Stephanie Cantrill
May 2023

Bendigo Writers Festival - Day 2

Prince, King, Country, Woman

Image attribution: Irfan Rahat at pexels.com

‘Literature is an original contribution to knowledge.’ (Winnie Dunn, 6th May 2023)

Today was full of contributions to knowledge. And contributions to identifying problems and taking stabs at their solutions.

It's day two (as I write this) of the Bendigo Writers Festival, and below, in brief-ish, are some of the thoughts bouncing around up in here. If you want to see what I gleaned from yesterday's sessions, have a look at my Day 1 post.

1. Great writers speak at writers' festivals

If you saw yesterday's post you'll have noted my confusion as to the nature of a writers' festival – who exactly is the target audience? Writers? Readers? Anyone interested in the topic of the session? I mean, it doesn't matter that much. The point is that writers are there and they say interesting things.

And wowsers, the writers I saw today. Some I hadn't heard of but who spoke with insight and maturity and made me want to read their stuff, some I've heard of and know are great but haven't read, and some – namely, Melina Marchetta and Nick Hornby – whose writing I have loved for many years.

Is it just me, or did Looking for Alibrandi change Australian culture? I don't think I'm exaggerating. I honestly think Josie Alibrandi showed those of us from the more stiff-upper-lip type cultures that it's ok to feel, to confront, and to be your true self. Maybe it wasn't only that one book (and movie), but I do think we talk about things more now, and I believe Melina's work (can I call you Melina?) was a beautiful example of art's influence on society.

Speaking of influence, Nick Hornby! If I ever publish a novel – especially if it's clever, funny, insightful and entertaining – I'll be sure to thank Nick in the back. Because my love of writing owes a lot to my love of reading his writing.

2. And they say great things about writing

Writers, as I mentioned, say interesting things. And, because they're writers, some of the interesting things they say are about writing.

In no particular order, here are some things I heard today from various writerly folk:

• Writing is a solitary pursuit.
• It's a myth that writing is a solitary pursuit. Writing is produced by a team. Editors, publishers and others involved in the process often aren't given enough appreciation.
• The cliché of Australian literature is a white man in a big hat battling the tough Australian landscape. As we move forward in feminism, we're now seeing white women wearing hats and owning cattle stations.
• Things can be bubbling away in your subconscious, and you don't even realise until you sit down to write.
• A good character for fiction writing is alluring and also somehow familiar. And it feels like they've got something to tell you – something profound, that will become a meaningful story if you give them the time to share it.
• A good novelist is always listening. Everyone has a fascinating story.
• A reader (of fiction) shouldn't see your research; just stick to the story.

3. Thoughts on monarchy

Today wasn't all about fiction. Interestingly, I started with a talk on ‘another Australia’, about moving beyond stereotypes and narrow understandings of what it means to be Australian, and then went to a talk about the monarchy.

As I write this, ‘God Save the King’ is bellowing in from the TV next door at a rather impolite volume. So I'm feeling quite strongly republican at the moment.

To be fair, I wasn't a monarchist when I went to this morning's talk.

Not gonna lie though. The monarchy fascinates me. How can it be that we're well into the 21^st century and we still have people leading countries simply because one of their rich ancestors got married off to another one of their rich ancestors for purely political reasons (i.e., reasons of power and money)? And Australia is very far away from the whole throne-crown-palace thing, but we're still in this? In a country and culture that prides itself in democracy and fairness, what the Dickens are we doing?

4. Achieving true equality is a journey of ups and downs

Along with monarchy and fiction, today included a lot of discussion about inequality. Racism, transphobia, gender inequity, ableism, ageism. There are so many ways that we can exclude.

For change to happen, today’s speakers were saying, we need to have a sense that it’s possible. And, while we need to believe that we as individuals can make a difference, it’s collective action that makes a movement.

A speech like Julia Gillard’s ‘Not Now, Not Ever’ can be a helpful kickstarter (or kick-restarter, as it were). Especially when the TikTok world gets on board.

As things do change, backlash becomes inevitable. Progress isn’t linear. The idea – and, perhaps, the hope – is that the pendulum will swing back and forth until eventually it settles into a more equal position.

Let’s get there.

And tomorrow we'll wrap it up

Oh, before I go: I looked into the UFO story from yesterday. There's a whole park dedicated to it! Check out the Grange Reserve if you want a three-dimensional tribute to a very strange event. I might see you there.

Do you want a self-confessed grammar nerd to write some copy for you? If so, feel free to get in touch.