AUCKLAND WRITERS & READERS FESTIVAL - Friday night

I'm mentally exhausted after a day at the Festival and I'm back tomorrow for another series of sessions.Tired but happy may describe me best.

Before falling into bed a brief word about another two enjoyable, very different sessions this evening:

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

This session featured three women poets; Karlo Mila (Tongan & Pakeha) , Tusiata Avia (Samoan & Palangi) and Kapka Kassabova (born Bulgaria, lived in NZ, now in Scotland) and proved to be both entertaining, heart warming and thought provoking as these three women talked about where they belong and who they are, and read from their books too, most ably led by Manying Ip, New Zealander orginally from Hong Kong.

AN HOUR WITH JUNOT DIAZ

The author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao has a keen intellect and an interesting take on life. He was thoughtful and frank and often gave quite lengthy answers to the questions delivered to him both by the chair and from the audience. I didn't envy at all Listener Books Editor Guy Somerset who chaired this session (with aplomb) as Diaz is not an easy person to interview and was often quite contrary.