn Collins in concert
Rijn Collins has been part of our concerts since we started in 2014, and will be at our Williamstown Literary Festival show on Saturday 16 June, followed by the Glen Eira Story Telling Festival on Friday 29 June.
DEEP RED BELLS by NEKO CASE Story by Rijn Collins
My heart hurts as we head towards Port Arthur. So much can depend on one moment; the café we walk into, the car that stops. And as we drive, I tell you about my moment.
EVERYTHING GONNA BE ALRIGHT by BIG MAMA THORNTON Story by Rijn Collins
In 2014 I applied for a one-month writing residency in Ólafsfjörður, a remote Icelandic fishing village near the Arctic Circle. To my shock, I was accepted within the week.
CRAWLING KING SNAKE by ETTA JAMES Story by Rijn Collins
I think of my past snakes, all those blue eyes and banjos over the years, the late night knocks and needs that kept my heart shielded and my eyes always on the door.
Undertow by Leonard Cohen
Rijn Collins Melbourne, 2016 I know little about Cohen, but I’m learning about you. You tell me a story as we drive, and I turn towards you, my hands out to catch the falling words.
Everything You Can Think Of Is True by Tom Waits
In April this year Rijn Collins won the New York-based Sarah Award For Audio Fiction, for her story Almost Flamboyant. The piece, inspired by Tom Waits and a stuffed flamingo, is not a Stereo Story but here she tells how she came to write and record Almost Flamboyant. Congratulations, Rijn on winning the inaugural Sarah Award. ...Jacek Koman owned that studio. He snarled, sang, and sneered. I had never before watched a character of mine brought to life, off the page and into the room. The experience was intoxicating....
SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN by KRIS KRISTOFFERSON Story by Rijn Collins
Rijn Collins Joutsa, Finland. October 2015 The feminist in me battles with the linguist, and I waver between correcting his English and biting his arm. I do neither, as the song on stage floats into my awareness.