After a stimulating Perth Writers Festival I joined writers Thomas Keneally, Rosie Scott, Debra Adelaide, Linda Jaivin, David Marr, Antony Loewenstein, and publisher Terri-Ann White at the Perth candlelight vigil for Reza Berati, the young Iranian asylum seeker who was tragically killed on Manus Island. It was an understandably emotional event, as I'm sure were … Continue reading Light the Dark: Perth vigil for Reza Berati and asylum seekers
activism
Reading as resistance: The Taksim Square Book Club
Love these pictures from Taksim Square. Communal standing and communal reading as peaceful protest. As Al Jazeera reporter, George Henton, says: 'The chosen reading material of many of those who take their stand is reflective, in part, of the thoughtfulness of those who have chosen this motionless protest to express their discontent.' Take a look … Continue reading Reading as resistance: The Taksim Square Book Club
Adelaide Should Not Be Shut Down
I arrived home from Adelaide to find Lord Mayor of Melbourne had been quoted as saying Adelaide should be 'shut down'. The feeling of oddness was still with me from traipsing up and down Hindley Street all weekend - sex shops and tittie bars (and cyber sex cafes - the point?); R&B-type slick and shiny … Continue reading Adelaide Should Not Be Shut Down
Eva Hornung on Dog Boy, writing and activism
In October 2006, I was sitting at the airport in Bali after the Ubud Writers' and Readers' Festival, and Eva Hornung (then Sallis) and her gorgeous little boy came and sat next to me. I had seen her speak during the festival, and read her book Fire, Fire, which I found quite confronting. We … Continue reading Eva Hornung on Dog Boy, writing and activism
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