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text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-hutO_m5g0HE\/Vz2yX20wwlI\/AAAAAAAABN0\/BgXBWfg-itk8ZgludIfDlmGBaKFYmOaUwCLcB\/s1600\/Grant_Michael.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-hutO_m5g0HE\/Vz2yX20wwlI\/AAAAAAAABN0\/BgXBWfg-itk8ZgludIfDlmGBaKFYmOaUwCLcB\/s320\/Grant_Michael.jpg\" width=\"320\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhilst I sat waiting for Michael Grant’s session I eavesdropped on two older women sitting next to me. The one closest to me was asking her friend who they were seeing, with the reply being, straight from the festival programme, \"Michael Grant who has written over 150 books for children and young adults\". Part of me was so pleased that these women were taking a chance on an author they didn’t know but another part of me wanted to sit them down in a corner with \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb2309377\"\u003EGone \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003Efor a few hours so they could see what they’d been missing. Grant then came in, a suave man with a cool American accent, who immediately made a joke about his glass of water being vodka. I decided this was going to be a great session.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter a brief introduction from Jane Higgins, reading reviews of Grant’s books, the emotive book trailer for \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3041141\"\u003EFront Lines\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E was played. Against a backdrop of images of war a girl’s voice is telling us why women enlisted, that they were not heroes, they were cold and scared and just doing their part. This is the premise of Grant’s latest young adult novel, an alternative history where women are allowed to enlist for World War II. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHiggins asked Grant what drove him to write \u003Ci\u003EFront Lines\u003C\/i\u003E to which Grant answered, rather honestly, that one reason is marketing. There’s a market for strong female characters but he was tired of the dystopia genre so wanted to move beyond that. His second reason is that he cares a lot about history even though he comes ‘from a country indifferent to learning anything from history’. Grant has a healthy cynicism for American politics but it is also clear that he is very knowledgeable. He explains his research process of reading books on WWII, visiting museums, going inside submarines to get a feel for them and even shooting guns in Las Vegas. Grant is funny, with jokes for both the teenagers and adults in the audience. Such as ‘spoiler alert: the Nazis lose’ and joking that America got into WWII late when it was still possible to make money off it. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDespite the violence in Grant’s books he actually doesn’t approve of guns. He told an animated story of how he bought a gun as a young man because he was convinced that a man who had beaten him up was going to kill him. However upon showing the gun to his family he accidently blew a hole in the floor, not realising that the gun was loaded. This shocked Grant, realising that he could have accidently shot a family member, so much that he traded the gun for a camera and never looked back. In his books however Grant doesn’t shy away from real action and violence, starting from 'Animorphs' up till his more recent series. He explains that he’ll write so ‘you hear the bones cracking’ which elicits an audible gasp from the woman next to me. I sincerely hope that she isn’t regretting her decision to see Grant. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGrant also touches on his 'Gone' series, explaining in a nutshell that it’s about a small town that one day has a dome appear over it and all those over 15 years old have disappeared. You can imagine the chaos that ensues. It is not that unlike ‘Under the Dome’ except that Grant wrote ‘Gone’ first. Grant says he’s been criticised for having such young characters do awful things but he says it’s because ‘an 11 year old with a gun and vodka is scary. If they were 18 it’d just be another night in LA’. When asked why he kills off characters he explains that his characters are his employees and sometimes they’re just not performing. He also says that he needs to be realistic, that you can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg. I really appreciate his honesty here and his fantastic metaphors. Super fans will be pleased to hear that Grant is working on a new book set in the ‘Gone’ universe and that there will be some characters who cross over into this new book.  \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFinally comes question time and I make my way over to the microphone, even though I am sweating buckets. I thank him for writing books that I can recommend to teenagers, and especially boys, in the library. I then ask him what young adult books he would recommend. Grant replies that he actually steers away from young adult books as he doesn’t want them to affect his writing but he does recommend the author Andrew Smith. He then gives some lovely praise to his wife Katherine Applegate, whom he challenged to win the Newberry Medal. She did with her 2012 book \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb2650615\"\u003EThe One and Only Ivan\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E. As I sit back down the woman next to me tells me ‘Great question, well done’ and I decide that I quite like her. The session wraps up and upon leaving I see Grant signing books and chatting to teens and I think what a cool and intelligent role model he must be for them.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E-- \u003Ci\u003EChelsea\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=0062342150\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=0062342150\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"320\" width=\"211\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781405277044\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781405277044\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"320\" width=\"208\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/feeds\/4503287773087737863\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/michael-grant-at-awf-2016-front-lines.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/4503287773087737863"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/4503287773087737863"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/michael-grant-at-awf-2016-front-lines.html","title":"Michael Grant at AWF 2016: Front Lines"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Karen Craig"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18310967522076681423"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"23","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-WaLn2rFYxqE\/UNvHlimMvBI\/AAAAAAAAABY\/ceYnAw1lZEk\/s220\/The%2BLibrarian.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-hutO_m5g0HE\/Vz2yX20wwlI\/AAAAAAAABN0\/BgXBWfg-itk8ZgludIfDlmGBaKFYmOaUwCLcB\/s72-c\/Grant_Michael.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501884760724421053.post-2829711575336296259"},"published":{"$t":"2016-05-19T23:00:00.000+12:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-05-20T00:56:26.278+12:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"#aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writer's Festival"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gareth"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Janna Levin"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Janna Levin at AWF 2016: Gravitational Sensations"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003ELooks like Gareth from Digital Services did well in his choice of AWF session -- and also in writing it up for us! Here's his definitely not-boring post:\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781847921963\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781847921963\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"200\" width=\"127\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-LivqWCAi9XM\/Vz2tGlWEIBI\/AAAAAAAABNk\/duPsRRJANQwvJQFCaLEZm8GYHddD4Yt2gCLcB\/s1600\/Levin_Janna%2B%2528c%2529%2BSonja%2BGeorgevich.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-LivqWCAi9XM\/Vz2tGlWEIBI\/AAAAAAAABNk\/duPsRRJANQwvJQFCaLEZm8GYHddD4Yt2gCLcB\/s200\/Levin_Janna%2B%2528c%2529%2BSonja%2BGeorgevich.jpg\" width=\"174\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJanna Levin's talk was a nice break from the usual panel discussions and one-on-one interviews that customarily fill up the schedule of a book festival. Instead she presented an audience-friendly lecture on modern physics - in particular the recent breakthrough recording of gravitational waves washing over the planet earth from the collision of two black holes in a distant galaxy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESound boring? Fortunately it wasn't, since Levin chose her metaphors wisely and had plenty of video clips to bring her monologue to life. Though you might have to excuse my ignorance as I breeze over the highlights of her talk (without much knowledge of physics to back me up!).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELevin spent the first half of the lecture just trying to open up the audience's mind to what gravity actually involves. Rather than being an all-powerful force that holds us to the ground, she asked us to imagine first that our natural state was weightlessness - it was actually the objects in our way (the ground beneath our feet) which stopped us drifting in one direction or another. To illustrate this point, she played a segment of an OK Go music video, which was filmed on an airplane in free-fall, allowing the band to move about in weightless suspension:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ciframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n7BKvu4AyE0\" width=\"560\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EIt was nice to have moments of levity like this, though her point was more subtle - she was gradually building a picture in our minds of Einstein's view of physics, which portrays gravity as curves in space-time that gradually pull on our otherwise weightless position. Hence, if you are in an airplane traveling at the same speed as this pull, you achieve the zero gravity as in the video above.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAll this was a nice prelude to the actual subject of her talk - the scientific attempt to record the gravitational waves that hold us down - a subject covered in more detail in her book, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3165352\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EBlack Hole Blues and other Songs From Outer Space\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. It follows the path from Einstein's first theory of gravity through to the creation of one of the world's most sensitive scientific measurement instruments, which was created specifically to test one of the predictions of the theory. In particular, Einstein's theory suggested that a large enough cataclysm in the universe might cause a ripple big enough to \"pluck\" the gravitational curves that cross over our own planet.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn order to record such an event, scientists created LIGO - a four-kilometre long section of concrete pipe, with lasers running between tiny mirrors at each end, which would then be able to track a movement in the earth's gravitational field. In fact, there were two sister sites - each on opposite coasts of the US, so any instantaneous changes could be detected. The price tag? A cool US$620 million!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFortunately they actually achieved their goal late last year and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/einstein-s-gravitational-waves-found-at-last-1.19361\"\u003Eannounced their finding in February of this year\u003C\/a\u003E! You can hear their result in the following little clip - a fairly unassuming little sound for all the build up Levin had given it!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ciframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TWqhUANNFXw\" width=\"560\"\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat is possibly more interesting to the lay reader is the personal stories of the scientists who made this discovery possible. The first idea for this experiment came in the fifties and it has taken decades of argument to convince the wider scientific field that such an experiment was useful or even likely.\u003Cbr \/\u003ELevin has the skill to interweave the science and the story of the scientists together in a way that is very approachable to a general audience and hence her talk made me very keen to check out \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/search\/C__SLevin%2C%20Janna.__Orightresult?lang=eng\u0026amp;suite=def\"\u003Eone of her many books\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt was great to see that she also had quite some skills at handling left-field questions from the audience. In the midst of a run of serious questioners, one chap stood up and asked how it was that a beautiful woman such as herself decided to get into the unusual career of astrophysicist.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere were jeers from the audience, but Levin simply smiled and said that it was better that such ideas were brought out into the open, given that some members of our society do believe that a women's main goal is to be beautiful. In contrast, she said her parents were feminists and that she therefore didn't believe in such a goal from the outset. Her response was a final display of her sharp intelligence, which is able to cut through to the truth of the matter no matter how complicated or how banal!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E-- \u003Ci\u003EGareth\u003C\/i\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2829711575336296259\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/janna-levin-at-awf-2016-gravitational.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/2829711575336296259"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/2829711575336296259"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/janna-levin-at-awf-2016-gravitational.html","title":"Janna Levin at AWF 2016: Gravitational Sensations"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Auckland Libraries"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/12574555209830314635"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-tieh7eAo6eE\/WY0kVbcxEtI\/AAAAAAAABTI\/psUiUjkTCUsk4PgTr9vzUiYb2pewQQIsQCK4BGAYYCw\/s113\/L16bD2iB_400x400.jpeg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-LivqWCAi9XM\/Vz2tGlWEIBI\/AAAAAAAABNk\/duPsRRJANQwvJQFCaLEZm8GYHddD4Yt2gCLcB\/s72-c\/Levin_Janna%2B%2528c%2529%2BSonja%2BGeorgevich.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501884760724421053.post-6240050011512309103"},"published":{"$t":"2016-05-18T18:32:00.000+12:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-05-22T16:17:34.953+12:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"#aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writers Festival"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Brian Turner"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Carolyn"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fiona Farrell"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Joe Bennett"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Fiona Farrell, Brian Turner and Joe Bennett in \"Another country?\" at AWF 2016"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EIs the South Island \"another country\"?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003ECarolyn from Regional Collections knew there would be no one answer from the panellists at the eponymous AWF session, but also that all the answers would be interesting. She tells us about them here:\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-iEp2ZoWYzr8\/VzwID5DrhPI\/AAAAAAAABNY\/l7GDFjHgtw0kgSXuq_Ycaii7nntta8VaACLcB\/s1600\/Turner_Brian%2B%2528credit%2BDeclan%2BWong%2529.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"213\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-iEp2ZoWYzr8\/VzwID5DrhPI\/AAAAAAAABNY\/l7GDFjHgtw0kgSXuq_Ycaii7nntta8VaACLcB\/s320\/Turner_Brian%2B%2528credit%2BDeclan%2BWong%2529.jpg\" width=\"320\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003EBrian Turner (photo: Declan Wong)\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003EI joined the long queue of people waiting to hear Fiona Farrell, Brian Turner and Joe Bennett talk about what it is like being a South Islander in a country where they are a minority (only 23% of the population) with some trepidation -  I was born and bred in Auckland, but know from living in Hamilton for 12 years that Aucklanders are often the butt of cruel jokes from those living south of the Bombay Hills, let alone the Mainland. However, I was eager to attend, largely due to a long-standing  respect and love for the artistry and intelligence  of Southern wordsmiths and artists. Moreover, as a teenager I found refuge, enlightenment and entertainment in the works of many Te Wai Pounamu writers including Ruth Dallas, Keri Hulme, Owen Marshall and Janet Frame.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe session commenced with a brief introduction by the chair, Jesse Mulligan (a Hamiltonian), followed by readings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe first reader was Fiona Farrell, born in Oamaru but now predominantly living in Christchurch. She read an excerpt from her latest book, \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3033492\"\u003EThe Village at the Edge of the Empire\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E (2015), which was shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. This factual work, the first of a planned two volumes of which the second will be fictional, looks at the rebuilding of a city (in this case Christchurch) and explores the themes of nostalgia and lost landscapes. She encouraged the audience to bask in the familiarity of local places like their corner dairy. She knows from bitter experience that you never know when they might be gone.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrian Turner (born in Dunedin), poet, author, environmentalist and an expert in many fields including rabbiting, cycling, playing hockey (he played hockey for New Zealand in the 1960’s) and mountaineering – took the floor next.  He is also by his own admission a political being and is not shy about chastising the North for its culpability in the ‘despoliation’ of the South in the name of progress (the proposal for increased daily helicopter landings on Mt. Tutoko Glacier and the trend towards lifestyle blocks were among those cited). He read an extract from his book: \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3078521\"\u003EBoundaries: people and places of Central Otago\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E and then quoted environmentalist Paul Kingsworth in The Guardian online (17 August 2009):\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“Yet very few of us are prepared to look honestly at the message this reality is screaming at us: that the civilisation we are a part of is hitting the buffers at full speed, and it is too late to stop it. Instead, most of us – and I include in this generalisation much of the mainstream environmental movement – are still wedded to a vision of the future as an upgraded version of the present….”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETurner also referenced \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb1604527\"\u003EA short history of progress\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E by Ronald Wright from The Massey Lectures (2004) in which the author discusses the impact of technology, population and consumerism on nature. In closing, Turner quoted from Margaret Atwood’s \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb2337496\"\u003EPayback\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E: “Nature is calling in her debt, and nature calls last.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe final reader was Joe Bennett, born in England, but who has lived in New Zealand since 1987 and who now resides, with his dog, in Lyttelton. He continued Turner's theme, asking the audience to indicate if they believed that the human species would be around in a million years. No one raised their hand. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBennett believes that the South is not visceral to home, but that through reading and literature we know we are not alone. He read from the short story ‘Cabernet Sauvignon with my brother’ by Owen Marshall.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter the readings, throughout the session, Jesse Mulligan acted as Devil’s advocate, asking the panel a series of provocative questions, including:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\"Why don’t you move to Auckland?\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETurner replied  that he panicked too easily to live in Auckland, and that although he enjoyed walking around cities he needed to hear the silence and sounds of the open country and breathe in  proper air. For him two of the most affecting words in the English language are love and home, and home is where the heart is. Fiona Farrell commented that she loved the diversity of New Zealand and that she split her time between Christchurch and a beach in the Banks Peninsula. She also mentioned her strong bond with Oamaru and in particular the limestone cliffs, which had deep historical significance and gave her a sense of belonging. Lastly Joe Bennett noted that it had never crossed his mind to move to Auckland, sharing an entertaining story of how he came to live and work as a teacher in the South Island.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDiscussion continued about the unbalanced portrayal of the South Island in the media – that it was often depicted in a patronising manner as a beautiful place, not often visited and that even the word “South” had negative connotations – as it is always referring to down (Down South). One of the panellists mentioned how one of our most widely-read national magazines failed to properly cover the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquake, instead focusing on public health and other miscellaneous issues. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\"Is there a South Island personality?\"\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrian Turner began by saying yes and referred to the poem ‘Country Pub”. He described Southerners as being more taciturn than their northern counterparts, and more pessimistic, but genuine – they listen with sincerity and are more humble and less expressive (although he did concede that some of these expressions can relate to other people besides those from the South Island).\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;Later he read out examples from a list given to him by his son which include a few disparaging characteristics his son attributes to Aucklanders, such as that Aucklanders are condescending and disconnected…. Hmm….\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFiona Farrell then talked of clichés about the South Island, and gave the example of television advertisements that use the image of the South as a natural paradise to push their products. She mentioned one cheese advert in particular, where the beautiful lake depicted was in reality a toxic wasteland in need of urgent care. She added that there is a myth about the South which is comforting to urbanites,  but that we must all fight to keep the clichés a reality.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs always Joe Bennett added a bit of humour and common ground to the discussion.  He began his response with a few rhetorical questions. Are South Islanders grumpier than North Islanders? Are the two islands becoming more homogenous? He believes that New Zealand is less dogmatic than some countries about what our distinct characteristics are, and he believes that it is not necessary a bad thing. New Zealand is an immigrant, multicultural country, as evidenced by Auckland City. He said he did not want to make generalisations about the North or South, believing there were no distinctive differences between them.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe discussion moved to Southland art and artists, and exhibitions important to them. Graham Sydney and Tom Fields were mentioned several times, and also the rock drawings on the limestone outcrops in South Canterbury.  Jesse Mulligan asked what the South Island offers the artist. Fiona Farrell talked about the positive impact of low rents in Dunedin and the resulting artistic output. Joe Bennett mentioned that he didn’t have a particular artist in mind but mused on the possibility of someone capturing the vista of Burke’s Pass in painting.\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe session concluded with questions from the floor and it was here that Brian Turner  confided that it was James K. Baxter‘s poetry that inspired him to start writing. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the end of the session, Jesse Mulligan asked the audience  if they thought you could still be a Southerner and live in Auckland. Many raised their hands.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI stepped out into the familiar space that is Aotea Square feeling a little chastened, enlightened, challenged, and irritated. Not bad for a one hour gathering.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E-- \u003Ci\u003ECarolyn\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781775538318\/mc.gif\u0026amp;client=elgar\u0026amp;type=snui\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781775538318\/mc.gif\u0026amp;client=elgar\u0026amp;type=snui\" height=\"200\" width=\"137\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781775537519\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781775537519\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"200\" width=\"130\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/feeds\/6240050011512309103\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/fiona-farrell-brian-turner-and-joe.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/6240050011512309103"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/6240050011512309103"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/fiona-farrell-brian-turner-and-joe.html","title":"Fiona Farrell, Brian Turner and Joe Bennett in \"Another country?\" at AWF 2016"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Karen Craig"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18310967522076681423"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"23","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-WaLn2rFYxqE\/UNvHlimMvBI\/AAAAAAAAABY\/ceYnAw1lZEk\/s220\/The%2BLibrarian.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-iEp2ZoWYzr8\/VzwID5DrhPI\/AAAAAAAABNY\/l7GDFjHgtw0kgSXuq_Ycaii7nntta8VaACLcB\/s72-c\/Turner_Brian%2B%2528credit%2BDeclan%2BWong%2529.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501884760724421053.post-2960020246816570079"},"published":{"$t":"2016-05-18T11:11:00.001+12:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-05-22T16:18:01.500+12:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"#aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writer's Festival"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Jeanette Winterson"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"literature"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Renee"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Jeanette Winterson at AWF 2016: The Gap of Time"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003ERenée from our Sir George Grey Special Collections spent Sunday morning in the company of Jeanette Winterson and... over a thousand fellow Winterson enthusiasts gathered in the ASB Theatre. Here's \"The Winterson's Tale\" as told by\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003ERenée:\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780804141352\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780804141352\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"200\" width=\"123\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-M1elq0oNjvQ\/VzuSzdw1THI\/AAAAAAAABNE\/4htUT7RY9PQSIaknkXXWSx-lQgZ_Uh6ggCLcB\/s1600\/Winterson_Jeanette.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-M1elq0oNjvQ\/VzuSzdw1THI\/AAAAAAAABNE\/4htUT7RY9PQSIaknkXXWSx-lQgZ_Uh6ggCLcB\/s200\/Winterson_Jeanette.jpg\" width=\"133\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWell, Jeanette was amazing. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt was a sunny and fresh Sunday morning and the festival atmosphere was suitably sparkly out on the café terraces, but the crowds were nevertheless eager to get inside to hear Jeanette Winterson talk about her latest book, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3058785?lang=eng\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Gap of Time\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. But this was no ordinary talk – and I’ve had this confirmed from Festival goers more experienced than myself – Jeanette’s event was really more of a performance, and a wonderfully engaging and uplifting one too. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe appeared onstage alone, sans interviewer and comfy chairs, to Cyndi Lauper’s \"Time after Time\". Next came some thundery audio snippets of what must have been Leontes raging in The Winter's Tale – a little hard to follow, to be honest, but I forgave it because I knew her novel is a retelling of the play and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz\/EN\/Events\/Events\/Pages\/shakespeareinhistime.aspx\"\u003Ewe all love Shakespeare\u003C\/a\u003E in Auckland right now. And then she began to talk about Shakespeare, in a wonderfully anecdotal, digressive, and poetic way, about why The Winter’s Tale was the only possible choice of plays for her to retell in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/series\/HSR\/hogarth-shakespeare\"\u003EHogarth Shakespeare series\u003C\/a\u003E. Because of her own adoptive history; because it has an abandoned baby “at the shining centre of it”. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo she talked about Shakespeare, and how he also loved to rework and re-tell his stories, and how in The Winter’s Tale he takes the themes of betrayal, revenge and tragedy from Othello and King Lear and instead of devastation and loss, creates an opportunity for the restoration of love through forgiveness. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd then she read from the book, and at first I found it odd, because the Jeanette Winterson I remember loving as a teenager was all poetic and oblique (think \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb1061712\"\u003EThe Passion\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb1089812\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003ESexing the Cherry\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E) but this was an action scene, set in a fictional New Orleans, with tyres squealing and gunshots. And with onstage sound effects! Surprising, but she really did bring it to life. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd that was just the fish-hook. What she read next (Chapter Two) was a perfect description of love and loss as experienced by the narrator: the life-changing experience of a first baby and the impossible fact of his wife dying. I cried, and if you’ve loved or experienced grief you might have too.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter that it was questions, which Jeanette also somehow managed to make transcend the ordinary. The first one asked about Shakespeare and how difficult was it to turn the high drama of the play into a novel. Jeanette cleverly used this as a jumping-off point for another passionate monologue, about the importance of language in allowing us to express our thoughts and feelings “because when we can’t find the words, that’s when we really struggle”. Woven into this was the importance of education…. and so she brought it back to Shakespeare, whose work gives us the big words and the big stories, so we can give voice to our big thoughts and feelings.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt was clear to me that what I was enjoying was a pretty polished performance - after all I’d heard Jeannette herself deliver some of the same lines in her \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.radionz.co.nz\/national\/programmes\/saturday\/audio\/201799834\/jeanette-winterson-the-disguised-written-self\"\u003Eradio interview with Kim Hill\u003C\/a\u003E just the week before. But this didn’t diminish the experience at all. She came across as a smart, funny, sincere and feeling person, and she inspired her Sunday morning devotees to a standing ovation. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E--\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003ERenée\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780802135780\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780802135780\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"200\" width=\"130\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780099598329\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780099598329\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"200\" width=\"130\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2960020246816570079\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/jeanette-winterson-at-awf-2016-gap-of.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/2960020246816570079"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/2960020246816570079"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/jeanette-winterson-at-awf-2016-gap-of.html","title":"Jeanette Winterson at AWF 2016: The Gap of Time"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Karen Craig"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18310967522076681423"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"23","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-WaLn2rFYxqE\/UNvHlimMvBI\/AAAAAAAAABY\/ceYnAw1lZEk\/s220\/The%2BLibrarian.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-M1elq0oNjvQ\/VzuSzdw1THI\/AAAAAAAABNE\/4htUT7RY9PQSIaknkXXWSx-lQgZ_Uh6ggCLcB\/s72-c\/Winterson_Jeanette.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501884760724421053.post-1847618235721814177"},"published":{"$t":"2016-05-17T20:38:00.000+12:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-05-22T16:18:30.679+12:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"#aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writers Festival"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writers Festival 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fiction"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Michel Faber"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Todd"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Michel Faber at AWF 2016: \"Strangely Human\""},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003ETodd from Central City Library chose Michel Faber's session, 'Strangely human'. Here's his account:\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-hdCuKMFkqQQ\/VzrVGJ1TfCI\/AAAAAAAABMs\/Xox96O2fxPgozgM9emVOQmTKwfHUcCgiACLcB\/s1600\/Faber_Michel.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-hdCuKMFkqQQ\/VzrVGJ1TfCI\/AAAAAAAABMs\/Xox96O2fxPgozgM9emVOQmTKwfHUcCgiACLcB\/s200\/Faber_Michel.jpg\" width=\"150\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=055341884X\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=055341884X\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"200\" width=\"133\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs I watched the irreverent author Paula Morris – here in her role as interviewer – struggle to attach the battery pack of her over-the-ear microphone to her person, I noticed that the two chairs and table that furnished the stage were positioned between two giant potted plants. Faber sat down in his chair and clasped his hands across his lap and waited for Morris who found her seat still clutching the battery pack. When she remarked that the blame for her blunder lay squarely with the one-piece dress she was wearing, I could’ve been forgiven for believing that the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.funnyordie.com\/between_two_ferns\"\u003E‘Between Two Ferns’\u003C\/a\u003E universe I’d just stepped into was quips all the way down.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYes, the quips did come – mostly from Morris, who, at one point, went to that ANZAC place Kiwis inevitably go when they come face-to-face with an Australian (Netherlands-born Faber did a stint in The Lucky Country before moving to Scotland with his late wife Eva). I don’t recall the specifics of the jibe but something about Australia’s convict past comes to mind.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFaber, good-natured and warm, went along with this, as he did with all of Morris’s questioning. In fact, what became quite clear to me during the hour-long interview was just how good-natured and warm Faber was. Sure, he’d written numerous well-loved books and short story collections (his first novel \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb1020204\"\u003EUnder the Skin\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E was published in 1998 and adapted for the screen in 2014) and much had been made of them (Faber’s publisher urged him to apply for British residency to be eligible for the Booker Prize pending the release of his critically-acclaimed tome \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb1106572\"\u003EThe Crimson Petal and the White\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E in 2002). But what I got from Michel Faber was much more than just his writer self; more than the author reading (quite entertainingly) from his most recent – and stated, last – novel, \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb2864834\"\u003EThe Book of Strange New Things\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWe got deep into the world of Faber: his time spent as a nurse; his attitude to religion (he’s non-religious but fascinated by what religion provides for people in times of “un-endable grief and suffering and nightmare”); insight into his marriage to Eva with anecdotes including one about Scotland’s constant cloud cover being the couple’s dream weather scenario; his pastime of composing music, and even the existential wall he hit during the Abbott era in Australia, when he questioned literature’s ability to bring about meaningful change in the world, when no one with any real power seemed to read or value reading.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFortunately for the book lovers of the world, Michel Faber worked through this crisis of faith. He mentioned that he now believed literature’s value lay in its ability to affect the reader in modest ways like in the quiet of an afternoon. None of this sounded trite or maudlin passing Faber’s lips. Nor was it saccharine when he read three heartrending poems from his forthcoming poetry collection, \u003Ci\u003EUndying,\u003C\/i\u003E about his life with Eva just before she died from cancer in 2014, to an audience of complete strangers. I can say without a doubt that Paula Morris’s tears weren’t the only ones shed in the room. The tenderness of this final five minutes was sanctioned by everyone present – no doubt due, in big part, to the openness and affability of this former recluse named Michel Faber.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs the session concluded, Faber hugged Paula Morris, and I thought about how good he is at the end. About when I read the final sentence of \u003Ci\u003EThe Book of Strange New Things\u003C\/i\u003E, exactly the kind of asphyctic line that made the time spent inhabiting the world of the novel worth it – even if it was only in the quiet of an afternoon. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E--\u003Ci\u003ETodd\u003C\/i\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/feeds\/1847618235721814177\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/michel-faber-at-awf-2016-strangely-human.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/1847618235721814177"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/1847618235721814177"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/michel-faber-at-awf-2016-strangely-human.html","title":"Michel Faber at AWF 2016: \"Strangely Human\""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Karen Craig"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18310967522076681423"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"23","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-WaLn2rFYxqE\/UNvHlimMvBI\/AAAAAAAAABY\/ceYnAw1lZEk\/s220\/The%2BLibrarian.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-hdCuKMFkqQQ\/VzrVGJ1TfCI\/AAAAAAAABMs\/Xox96O2fxPgozgM9emVOQmTKwfHUcCgiACLcB\/s72-c\/Faber_Michel.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501884760724421053.post-5754297405520332801"},"published":{"$t":"2016-05-16T23:00:00.000+12:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-05-22T16:19:01.460+12:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"#aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writers Festival"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Beneath the earth"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Chelsea"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"John Boyne"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"John Boyne at AWF 2016: The narrative of history"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EChelsea from Central City Library is a huge reader of YA fiction and her mission for AWF 2016 was to see John Boyne and Michael Grant. Here's number one accomplished:\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-znlecUqxokA\/VzmznftpqQI\/AAAAAAAABMY\/LftxLnds42MSkVoPJA-4GTqTmDhcFBjxQCLcB\/s1600\/Boyne_John.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-znlecUqxokA\/VzmznftpqQI\/AAAAAAAABMY\/LftxLnds42MSkVoPJA-4GTqTmDhcFBjxQCLcB\/s320\/Boyne_John.jpg\" width=\"213\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780857523419\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780857523419\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"320\" width=\"198\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs way of introduction to this stand-out event which had quickly sold out its smaller venue and been relocated to the ASB Theatre, Guy Somerset read out some harsh criticisms of Boyne, that he is full of himself, and is a 'knob'. This drew laughter, as this smiling, youthful, bald-headed man in his jeans and t-shirt appeared to be quite the opposite of a knob, and indeed spent the next hour proving that criticism wrong. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Irish accent is undoubtedly the most musically beautiful to listen to, which endears you to Boyne even more. He began by introducing his new collection of short stories,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3085888\"\u003EBeneath the Earth\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E. Boyne joked that he had amassed enough good will with his publisher after ten years to be allowed to publish it as short story collections are notoriously risky. His short stories revolve around the unifying themes of betrayal and isolation. Those familiar with his work will know that he does such emotions well and with authenticity.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESomerset asked Boyne a few brief questions about his earlier novels which pleased long-term fans such as myself, and hopefully interested others in reading them. Boyne was not afraid to be himself, switching between talking seriously about which emotions drive his writing to joking about his dislike for Hugh Grant films. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESomerset then moved on to the main feature, Boyne’s 2015 novel \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb2921972\"\u003EA History of Loneliness\u003C\/a\u003E,\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Ci\u003E \u003C\/i\u003Eset in his native Ireland. Boyne explained that in many small countries, such as Ireland and New Zealand, authors are expected to write about their own countries, in a way we don’t expect from American authors. Boyne refused to, however, until he had a story he felt strongly about, and that came in the form of a novel about child abuse in the Catholic Church.  Growing up in the Catholic Church and school system, Boyne comes from a place of knowledge and emotion, and he is not afraid to mention the abuse that he suffered and the resulting impact it had on his life. Because of this, he found that this story just flowed out of him. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBoyne read aloud two extracts from the book, his accent bringing the characters to life. Well adept at reading aloud, he looked up constantly and remained in eye contact with the crowd. The first extract was funny with black humour, the second was extremely sad and shocking, leaving the whole theatre silent. Boyne explained that he wasn’t trying to bring down the church, but rather bring light to this problem, and open a conversation on how it can be stopped. He interviewed many priests for this book, and found that they all suffered from loneliness, going home to empty houses. He wonders if this loneliness lends itself to being perverted into abuse. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe then briefly touched on his books for young people, the most famous being \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb2152177\"\u003EThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E. Fans will be pleased to hear that a tenth anniversary edition is to be published in November, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. Many of these novels are set in wartime, as he likes to explore what role children play in war. Characters from ‘\u003Ci\u003EThe Boy\u003C\/i\u003E…’ have cameos in his new YA book \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3081647\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EThe Boy at the Top of the Mountain\u003C\/i\u003E,\u003C\/a\u003E a quirk he also likes to do with his adult novels. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFinally came question time, the most poignant of them coming from a young woman who, with a trembling voice, admitted that she had been abused as a child. She asked for advice from Boyne on how to deal with her feelings and form relationships.  He replied that if you can admit that in front of all these people than you are stronger than you think. Don’t allow those who have hurt you in the past to still have power over you. A sentiment that we can all do with remembering.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E-- \u003Ci\u003EChelsea\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781909531192\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9781909531192\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"320\" width=\"208\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780857520944\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780857520944\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"320\" width=\"212\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003E\u003Co:p\u003E\u003C\/o:p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/feeds\/5754297405520332801\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/john-boyne-at-awf-2016-narrative-of.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/5754297405520332801"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/5754297405520332801"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/john-boyne-at-awf-2016-narrative-of.html","title":"John Boyne at AWF 2016: The narrative of history"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Karen Craig"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18310967522076681423"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"23","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-WaLn2rFYxqE\/UNvHlimMvBI\/AAAAAAAAABY\/ceYnAw1lZEk\/s220\/The%2BLibrarian.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-znlecUqxokA\/VzmznftpqQI\/AAAAAAAABMY\/LftxLnds42MSkVoPJA-4GTqTmDhcFBjxQCLcB\/s72-c\/Boyne_John.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2501884760724421053.post-2757229495265574214"},"published":{"$t":"2016-05-16T19:49:00.002+12:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-05-22T16:19:37.288+12:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"#aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"aklwritersfest"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writers Festival"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Auckland Writers Festival 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"AWF 2016"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Jane"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Rufin"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"The Santiago Pilgrimage"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Jean-Christophe Rufin at AWF 2016: The Immortal Way"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Ci\u003EOur Research Centres Manager Jane Wild went to hear Jean-Christophe Rufin, doctor, co-founder of Medecins Sans Frontières,\u0026nbsp;former ambassador, prize-winning novelist, and author,\u0026nbsp;most recently, of \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/discover.elgar.govt.nz\/iii\/encore\/record\/C__Rb3166809\"\u003EThe Santiago Pilgrimage: walking the immortal way\u003C\/a\u003E, which I just discovered was subtitled in the original French \"Compostela in spite of myself\", demonstrating perhaps why we English speakers find ourselves resorting to French to express the concept of \u0026nbsp;'nuance'. But I don't want to keep you from Jane's interesting and nuanced post about the session. Here it is:\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ctable align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ctbody\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-8F5ejP0VhTQ\/Vzlyxvs_qrI\/AAAAAAAABMA\/sRWutQaImqY1qV6v3AjCopWgIrbAqZs_ACLcB\/s1600\/Copy%2Bof%2BRufin%2B-%2B%25C2%25A9%2B%25C3%2589ditions%2BGu%25C3%25A9rin%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-8F5ejP0VhTQ\/Vzlyxvs_qrI\/AAAAAAAABMA\/sRWutQaImqY1qV6v3AjCopWgIrbAqZs_ACLcB\/s320\/Copy%2Bof%2BRufin%2B-%2B%25C2%25A9%2B%25C3%2589ditions%2BGu%25C3%25A9rin%2B%25281%2529.jpg\" width=\"320\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003Ec. Editions Guerin\u003C\/td\u003E\u003C\/tr\u003E\u003C\/tbody\u003E\u003C\/table\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EThe capacity crowd in the ASB Theatre grew quiet to focus on two men on the stage. In conversation with Geraint Martin, Jean-Christophe Rufin outlined his personal track to enlightenment along the well-trodden Camino de Santiago. He had the full attention of the masses – many of whom will have been fellow pilgrims, and many of the others, certainly, potential pilgrims.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERufin took his path following a stint as French Ambassador in Senegal. The lifestyle contrast would have been extreme, but I sense that Rufin possesses a natural level of enlightenment to start with. His accent is beguiling too.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA doctor by training, Rufin explained that the Camino is a virus – “Touch it and you will be contaminated”. The preparation for the walk starts with your backpack. The larger the pack, the more anxieties you are carrying. He was clear -- he didn’t take a water bottle, he didn’t carry a journal and he kept his pack light. His memories are the thoughts which returned, unbidden, once back at home, triggered by the experience he gained.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHere are his three stages on the way:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStep 1 – Focus on your body and most particularly your feet. The walk requires attention to the physical. Walking eight hours a day takes its toll. Sleeping close together does too. The goal each night was to get to sleep before the snorers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStep 2 \u0026nbsp;-- Observe the places you see and allow this to connect you to the past. This walk has been taken since the ninth century and covers mountains, forests and cathedrals. Rufin chose the more mountainous route to avoid some of the high season's foot traffic.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStep 3 – This occurs when you are on your way as a pilgrim and it takes you by surprise – the simplicity of being in the present and relating to others as fellow pilgrims. Questions on the route are reduced to: “Where did you start the way?” which must be followed by, “How many days?” These may be skewed by human competition – including the taxi after nightfall. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe arrival at the destination must be a shock.  St James in the Cathedral is where the trail ends. The lesson learned on arriving at Santiago presents another challenge. The much anticipated arrival – “It is nothing”. The learning gained – “the aim of the way is the way”. For some, this becomes a pause before starting a repeat pilgrimage. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd with this the hour is up, and the lights come up for the inevitable irrelevant question before the thoughtful crowd moves on to their next event and the possibility of the book.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E-- \u003Ci\u003EJane \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780857059987\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.syndetics.com\/index.php?isbn=9780857059987\/lc.jpg\u0026amp;client=elgar\" height=\"320\" width=\"216\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/feeds\/2757229495265574214\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/jean-christophe-rufin-at-awf-2016.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/2757229495265574214"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/2501884760724421053\/posts\/default\/2757229495265574214"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/albooksinthecity.blogspot.com\/2016\/05\/jean-christophe-rufin-at-awf-2016.html","title":"Jean-Christophe Rufin at AWF 2016: The Immortal Way"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Karen Craig"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18310967522076681423"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"23","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-WaLn2rFYxqE\/UNvHlimMvBI\/AAAAAAAAABY\/ceYnAw1lZEk\/s220\/The%2BLibrarian.jpg"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-8F5ejP0VhTQ\/Vzlyxvs_qrI\/AAAAAAAABMA\/sRWutQaImqY1qV6v3AjCopWgIrbAqZs_ACLcB\/s72-c\/Copy%2Bof%2BRufin%2B-%2B%25C2%25A9%2B%25C3%2589ditions%2BGu%25C3%25A9rin%2B%25281%2529.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"1"}}]}});