CHRISTCHURCH WRITERS FESTIVAL 2008

IS THE DITCH TOO DEEP?
“It is often said that New Zealanders won’t read Australian writers, and Australian won’t read ours Is this true? If so, why?”

Two Australian writers and two NZ writers under the chair of Philip Matthews, former arts and books editor at the NZ Listener,
Tackled this question and I came away with the impression that they had decided that indeed the ditch is too deep.

The NZ writers were the master of the short-story Owen Marshall,(pic left), and much awarded novelist Charlotte Randall. Representing Australia were Wellington-born, Melbourne-based novelist and story-teller Arnold Zable, and Newcastle-born,Canberra-based novelist, essayist and food writer Marion Halligan.

Before getting into the subject proper each writer entertained us with a short reading. Owen Marshall had the audience in stitches with his short story about Hodge, Arnold Zable read from his latest novel, Sea of Many Returns, Charlotte Randall from her latest The Crocus Hour, but for me the star was the quietly thoughtful Marion Halligan who read from The Taste of Memory, a collection of essays which she said were largely autobiographical. I was so impressed with the piece that she read, Tales of two cities, that as soon as the session was over I raced out and bought a copy from the splendid UBS Festival bookshop.

It was generally concluded that doing anything about this problem is largely beyond the reach and responsibility of writers. It is really a problem for the publishing industry to overcome. Owen Marshall was firmly of the view that a writer’s prime motivation is his craft and that the more commercial aspects of the trade should be left to publishers and booksellers. The others agreed. It was also felt that attendance at Writers Festival in each other’s countries helped although it was pointed out that at the recent Melbourne Writers Conference featuring some 350 writers only two were from New Zealand – Emily Perkins and Lloyd Jones, and Charlotte Randall related the unsatisfactory experience she had at the Brisbane Writers Festival.

This problem of that deep ditch is clearly going to be with is for some while yet!