PATREON 2021 –
From patreon.com/kyliemaslen
The boom-bust cycles of freelance writing and government grants that have supported my work for the last few years have taken a toll on my health and are no longer sustainable for me. So I'm trying something new.
Patreon is a membership-based platform that allows creative people to draw a consistent income. From AU$2 a month you'll be able to support my work – writing about health and disability through a personal lens – in exchange for exclusive content. The tiers are named after my favourite writers and are designed so that the more you pay per month the closer you get to the day-to-day operations of writing a (second) book about health and disability whilst being disabled.
So if you've ever read my work, or wish there was more reporting of lived experience disability, or would just like to be nice, please consider joining what I hope will be a lovely little community: patreon.com/kyliemaslen
From The Disabled Diner
Photo by Kylie Maslen (2019)
THE DISABLED DINER 2019
I used to love to cook meals from scratch, taking my time to chop vegetables and develop colour in large pots. But I’m not able to do that work anymore, and honestly I can’t afford to spend the money I once did on food either.
Working in hospitality for many years taught me a lot about making the most of food, and now being disabled has given me many lessons in simplicity and being humble.
I started this Instagram project as a way of sharing some meals that I make for myself that are quick, easy and cheap. That can be frozen in batches or made on the spot with limited energy and resources.
The Disabled Diner is intended as a resource for others who are disabled and/or chronically ill, or for people who find cooking difficult for their own reasons. I hope others will understand the consideration that goes in to such an every day activity as just one example of what a day in a disabled or chronically ill body is like.
As a result of this project I was asked to share some tips and tricks for Inform, a national hub for people with disabilities.
TINY LETTERS 2015 – 2017
My Tiny Letters began as an extension of book-plate, but became focussed far more on the personal as the project continued. Spanning two years, the letters – just like the blog – spoke of home as a spectrum, through literature, food, place and memoir.
During a time of great change (a major relationship breakdown, moving back to Australia from Germany, living on my own for the first time, severe illness and hospitalisation as well as moving home to Adelaide from Melbourne) these letters remained intimate as I developed into the writer – and person – I am now.
from tinyletters.com/kyliemaslen Photo by Kylie Maslen (2017)
From book-plate
Photo by Kylie Maslen (2016)
BOOK-PLATE 2014 – 2016
Across 2014-2016 I wrote a blog called book-plate, an ongoing account of what I had been reading and what I had been eating.
There my non-traditional reviews combined literary criticism, food writing and memoir to explore ideas of home, sense of place and nostalgia.
This project brought a strong and loyal following of Australian readers to my writing, along with a broad international readership, who connected with my ability to weave together my own experiences with literary criticism.