State of the (Writing) Nation 2021
17 November 2021
Australian writer Alice Pung presented this year’s State of the (Writing) Nation oration, an initiative of Writers Victoria and the Wheeler Centre. Melbourne based writer Christos Tsiolkas, speaking before the oration, introduced Shu-Ling Chau, an emerging author also based in Melbourne. Pung’s address focussed on the production, promotion, and reception process of the writing process.
William Hazlitt wrote that ‘the smallest pain in our little finger causes us more concern than the destruction of our fellow human beings’. In her address, Pung will consider what kind of writing matters in the face of our small hurts and large griefs, and take an unflinching look at the excessive weight we place on literature to ameliorate our feelings. If you’re only half-grudgingly woke, is it better to just stay asleep? Pung will explore the pitfalls of this self-motivated obsession with using literature to educate, and examine whose expense it comes at.
Pung spoke about the experiences of disadvantaged writers in Australia, be they immigrants, refugees, disabled, indigenous, queer, or poor. This is essential listening for anyone with an interest in Australian literature.
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Alice Pung, Australian writing, Christos Tsiolkas, literature, Shu-Ling Chua
River, a documentary by Jennifer Peedom and Joseph Nizeti
17 November 2021
The spectacular trailer for River, a documentary by Australian film producer Jennifer Peedom, and musician and composer Joseph Nizeti. The soundtrack includes music by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and Radiohead.
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How to write one hundred thousand words daily
17 November 2021
American writer Matthew Plunkett tackles the question of writing one hundred thousand words every day. Put it this way, it’s not for the faint-hearted.
My first blog post appeared online in 2008 when I explained how I attained my top ranking on a popular worldwide online game. Since then, I haven’t stopped writing. If you’re wondering whether this level of output will hinder your relationships with friends and lovers, let me set you straight. Life is about decisions. Either you write 100,000 words a day or you meet people and develop ties of affection. You can’t do both.
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The Voss Literary Prize shortlist 2021
17 November 2021
Gail Jones, Vivian Pham, and Nardi Simpson, are among authors named on the shortlist of this year’s Voss Literary Prize. The award, initially intended to honour the best written work in the world, yes, the whole world – whether published or unpublished – each year, was established in honour of Australian historian Vivian Robert de Vaux Voss who died in 1963. While originally conceived by Voss in 1955, the first award was made in 2014, following the death of the original beneficiary of Voss’ will. Tara June Winch, the winning author in 2020, with her novel The Yield, took home five-thousand dollars in prize money.
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Gail Jones, literature, Nardi Simpson, Vivian Pham
Waves of Change, music by Juhi Bansal
16 November 2021
An ethereal soundtrack composed by Juhi Bansal accompanies the video clip for Waves of Change.
Waves of Change takes inspiration from the story of the Bangladesh Girls Surf Club, a group started years ago in the Cox Bazaar region of Bangladesh. In a place where girls are forbidden from even entering the water, kept from an education and typically married away at 11-12 years of age, a group of young girls learned to surf and imagined a world for themselves full of freedom and choices.
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On quitting the day jobs to become a published author like Christian White
16 November 2021
Golf buggy driver. Call centre operator. Editor of porn videos. These were some of the jobs Australian thriller writer Christian White worked on the way to becoming a published author. If you want to succeed, and have the requisite determination to succeed, you will succeed, says White, in an interview with Melbourne based journalist Kylie Northover.
White, 40, has wanted to be a writer since he was a teenager, having an “iron-clad plan” to be a best-selling author by 25. “That shifted because 25 came and went, so I changed it to 30, which also came and went,” he says. “When I went past 30 and there was still no career in sight, I made the decision to just focus on writing for the love it – I really do just love the craft.”
And then there’s this nugget of wisdom:
He also realised he’d be better off writing the kinds of books he’d like to read. “Early on I was going to write deep, thoughtful novels – it wasn’t until I started writing thrillers I went oh! Because I love reading thrillers,” he says.
Write what you like reading. I think it’s something many aspiring authors overlook in the burning desire to become a published author. White’s third novel Wild Place was published last month.
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Australian writing, Christian White, writing
Emerging Poets Mentorship 2022
16 November 2021
Applications are open for the Emerging Poets Mentorship, which will be hosted online early in 2022, by the Stella Prize’s Virtual Writer in Residence, afshan d’souza-lodhi.
Run by Stella’s Virtual Writer in Residence, afshan d’souza-lodhi, the mentorship is open to an emerging woman or non-binary poet based in Melbourne, and seeks to support them in developing an unpublished collection of poetry.
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Twenty-four hours in the 2021 Metaverse
15 November 2021
Wall Street Journal technology columnist Joanna Stern spent twenty-four hours in the Metaverse – such that is presently – and compiled the highlights in this video clip. Though somewhat functional, it’s fair to say the concept as shown to us a few weeks ago by Mark Zuckerberg is some way off.
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The Tragedy of Macbeth, by Joel Coen
15 November 2021
How good’s this? American filmmaker Joel Coen, he of Coen brothers fame, has made an adaptation of the old Shakespeare play The Tragedy of Macbeth. See the trailer here. And what’s become of brother Ethan, the other half of the renowned film production duo? It seems he’s had enough of making films, according to Indiewire.
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film, Joel Coen, Shakespeare, trailer
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke
15 November 2021
Not that it’s my intention to traumatise you with the workings of my subconscious, but the premise to Piranesi (published by Bloomsbury Publishing, August 2021), by British author Susanna Clarke sounds like the sort of dream I might have. The setting is an old, dilapidated multi-level building, and is home to the titular protagonist known as Piranesi, who refers to the enigmatic structure as the “House.”
And dream-like is the best way to describe the dwelling. An ocean floods the lower levels of this labyrinth, providing food and fuel – in the form of seaweed – for Piranesi. The sprawling hallways of the house’s mid-section stories are lined with statues, while the upper floors are shrouded in clouds. Save for an old scholar, whom Piranesi calls the “Other”, who makes brief appearances a few times a week, the building is otherwise deserted.
But one day Piranesi begins to notice messages chalked onto walkways around the House. Do they point to the presence of a third person within the building? The Other sees them a portent of bad things to come. In order to discover the identity of this mysterious third person, and what they want, Piranesi will need to learn more about the House and its history.
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