Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 19 February
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
One of the most hotly debated and pressing moral issues in contemporary Australia surrounds the fate of asylum seekers. A new anthology of work from 27 of the nation’s finest writers examines all aspects of this complex topic.
A Country Too Far features fiction, memoir, poetry and essays that provide an indispensable contribution to the national debate.
The Guardian says, ‘A Country Too Far is part of a literary tradition in which authors attempt to face the social context in which they live… to resist political word games with other words.’
Jointly edited by Thomas Keneally and Rosie Scott, the Wheeler Centre presents Rosie in conversation with several of the anthology’s contributors. Hosted by Chris Kremmer, she is joined in discussion of this controversial and heartbreaking question, by Arnold Zable, Judith Rodriguez and Rodney Hall.
Tweeting at this event? Christopher Kremmer is on Twitter (@wordpalace), as is Thomas Kenneally (@ThomasKenneally). Tag your tweets #acountrytoofar.
Featuring
Rodney Hall
Rodney Hall is the award-winning writer of of 36 books whose novels have been published across the world to widespread acclaim.
Rodney has twice won the Miles Franklin Award. Many of his books have been published in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia - and in translation into French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish and Korean. The New York Times hailed him as, ‘A thrillingly smart and juicy writer.’ He was poetry editor of The Australian for 11 years and Chairman of the Australia Council from 1991 to 1994. His latest book is a collection of short fiction called Silence, published by Pier 9.
Judith Rodriguez
Judith Rodriguez has had ten books of poetry published – the chapbook Manatee (Picaro Press) is the most recent – and has won several national prizes.
Judith wrote the libretto for the opera Lindy (2002). She has taught in university English departments on four continents, most recently at Deakin and the University of Madras. Currently she teaches at the Council of Adult Education, works for International PEN and is president of the Melbourne Shakespeare Society, which last year celebrated its 125th birthday.
Arnold Zable
Arnold Zable is a highly acclaimed novelist, storyteller and human rights advocate. His works include Scraps of Heaven, Violin Lessons, The Fighter, which was shortlisted for a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and a New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award, and his most recent work The Watermill. Zable lives in Melbourne.
Christopher Kremmer
Christopher Kremmer is the author of Inhaling the Mahatma, a memoir of the eight years in which he lived and worked in India.
His other books include The Carpet Wars: A Journey Across the Islamic Heartlands, Bamboo Palace: Discovering the Lost Dynasty of Laos, and a historical novel, The Chase, set in Australia in the 1940s and 50s.
Christopher’s books have been published in ten countries, including several translations, and have been recognised in many literary awards. Christopher has recently returned to Melbourne where he has taken on the role of Director of Communications and Publishing at the Australia India Institute based at the University of Melbourne.