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Becker said that for many years, he kept much of his experience with cystic fibrosis private.<\/p>\n
“I had kept much of it private until then, partly to protect my family and close friends from the tough realities, partly to establish my own identity outside cystic fibrosis, which can be all-consuming,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Once I had the transplant I became more confident in myself and my own identity, so started sharing more openly.”<\/p>\n
A defining feature of Thin Reed Throat is its balance of honesty and humour, something Becker sees as inseparable from the reality of living with chronic illness.<\/p>\n
“I have a line in one of my poems that says there’s ‘nothing funnier than terminally ill kids’, which at face value is a disgraceful thing to say – but having lived through it and been part of that community I can also say it’s true,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Kids with CF born in the 70s and 80s especially generally shared a very quick and dark humour, both as a coping mechanism but also as a philosophical stance.”<\/p>\n
Becker said his transplant brought a profound shift in how he experiences the world.<\/p>\n
“It was an interesting transition from only ever knowing your body as being various degrees of unwell to one that has energy and strength and vitality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
“The difference is extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Day-to-day I still pinch myself at how easier life is in a body that mostly works.”<\/p>\n
Having lived in the Northern Rivers for nearly two decades, Becker said the landscape continues to inspire his work.<\/p>\n
“The light is something that still thrills me, especially around Murwillumbah – that Provencal hazy brilliance that sets off everything like its buzzing,” he said.<\/p>\n
“This is the landscape I came to live to eke out the remaining years of my old lungs and have sustained my new ones.”<\/p>\n
As he prepares to appear at Byron Writers Festival, Becker said he is looking forward to sharing his work with new audiences close to home.<\/p>\n
“It’s in my backyard, but most of the audience would not have seen my work, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to connect and share with readers and writers as part of this incredible festival,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FOR Murwillumbah writer Damien Becker, poetry arrived after a lifetime of experiences that many people could scarcely imagine. His debut collection, Thin Reed Throat, draws on a childhood and adulthood shaped by cystic fibrosis, years spent navigating chronic illness and, ultimately, a double lung transplant that transformed his life. But while the subject matter is […]<\/p>\n