tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post116192022568452275..comments2024-01-06T00:28:45.062+08:00Comments on Bibliobibuli: Silenced Voicesbibliobibulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-41089743790187767702007-05-07T11:01:00.000+08:002007-05-07T11:01:00.000+08:00"If we look at just one writer, who won the Nobel ..."If we look at just one writer, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, Patrick White, we see a man who lived in an openly homosexual relationship at a time when it was taboo to talk about such things.'<BR/><BR/>I think you just provewd my point -- that people think 'no controversy, no courage'. If it was perfectly acceptable to be in a homosexual relationship at that time, would be still be labeled "courageous" ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-59741247597667468982007-05-06T18:44:00.000+08:002007-05-06T18:44:00.000+08:00dean - my e-mail is sbakar@streamyx.comjust drop m...dean - my e-mail is sbakar@streamyx.com<BR/><BR/>just drop me a line and i will send you a copy of dina's book<BR/><BR/>thanks a lot for the info. i do find it v. interesting. australian authors are producing a lot of good stuff. it's good to know that the universities and individuals are providing support.bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-14926554308144735202007-05-06T12:46:00.000+08:002007-05-06T12:46:00.000+08:00Conservative pundits deplore the Australia Council...Conservative pundits deplore the Australia Council, which provides funding, following an application, to writers who otherwise would find it difficult to survive. You only have to listen to people like Paddy McGuiness, a conservative columnist and editor of the fearlessly right-wing monthly Quadrant, to know that the Australia Council provides inestimable support for the arts in a country where sport reigns supreme.<BR/><BR/>McGuiness and his ilk say that these grants are 'politically motivated' and 'encourage PC thinking'.<BR/><BR/>As I said, universities also provide support for writers who otherwise struggle to survive.<BR/><BR/>The big end of town, which tends to vote Liberal (conservative), has the money but it mostly goes to visual arts and the higher end of the performing arts, such as ballet and opera.<BR/><BR/>But you do have people like Morry Schwartz, a Melbourne property developer who supports the liberal publishing sector but funding Black Inc.<BR/><BR/>He's a rare exception.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure that regional writers centres contribute to the funding of literary fiction, but in general there are too few outlets to really support writers.<BR/><BR/>A good example is Cate Kennedy, who writes exquisite short stories. The biggest item in her CV is publication of a story in The New Yorker. (She'll be appearing at the Sydney Writers' Festival, later this month.)<BR/><BR/>The festival is something of a curiosity. If so few people read literary fiction, why is the festival, and similar events in the other state capitals, so incredibly successful?<BR/><BR/>But Australians are inherently omnivorous. Just because an author is a local, that's no justification for preferring their work. Overseas authors do very well here.<BR/><BR/>That book you have mentioned several times (and were going to send a copy to me, but I can't find your email address), I Am Muslim, would be a good addition to the current debate about the place of Muslims in Australian society. You should encourage the author to send review copies to the broadsheets. The author might also try addressing a copy to Peter Manning, who works at the University of Technology, Sydney. He has written a book called Us and Them about the problem of being a Muslim in modern society.Matthew da Silvahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07158988637117138260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-91193571557772329142007-05-06T12:16:00.000+08:002007-05-06T12:16:00.000+08:00dean - you are so right about the strength and vit...dean - you are so right about the strength and vitality of australian literature. (and also about patrick white whom i also greatly admire)<BR/><BR/>can i divert the flow of discussion here and slip in a question here and ask you how much do you think it is due to the support that writers have from regional writers centres (and maybe other sources?)bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-82313167047808646372007-05-06T11:18:00.000+08:002007-05-06T11:18:00.000+08:00"I thought we were talking about writers"OK, fine,..."I thought we were talking about writers"<BR/><BR/>OK, fine, let's talk about writers, shall we?<BR/><BR/>Australians are obsessed by sport. Literature is a niche endeavour. Selling 5000 copies of a literary novel is considered a good result.<BR/><BR/>But Australian literature is strong, regardless. Writers go without what other people would consider the basics. Often, the only way for them to survive is to teach at a university.<BR/><BR/>Luckily, our universities believe that they have something important to say.<BR/><BR/>If we look at just one writer, who won the Nobel Prize for literature, Patrick White, we see a man who lived in an openly homosexual relationship at a time when it was taboo to talk about such things. His novels contain themes that thirty and forty years later we are beginning to see as critical themes. He was ahead of his time. When he died, most of his estate (which had grown large because of his eventual success) was donated to charities.<BR/><BR/>He believed in the power of high culture, and was never afraid to stand up for those he believed were wronged by society. Probably because he had stood there himself.<BR/><BR/>But White came from one of the richest families in Australia. He never lacked for money because of his inheritance. He shows what the middle class can do when it relinquishes the endless quest for more money, and focuses on the hard task of changing society.<BR/><BR/>When the rich people of his time are long forgotten, Patrick White will still be seen as a beacon of reason in a sea of mediocrity.Matthew da Silvahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07158988637117138260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-81989014950789838652007-05-06T10:22:00.000+08:002007-05-06T10:22:00.000+08:00Er Dean, I thought we were talking about writers. ...Er Dean, I thought we were talking about writers. People I know can be courageous, but it seems you can't be a courageous or brave writer if you live in a less oppressive country or write about less controversial issues. <BR/><BR/>Actually Jen I wonder if they are lucker, I mean controversy is free publicity and easily available material. If you live in Sunnydale what would there be to write about ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-13383071240658118082007-05-06T09:37:00.000+08:002007-05-06T09:37:00.000+08:00thanks lainie - good to see you there.like jen's c...thanks lainie - good to see you there.<BR/><BR/>like jen's comments too. i guess we all wonder how we ourselves would shape up if tested ...bibliobibulihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-62639977406914261512007-05-06T05:33:00.000+08:002007-05-06T05:33:00.000+08:00Just one example:http://www.smh.com.au/news/nation...Just one example:<BR/><BR/>http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/inspirational-principal-receives-top-award/2007/04/30/1177788026581.html<BR/><BR/>A Sydney school principal, who crawled through a blazing house to save the life of an elderly woman, has been given one of NSW's highest bravery awards.<BR/><BR/>"To go into a burning building with no safety gear at all is something you wouldn't normally do," fire officer Brendan Mooney said today.<BR/><BR/>"But she put her life on the line to save someone she didn't know, which was unbelievable."<BR/><BR/>This is just from going to the Sydney Morning Herald website and putting 'bravery' into the search box.<BR/><BR/>I think jen said it best. I totally agree with those words.Matthew da Silvahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07158988637117138260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-9495788617100908932007-05-06T02:16:00.000+08:002007-05-06T02:16:00.000+08:00liked what you read today sharon - and certainly c...liked what you read today sharon - and certainly concerns press freedom<BR/>(as too, life of galileo). <BR/>reminded me of the day we discussed political agitation through writing :)lainieyeohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02195554155928295081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-31850105025984910812007-05-06T00:36:00.000+08:002007-05-06T00:36:00.000+08:00I don't think people who live in less oppressed co...I don't think people who live in less oppressed countries are less courageous - they are luckier.<BR/>I think courage is a little bit like a rubber band - you do not know how courageous someone is(or how stretchy a rubber band is) unless they are tested, and just because somebody is lucky enough to not be tested does not mean that they are not courageous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-32732784161221143602007-05-05T23:25:00.000+08:002007-05-05T23:25:00.000+08:00Well I don't know of any, so if you care to name a...Well I don't know of any, so if you care to name a few courageous, brave people who aren't somehow oppressed, I'd like to know of them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-56519487002311344832007-05-05T16:27:00.000+08:002007-05-05T16:27:00.000+08:00"It's funny how you can only be courageous and bra..."It's funny how you can only be courageous and brave etc. if you're oppressed"<BR/><BR/>You're not looking deeply enough. A superficial appraisal of the world gives up a few momentous examples.<BR/><BR/>But looking more deeply, you can find plenty to give you pause. There's no excuse for not looking deeply, nowadays, as in developed countries there is plentiful coverage of events in online newspapers.Matthew da Silvahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07158988637117138260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-19403618992710305982007-05-05T13:13:00.000+08:002007-05-05T13:13:00.000+08:00It's funny how you can only be courageous and brav...It's funny how you can only be courageous and brave etc. if you're oppressed, isn't it ? it's as if people living everyday lives in much less oppressive countries are less courageous because of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-56772019239673712532007-05-05T11:17:00.000+08:002007-05-05T11:17:00.000+08:00Asli's words are valorous, plaintive yet intensely...Asli's words are valorous, plaintive yet intensely beautiful. And her gaze; entrancing. I wish to swim in her mind's eye.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com