On the weekend of 11th-12th September 2010, I attended the Write Around the Murray Festival (WAM) in Albury as both an invited writer and a guest. After performing poetry first up on Saturday at an outdoor marque I was then free to sit back and enjoy the rest of the fabulous events at the festival.
The festival included in total over 50 events with 32 writers/guests. There was a mixture of free events, gold- coin panel discussion events, workshops and dinners. I was impressed with the ambitious mixture of events and the calibre of the guests – from successful writers such as Cate Kennedy, Jason Steger, Melina Marcheetta, Andrew Rule and Chris Masters, to cutting edge bloggers such as Angela Meyer and Derek Motion and experienced poetry performers such as Emilie Zoey Baker, David Gilbey and Nathan Curnow.
One of the main themes of the festival was 'Sustainability' – in regards to writing. This encompassed discussions on how to sustain writing momentum both on a particular project and over the lifespan of a writing career. Another interesting theme was the idea of building a readership. The varied and different ways to build a loyal (and perhaps small) readership using different mediums were explored including smaller publishers, zines, the internet and blogging.
By far my absolute highlight of the festival was the Literary Walkabout, an event that I made a spur of the weekend decision to attend. It was a free event where writers and guests meandered their way through Albury's CBD stopping at different locations to hear stories/poems/articles that were inspired by Albury's streetscape. Some of the stories included inspiration of local Church architecture, the recounting of an act of vandalism to celebrate a 21st birthday, the pressure of trying on a dress in a fancy shop and the demise of the art of window shopping. The Walkabout ended at a local pub, The Bended Elbow, where further local stories were recounted as we all enjoyed a drink. The event was friendly, creative and cleverly appealed to both the visual and auditory nature of story telling. I believe that a Literary Walkabout has great potential for Narrandera, particularly to be held at an event such as the John O'Brien Festival.
I've been waiting for your Write around the Murray report Jo! I envy you.I didn't get there in the end but next year I'll be better prepared.
ReplyDeleteSo many options on the program and so many free activities, including the walk, which I agree would be a great addition to the John O'Brien fest.
Hope you enjoyed your own performance - you were in very good company.