Sunday, May 20, 2012

update: sydney writers' festival

Today was the last day of the writers' festival and I managed to get to three sessions, all of which I liked.  I think my enjoyment of them was disproportionate to the level of snobbiness I felt for having taken part in each, with the beginning being the snootiest and the ending being the most fun.

The first was a panel of three very nice, well-spoken people who talked about Australian fires (part of the life cycles of the land), Aboriginal art and poetry.  Somehow these three all connected in a very intelligent way.

The second was a conversation with two authors of "young adult" fiction and was the session I was most looking forward to.  It didn't disappoint me, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.  I thought they'd  be talking more about the lines surrounding non-fiction and autobiography, but actually it was more on the lines between fiction and autobiography -- which, come to think of it, was what the program said.  It was quite interesting.

The last was an oration by Richard Glover, whose name I knew I knew from somewhere.  I wasn't entirely sure if it was a positive or negative image conjured in my mind (those being the two main reasons I'd remember someone ...), but there weren't any resounding gongs of "retreat!" so I plunged on ahead and was glad I did ... and instantly recognized him for being the host of Thank God It's Friday, which I've seen taped live no fewer than three times previously.

He was a funny speaker and I was excited to learn he's got several books out, which I'm now interested in looking into.

So, overall, it was a lovely day at the writers' festival again.  See you next year!

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