A sumptuous offering at Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival 2013

Last weekend I ran away to Margaret River where the waves, country hospitality and stories heard took me even further afield. What a treat sitting listening to the likes of Andy Griffith, Sarah Turnbull, Stephen Daisley, Jon Doust, and Peter Docker as they read from their latest works and pondered their literary lives. I’ll be featuring some of them individually but in the meantime here’s a brief review of the events.

Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival 2013 – letters put to use © 2013 The Ponder Room

 
The weekend began with the limitless creativity of Andy Griffiths, who showed remarkable fortitude, having talked to over one thousand children the day before. Aside from showing us his first book (‘A little book I made’ written in 1969) and walking us through his career, he outlined 20 tips for creativity. The session culminated in an exercise that had us pondering what would happen if a baby met a dinosaur. The resulting ideas and laughter showed we’re all 10 year olds at heart.

Time for the promised ‘sumptuous’ morning tea.They weren’t kidding, I should have remembered the width and depth of a country spread, given my earlier years spent travelling around WA promoting the Red Cross.

Vahri McKenzie, Kristen Levitke, Barry Divola © 2013 The Ponder Room

Tummies full we reconvened to hear Amanda Curtin, Barry Divola (winner of this years Margaret River Short Story competition), Vahri McKenzie (winner of SW Writers prize) and Kristen Levitke discuss the short story.

Interestingly all their stories were written in the first person, and several said they thought filmically when writing, even picturing who they’d cast in each role.

Next up was Almost French author Nicole Sinclair who said that she began her freelance writing career because working in television was ‘getting tricky’ . However the need to constantly find and sell story ideas became a grind, and as luck would have it, her husband got posted to Paris, which resulted in the book we all know so well. Pondering second book syndrome, she said the pressure mainly came from herself and not her publisher. While there was a thought that she wouldn’t write another novel, a subsequent posting to Tahiti, and difficulties conceiving soon took care of that. 

Nicole Sinclair © 2013 The Ponder Room

The gourmet lunch followed … a choice of lentil or lime (!) soup, raspberry chocolate brownies and plump local apples.

The afternoon saw UWA publishing director Terri-ann White lead a discussion with Dawn Barker (Fractured), Stephen Daisley (Traitor), and Lynne Leonhardt (Finding Jasper) about fact, fiction and research. The discussion showcased the breadth of research and inspiration undertaken by each author, be it insights gained from items in an old trunk, or thirty years of life experience. Lynne Leonhardt used the phrase ‘spontaneous research’ to illustrate her use of unconscious memories that unexpectedly spring forth.

Stephen Daisley, Dawn Barker, Lynne Leonhardt Terri-ann White  © 2013 The Ponder Room

Peter Docker (The Waterboys) was next, giving us a fascinating insight into his early life on a station. This included: reading his homework on the bus home; keeping dream journals; realising he wasn’t good with his hands (and so unlikely to be a shearer) but that he was good at telling stories.

Peter Docker © 2013 The Ponder Room

As always it was refreshing to hear of his 15 rejections before being published, sorry Peter.

Equally refreshing were his insights into indigenous culture which left the audience pondering in deep silence.

The ever entertaining Jon Doust (Boy on a Wire) then dispensed with the interview format, and took to the stage solo. As usual he had the audience captivated with stories from his childhood, e.g. being born with mercury poisoning, and surviving life in boarding school.

He also spoke about his writing process which involved short one and a half hour bursts, and that fact that he was in therapy while writing both of his books (true).


Jpn Doust © 2013 The Ponder Room



Interestingly he’s currently working on the final novel in the trilogy …it’s set in Africa, written in third person not first and he’s not in therapy this time. I guess that’s something for all the writers out there pondering about whether to write in first or third person … can you afford the therapy bills?

The day ended with Saturday Bookclub, where the panel discussed their most treasured books.

The evening meal was at Voyager Estate which, to be truthful, I missed because fish and chips and a good soak in the bath were calling.

Sunday began with Bookclub, something I also missed, my head already full of words and ideas just wouldn’t budge off the pillow until a more civilised hour.

Then came an informal chat about the art of autobiography, where Jon Doust and Sullivan McLeod debated the differences in their approaches.

As an example Jon’s approach was to ‘live your life’ and then write about it. Whereas Sullivan came up with the idea of spending a year on the professional surfing circuit, then set about doing so, which resulted in Tunnel Vision. They also discussed whether to use real names or not and whether a book can be too honest. For a stand-up comedian like Doust the answer was, no.

After another sumptuous morning tea we sat down to the most interesting talk of the festival.

Stephen Daisley (Traitor) was expertly interviewed by Richard Rossiter. Listening to Stephens take on writing and life would have been more than enough, but this was amplified by watching him become overjoyed, when he realised he was being interviewed by someone who had not only read his book, but understood the nuances of what he was trying to say. It was a masterclass in interviewing technique. While I could go on about Daisley (and probably will in another post) suffice to say his was the first book I purchased. It wasn’t so much the topic of the book, nor the awards it’s won, or the fact that he too had been rejected many times over, it was his philosophies on life that intrigued me.


Stephen Daisley, Richard Rossiter © 2013 The Ponder Room


The last discussion was a panel led by Terri-ann White about myths, muses and imagination where Mark Tredinnick, Peter Docker, David Milroy and Miriam Wei Wei Lo pondered on the topic of fire.

Danielle Haigh © 2013 The Ponder Room

Huge congratulations must go out to Danielle Haigh, Miranda Aitken, Jeannette Sangmeister and company for a highly successful festival. As usual I left with a smorgasbord of splendid ideas and inspiration, or should I say ‘sumptuous.’

More posts to come later.

For more about what’s on in Margaret River go to http://artsmargaretriver.com/