It was the chance to see Zadie Smith in conversation which got me in more than the prospect of an 'unabashedly feminist agenda', but the second of those was intriguing too so we went made a day of it. As things transpired, of course, Monday's Q&A and its aftermath contributed to the sense of 'event'-ness about it all, with several of the principals overlapping (Mona Eltahawy, Nayuka Gorrie, Fran Kelly, as well as one of the question-askers Nicole Lee).
Helen Garner and Sarah Krasnostein
I didn't get much out of this. I think it would've helped to have been a fan of Garner's, particularly given that its nominal subject - or at least jumping-off point - was the publication of her diaries. I liked the distinction between diary and memoir (with the latter, you have the opportunity to reflect back on your past behaviour and declaim that you'd never act that way now), the anecdote about the short story that someone else wrote about her (where she was offended not by her characterisation as having rudely dominated the conversation but by an apparently much more minor detail about what she was wearing), and her line about how if you don't know grammar then you don't have the tools to critique your own work.
Who Gave You Permission? Speaking Up and Speaking Out
Nayuka Gorrie was the MVP on this panel but I enjoyed all of them - Raquel Willis, Ariel Levy, Curtis Sittenfeld and facilitated by Michelle Law. Gorrie on writing's power to subvert, particularly in the hands of people who have been marginalised: writing finds its audience, whereas in a mainstream setting you need to contend with all the barriers that society throws in your way. Someone also pointed out that writing can be a tool in the hands of people who would otherwise struggle to speak in the face of power.
Zadie Smith and Jia Tolentino
A crackling conversation, with a great dynamic between the two, one American and the other English, while both also other, with a sense that, in their different registers - Tolentino fast-talking and zig-zagging through her sentences and Smith sonorously reflective and with an air of unspooling - both were thinking out loud, individually and together. I have to admit that, just 24 hours later, I struggle to remember many of the specifics - although freedom was a theme to which they returned more than once - but the impact was marvellous.
Things My Mother Never Told Me
A revue (or possible gala) style event, with a bakers dozen of performers addressing the theme. This might have been my favourite session, helped no doubt by the evening slot and the rapid turnover format. The three who I found least engaging were the three middle-to-older aged white Australian women (Fran Kelly, Patricia Cornelius, Clare Wright) but I think that was mostly that they weren't speaking to me (as filtered through attendant personal biases born of experience, background etc), and even then they brought diversity[*] had some interesting things to say - both Kelly and Cornelius elaborated variations on the theme of their mothers, from a previous generation of course, having told them very little.
The others I all actively enjoyed, though 'entertained' wasn't always the word given the mix of lighter and more serious (and in some cases very moving) approaches - Gorrie (again), Raquel Willis (finding unexpected parallels between her mother and herself), Maria Tumarkin (delivered as spoken word and made me think I actually should read Axiomatic), Ariel Levy (on money) and Aretha Brown especially. Others: Bhenji Ra, Courtney Barnett ("Nameless, Faceless" of course), Curtis Sittenfeld, Mehreen Faruqi, Nicole Lee.
(w/ R, also Hayley, and many others around)
[*] Diversity was - as you would hope - a feature across the program, with better-than-token representation of at least First Nations, LGBTI (including trans women) and women of colour.
Helen Garner and Sarah Krasnostein
I didn't get much out of this. I think it would've helped to have been a fan of Garner's, particularly given that its nominal subject - or at least jumping-off point - was the publication of her diaries. I liked the distinction between diary and memoir (with the latter, you have the opportunity to reflect back on your past behaviour and declaim that you'd never act that way now), the anecdote about the short story that someone else wrote about her (where she was offended not by her characterisation as having rudely dominated the conversation but by an apparently much more minor detail about what she was wearing), and her line about how if you don't know grammar then you don't have the tools to critique your own work.
Who Gave You Permission? Speaking Up and Speaking Out
Nayuka Gorrie was the MVP on this panel but I enjoyed all of them - Raquel Willis, Ariel Levy, Curtis Sittenfeld and facilitated by Michelle Law. Gorrie on writing's power to subvert, particularly in the hands of people who have been marginalised: writing finds its audience, whereas in a mainstream setting you need to contend with all the barriers that society throws in your way. Someone also pointed out that writing can be a tool in the hands of people who would otherwise struggle to speak in the face of power.
Zadie Smith and Jia Tolentino
A crackling conversation, with a great dynamic between the two, one American and the other English, while both also other, with a sense that, in their different registers - Tolentino fast-talking and zig-zagging through her sentences and Smith sonorously reflective and with an air of unspooling - both were thinking out loud, individually and together. I have to admit that, just 24 hours later, I struggle to remember many of the specifics - although freedom was a theme to which they returned more than once - but the impact was marvellous.
Things My Mother Never Told Me
A revue (or possible gala) style event, with a bakers dozen of performers addressing the theme. This might have been my favourite session, helped no doubt by the evening slot and the rapid turnover format. The three who I found least engaging were the three middle-to-older aged white Australian women (Fran Kelly, Patricia Cornelius, Clare Wright) but I think that was mostly that they weren't speaking to me (as filtered through attendant personal biases born of experience, background etc), and even then they brought diversity[*] had some interesting things to say - both Kelly and Cornelius elaborated variations on the theme of their mothers, from a previous generation of course, having told them very little.
The others I all actively enjoyed, though 'entertained' wasn't always the word given the mix of lighter and more serious (and in some cases very moving) approaches - Gorrie (again), Raquel Willis (finding unexpected parallels between her mother and herself), Maria Tumarkin (delivered as spoken word and made me think I actually should read Axiomatic), Ariel Levy (on money) and Aretha Brown especially. Others: Bhenji Ra, Courtney Barnett ("Nameless, Faceless" of course), Curtis Sittenfeld, Mehreen Faruqi, Nicole Lee.
(w/ R, also Hayley, and many others around)
[*] Diversity was - as you would hope - a feature across the program, with better-than-token representation of at least First Nations, LGBTI (including trans women) and women of colour.
