The creative stylings of the late Anna Buck will be shared at a very special event on Friday, May 21.
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Anna was well known through the district as a prolific writer, poet and artist. Her weekly column Annagram ran in the Bega District News for 30 years before ill health forced her hand in 2018.
In true Annagram style, Anna penned her own eulogy, which was read at her funeral in November that year by husband Robert and daughters Sophie and Ngaio.
Ngaio said when Anna knew she may not overcome her cancer battle she also approached fellow poet Tim Metcalf to assist in editing a collection of her poems for publishing.
That collected work is being launched at next week's event in the Bega Valley Civic Centre, with the community invited to attend to share in the celebration of Anna's life and creativity.
The first half of the evening will include readings of her poems as well as food and drinks.
While some of the poems will be well known, indeed some are award-winners, there are others included in the collection that might be new for fans, Ngaio said.
Several of the readings will even be in Anna's voice thanks to a South Coast writers event from years gone by that was recorded.
Then the second half of the evening will be a retrospective of the rest of Anna's body of work, including readings from her books, Annagrams and snippets of other writings, as well as a photo slideshow of her life and art.
Ngaio said Anna's foray into poetry began in the early 1990s, a period in which she also organised local poetry festivals.
Like her prose, much of the imagery is taken from life in the Bega Valley, the people and nature with which she connected so powerfully.
"We were always marvelling at the way she could take something from her life and present it so vividly that you can really picture it," Ngaio said.
"It's great to be able to celebrate Anna and her work - I only hope we can do it justice on the night."
Anna Buck, a Retrospective will be held in the Biamanga Room, upstairs in the Bega Valley Civic Centre on Friday, May 21, from 5.30pm.