I read fewer books than ever this year. I finished thirty-three books and will probably get through three or so more by the year’s end, now that I’ve given myself a little time off. (This, of course, does not include all the books I worked on as an editor!) It wasn’t just the broad-sweeping anxiety … Continue reading Books that got me through 2020
philosophy
SWF 2013: writing & philosophy
Cross-posted on the Stoffers blog. — At the Sydney Writers’ Festival last week I went along to a session on writing and philosophy, and I thought a summary of the insights (and work of the panellists) might be of interest to some of you. The moderator was Joe Gelonesi from ABC Radio National’s The Philosopher’s Zone and the panellists were … Continue reading SWF 2013: writing & philosophy
Writing death: Walter Mason interviews Jeremy Fernando
Writing Death by Jeremy Fernando (available here) by Walter Mason Jeremy Fernando is a Singaporean poet, writer, philosopher and critic, and his latest book, Writing Death, is an almost-perfect combination of these vocations. Recently described in a Singaporean magazine as 'Asia’s Sexiest Philosopher', Fernando’s erudition and grasp of theory are balanced by a playful approach … Continue reading Writing death: Walter Mason interviews Jeremy Fernando
'I want to read that, too!' Wanting to know and be everything (but then take my time with something)
The Christmas party season is in full swing. I've forgotten names, drank too much, jumped on a trampoline, been told secrets, held hands with sweaty strangers (swing dancing), stuttered (kinda a new one) and swapped WIP stories with emerging and published writers. There's a lot of pressure to be in the know. To have read … Continue reading 'I want to read that, too!' Wanting to know and be everything (but then take my time with something)
Don DeLillo’s Point Omega
Point Omega Don DeLillo Picador, 2010, 9780330512381 (buy Aus, US/Kindle) I’ve been ‘doing’ a few American writers of late. Loved my first encounter with Michael Chabon, in A Model World – he’s a master of beginnings and endings in those short gems – and will follow-up someday with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and … Continue reading Don DeLillo’s Point Omega
Turbulence
A conversation with the self: ‘Here we go.' 'Of course.' 'It’s normal, don’t worry’. 'But this swoop in my chest!' ‘It’s just anxiety, you’re dizzy, it’s nothing. It’s just a bit windy out.’ ‘But what of this pressure. I have no control. I can’t feel my face. Oh God.’ ‘When you think about it, it … Continue reading Turbulence
Perth Writers Festival 2010 diary, part one: ‘mint’ ideas
We live 'by and through and for ideas' said AC Grayling at last night's opening address. But the majority of ideas that we possess, that have shaped us - the way we see and react to the world - are unconscious or at least unexamined. Spinoza said that freedom came from making the 'inadequate' ideas 'adequate', that … Continue reading Perth Writers Festival 2010 diary, part one: ‘mint’ ideas
This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part one
In Smoke in the Room (Aus), three characters end up in a share house in Sydney. Katie works on instinct and is weighted by an overwhelming empathy. Adam, an American, is grieving and needs to save money to get home. Graeme, an aid worker, has rid himself of possessions and simplified his existence. In this … Continue reading This cumulative kind of effect when you stop: an interview with Emily Maguire on Smoke in the Room, part one
Adventures of the badge with the face of Albert Camus #1
Shop assistant: Who's that? Me: Albert Camus. SA: Who? Me: He's a philosopher. SA: What? Me: A philosopher. *shop assistant stares blankly* Me: He's a writer. SA: Oh. Does he write poetry? Me: No. SA: What does he write? Me: Philosophy, fiction. *very long pause* SA: Ha,ha, I'm such an airhead!
Literary Space – Damon Young
Damon Young, author of Distraction, says: My study is actually one corner of our lounge. The room's also an office for my wife Ruth, entertaining wing, tearoom, and playroom for my three-year-old-son, Nikos. It's part writerly den, part Lego wonderland. When our new baby's born, it'll also be a nursery. And, yes, the pram … Continue reading Literary Space – Damon Young
