THE latest compilation of writing by Gawler’s Martin Johnson is a gift to the reader and Johnson himself as he approaches his 70th birthday.

‘Albatross’ is a presentation of human-experience, inspired by Johnson’s own observations, many of which are from in and around Gawler.

It has been compiled over the past 12 months, however, pieces date back over several years, including the book’s namesake ‘Albatross’ which is a poem from when Johnson served in the navy as a teenager and young adult.

“It is my hope these poems will connect with readers and add to their understanding of what it is to be alive at this time and place in history,” Johnson said.

Featuring poetry, artwork, photographs, and a couple of short stories, Albatross is the latest of several books published by Johnson.

Having spent his childhood in the South Para Reservoir work camps, Johnson left Williamstown at age 15 as a boy sailor, before returning in the early 70s and eventually finding himself at the sawmill cutting wood from the Mount Crawford forest.

“It was out there I started to think about writing something; I had no literary background, no training and I just started to write,” he said.

“I’d sit down at lunchtime, I’d put the saw down and just start writing stuff, and I did that for quite a number of years until finally I started to learn a bit more about literature and writing.”

Johnson’s first book was published by Penguin in 1980, and officially kick-started a writing career – including a six-year period of writing a column for The Bunyip newspaper in the early 80s.

“I was continually putting together works that looked at the ordinary person on the street and I became a voice for them I guess,” he said.

“And that’s so how all my books eventuated – stories and poems about working life in factories, out in the scrub, growing up as a kid and seeing the working life there and around town.

“One of the things I’ve realised was without knowing it, I’ve been writing a social cultural history for 40 years.”

Albatross will be officially launched from 2pm, on Sunday, September 6, at Gawler’s PA Hotel, and as part of the Gawler Original Music, Art and Poetry (MAP) program.

Due to social distancing regulations, attendance will likely be limited, with people encouraged to RSVP with the PA.