Thursday 2 September 2010

Lisa Gorton, Our First Poet in Residence

In partnership with RMIT, the Australian Poetry Centre is bringing a poet in residence to the Wheeler Centre.

The program will mean that poets have the opportunity to write but also be available for workshops and weekly Meet the Poet sessions, which allow aspiring poets to talk about their writing with the poet in residence.

Lisa Gorton is the first poet in residence and brings with her an impressive writing CV. Her first collection, Press Release, won the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry and was shortlisted for the Melbourne Best Writing Prize. She’s gone on to complete a Doctorate at Oxford University on John Donne’s poetry and prose, and won the John Donne Society Award for Distinguished Publication in Donne Studies.

While at the Wheeler Centre, Gorton will be working on a collection of poems set in the future and she’ll post portions of her work here for you to discuss and explore. But if you want to talk directly in person Gorton will be available on 16th of September in her first Meet the Poet session.

Wordy Mofo Begins

Last night a new magazine crept onto Australian screens in the form of Sydney-based Wordy Mofo. Over 85 easily browsable pages the magazine features stories on e-rotica, a new Bill Hicks documentary and adult Lego (with a tagline explaining “that doesn’t mean sexytime action with little plastic guys. Though it can.”)

The beauty of the online magazine is that it can be glossy and design-heavy as it likes without worrying about print costs. Wordy Mofo’s first edition certainly is attractive but can it sustain content over several issues?

End of the Edinburgh Book Fest

After eighteen literary days, the Edinburgh International Book Fest has drawn to a close. I can barely even describe how immense the program was – think 750 authors, 220,000 visitors, thousands of books sold (and signed), and hundreds of events… huge.

The final weekend went off with a bang. A public holiday Monday, the events on across the three days from Saturday were fantastic. While big name writers like Anthony Bourdain, Will Self and Joyce Carol Oates entertained crowds in the main tent, unpublished writers were also included in the Writers of the Future stream. On the final night were some conflicting and equally appealing events – unable to decide, I did both.

During the Festival, one of Scotland’s most-loved poets, Edwin Morgan, died. The festival worked hard to put together a tribute to him on the final evening of the festival. The tribute included sixteen of Scotland’s respected poets reading a Morgan poem each, and was a lively, poignant and fascinating event.

More lighthearted was the closing night of Unbound, with readings and song from local authors and songwriters. I have really enjoyed Ryan van Winkle, Alan Bissett and Doug Johstone at the Book Fest, and it was great to hear them again on the final night. Scottish indie rocker King Creosote played the final set to an audience who was intent on drinking the night away.

The end of the Festival for the public is not quite the last day though… on Tuesday, Charlotte Square was overrun with thousands of kids on the schools gala day. The festival hosts a whole day of kids-only programming, packing out not just the children’s area but all the tents at the festival, to connect young readers with writers.

The pace of the festival never faltered, with the incredible staff staying energetic and on top of things to the end. Now that the festival is over, the literary city at Charlotte Square will be packed down – and the organisers can enjoy a well-deserved rest.

I have been blown away by the quality (and quantity!) of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. After two-plus weeks of inspiring sessions, panels, parties and conversations, I am buzzing with ideas and thoughts about what makes a great writers' festival. Although very sad to be leaving beautiful Edinburgh, I’ll be keeping an eye on literary Edinburgh, both through reading the Scottish lit blogs I discovered and through the Edinburgh City of Literature website.

Finding a New Direction for Criticism

Yesterday’s ALR in the Australian, ran an article on the state of Australian criticism by Geordie Williamson calling for a return to old-style reviewing and scholarship.

Williamson has a hit list of what to keep from critical theory (“Greater circumspection in making broad or universalist claims” and “A healthy suspicion of fixed literary canons”) as well aspects to throw out notably “a disregard for literature’s special status, lumping it with every other form of writing, from bus tickets to bumper stickers”. It’s a bold piece of writing in which Williamson lays a blueprint for the future of criticism.

While he acknowledges the importance of the internet as “ridiculously cheap, blisteringly fast and the online community it engenders is one that thrives on argument and constant to-and-fro”, he doesn’t see it as the democratic saviour of criticism. While he sees the potential of the web as a tool, he hasn’t seen this potential met, decrying that “For every brilliant new blogger that has emerged, 100 pallid yes-men (and women) have sprung up.”

It’s a view supported by ALR editor, Stephen Romei, in his last blog post as editor (he moves on to become the Australian’s literary editor). Romei defends the piece because “the internet age means we need old-fashioned literary critics, humanist thinkers such as Geordie, more than ever”.