Lyricbuster:
where hyperbolic lyrics are lovingly dismantled...
Unbeknownst to many, Marvin Gaye created an Orwellian nadir that brought him to the brink of madness. Few realise that Justin Timberlake spent twenty-five years in the woods,
constructing a makeshift dam to punish his ex. Fewer still are aware "Teddy Bears' Picnic" is actually a call to ursine arms that guarantees a carnage. And history has (mercifully) drawn a veil across the unsettling romantic tendencies of Gene Pitney, where not even the grave could keep him from his lover.
Until now.
Enter the world of Lyricbuster: where fifteen seemingly innocuous lyrics are dissected, using a blend of physics, mathematics, biology...and a deep affection for the peculiarities of the English language.
Whether it's the temporal defiance of Wang Chung, the disturbing lengths Whitney Houston would go to get her man, or the unremitting horror at the heart of "It's Raining Men", you'll never listen to these songs the same way again.
"Walk with humility and a good heart...do that, and you can walk anywhere in this land."
- Uncle John Long, Ugarapul Elder
The Black & White Braid Vol I (Cairn Tor 2021), is a fully-illustrated hardcover collaboration with photographer Carin Garland.
Walking out the door on a winter’s morning in 2019, author Benjamin Allmon and photographer Carin Garland are about to discover just how far the road - the black & white braid - will take them. For the next 30 days and nearly 700km, they roam across Queensland’s Scenic Rim on foot, learning the stories of the roads they follow; who they are named after, who walked them first...and who walks them now.
In this microcosm of Australia, they uncover the past and discover the present alongside Indigenous Elders trying to secure Lore in the next generation; 4th-generation farmers at breaking point in the worst drought on record; proud South Sea Islander descendants of Queensland’s first “blackbirded” workers seeking to have their voices heard; incredible women and men who banded together during the devastating Black Summer bushfires to save their community; sisters trying to save their town from extinction, and many more.
From farmer-preachers in Australia’s Bible Belt to environmentalists trying to preserve prehistoric wilderness, young mothers to 102-year-old great-great-grandmothers, traditional custodians to recent immigrants, Benjamin and Carin discover how we are all connected - by the roads that brought us here, by the roads we travel every day through this country we share...and then ask:
where is the road leading?
Vol I covers Tamborine Mountain, Beechmont, Binna Burra, O'Reillys, Kerry, Christmas Creek, Chinghee Creek, Running Creek, Rathdowney, the Mt Barney region, Maroon, Carneys Creek, Croftby, Coochin, Moogerah, and the Spicer's Gap region amongst others.
The Black & White Braid is supported by The Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, and Scenic Rim Regional Council through the RADF Program.
"Walk with humility and a good heart...do that, and you can walk anywhere in this land."
- Uncle John Long, Ugarapul Elder
The Black & White Braid VOL II (Cairn Tor 2021), is a fully-illustrated hardcover collaboration with photographer Carin Garland.
Walking out the door on a winter’s morning in 2019, author Benjamin Allmon and photographer Carin Garland are about to discover just how far the road - the black & white braid - will take them. For the next 30 days and nearly 700km, they roam across Queensland’s Scenic Rim on foot, learning the stories of the roads they follow; who they are named after, who walked them first...and who walks them now.
In this microcosm of Australia, they uncover the past and discover the present alongside Indigenous Elders trying to secure Lore in the next generation; 4th-generation farmers at breaking point in the worst drought on record; proud South Sea Islander descendants of Queensland’s first “blackbirded” workers seeking to have their voices heard; incredible women and men who banded together during the devastating Black Summer bushfires to save their community; sisters trying to save their town from extinction, and many more.
From farmer-preachers in Australia’s Bible Belt to environmentalists trying to preserve prehistoric wilderness, young mothers to 102-year-old great-great-grandmothers, traditional custodians to recent immigrants, Benjamin and Carin discover how we are all connected - by the roads that brought us here, by the roads we travel every day through this country we share...and then ask:
where is the road leading?
Vol II covers Cunninghams Gap, Aratula, Tarome, Rosevale, Mt Walker, Harrisville, Peak Crossing, Roadvale, Kalbar, Boonah, Wyaralong, Kooralbyn, Tamrookum, Beaudesert, Canungra, Tamborine, and more Tamborine Mountain amongst others.
The Black & White Braid is supported by The Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, and Scenic Rim Regional Council through the RADF Program.
The Saltwater Story (Cairn Tor 2018) is a fully-illustrated hardcover collaboration with renowned photographer David Kelly, and was shortlisted for the 2018 Queensland Literary Awards Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance.
It is the story of Allmon’s relationship with Indigenous canoe maker Kyle Slabb from the Bundjalung people and veteran paddler Mark Matthews, who, together with a group of young men (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) build traditional canoes and embark on a 70km, 3-day sea voyage re-tracing an ancient trade route from the heart of the Queensland Gold Coast to North Stradbroke Island, a journey not made for over 100 years.
Mr Ordinary Dons a Disguise (Odyssey Books 2018), is a collection of fifteen short stories written over a seven-year period, and published in journals such as Aurealis, The Waterhouse Review and Writers’ Bloc...and includes "Dicky’s Dilemma", winner of the Judges’ Choice for the 2016 ESU Roly Sussex Award. each story is illustrated by talented Australian and international artists, with cover art by acclaimed surrealist William D. Higginson.
Talking fruit.
Time reversing.
A scheming liver.
A lighter’s journey.
Vengeful teddy bears.
Vending machine salvation.
The Annual Meeting of Words.
Everyone on earth moving six feet to the left.
Escape into vivid worlds, populated by everyday – ordinary, if you will – characters facing unique challenges…when sometimes the mask becomes the face. From horror to humour, speculative to literary fiction, magic realism to psychological dualism: fifteen stories that will linger in the mind.
Benjamin Allmon's debut, Foot Notes (Odyssey Books 2016), is a travel/music memoir recounting his 1000km, 51-day walk along Australia’s east coast, touring his debut album and experiencing life as a modern-day troubadour.
Covered extensively in the media, it was a finalist in the 2017 Best Book Awards, and selected in 2019 as part of the inaugural Adaptable Program run by Screen Queensland and the Queensland Writers Centre , with discussions ongoing about adapting the book to screen.