fourW thirty-four Wagga Wagga launch speech
Dr. Tim Kurylowicz
I’m
delighted to launch fourW thirty-four: New Writing
I’m
an Arts Administrator by trade, which means I have the rare privilege of
getting paid to be excited about the arts. This is an all too rare thing these
days. Having said that, I’ve never launched a book and am deeply honoured at
the privilege.
Like
some of you here today, I do have some experience as a writer, although the
stuff I write hasn’t yet been accepted into the mainstream. If there is ever a
compilation of great arts grant applications or eloquent letters of support,
perhaps then my artistry will be recognised! More importantly, and I suspect
the thing I have in common with everyone in this room, is the fact that I am a
reader, a lover of books.
So
let me start by reporting the sheer pleasure it has given me to spend some time
in recent weeks dipping in to an advance copy of fourW thirty-four: New Writing.
This year’s collection of stories and poems is a delight. You’ve got the
features we’ve come to expect from a four W: A smorgasbord of Writings from
across Australia in an enticing range of genres and styles, with a generous
stable of Wagga Wagga writers and themes to anchor the mix and earn those four W’s.
You’ll find writings formal and cheeky, speculative and intensely personal.
Globs of magnificent prose that are chewy like toffee, whose beauty sometimes
mask surprise and threat, as in Sarah Tiffen’s piece The Snake (that’s not a
spoiler, the scary thing is in the title!). Clever turns of phrase that
illuminate deeper truths, like Robyne Young’s talk of “D&M’s (and
M&Ms)” in Who Needs Paris? – sounds like a perfect night in to me.
We should
acknowledge from the outset the efforts of the selection panel of Claire Baker,
Maurice Corlett, Jan Pittard and Ian Stewart in bringing together this diverse
collection, in cahoots with 4W’s tireless editor David Gilbey. The gorgeous
cover art, which highlights an exquisite detail from the work of Juanita
McLauchlin deserves a linger. And I must take this moment to cross promote the
incredible exhibition down at the old Ambulance Station that opens this
afternoon – a mind boggling collection of exquisite textile works marking 50
years of the Wagga Wagga embroiderer’s Guild. Go see it!
Booranga's
stalwart artistic Director Kathryn Halliwell and project officer Greg Pritchard
also deserve our appreciation today for the work they do running Booranga’s
program and projects.
Like
any work of art, 4W is a work in time. I felt a knot in my throat as I read
David Gilbey’s introductory essay, which records the national moment of
Australia’s Voice to parliament Referendum loss. There’s something about
reading it out of a book that makes it more final, something perhaps about the
difference between memory and history. Perhaps this essay primed me to notice
how many of these works focus on pivotal and profound moments, or perhaps that
was a masterly curatorial decision: but this volume records moments in time
that deserve pause, reflection and recounting.
As
you settle into your favourite reading chair with this book, you’ll encounter
- The moment a recovering child rings a bell in the children’s ward
(Claire Baker’s 'Seventeen Months On')
- A daughter contemplating what to say to her dying father (Sally Chik’s 'Good morning silences')
- A split-second moment of terror during a tree-lopping mishap in Mike
Greenacre’s 'Seconds Between Us'…“as fear shot up my legs and spine as if a
surgeon’s incision, two lives sliced together with only seconds between us.”
- And speaking of split-second reveals, Andy Kissane’s heart-rending short
story 'The Amber Necklace' captures the moment before a lover deploys for war. In
a single moment it traverses a sliding doors moment in a relationship and begs
the question: is it possible that the tragedies of love can rival the terrors
of war?
Moments
where things pivot, where truths materialise, where characters are revealed.
As I contemplated
the examples I would share today, I got thinking about an element of the
written word that I find magical.
It’s
about the gap between what the author sees in their mind, and the words they
can conjure to capture that onto a page, and then there’s another leap of meaning
as the reader – reading those words on the page a great time or distance away
from the context in which those words were written – mediates those words
through their own experiences and idiosyncrasies into a wholly new mental image
as they read. How wonderful to think about all the profound experiences and
images that have been had by readers, that no author ever thought of? Isn’t that magic? Isn’t it a mystery and a
joy, and perhaps also a sadness?
Maybe
that is another special thing about a locally-edited collection of new
writings. In terms of cultural context, time and distance, we the reader get to
experience something that was written a bit more near to us. Maybe there are
elements of this moment in time that will shape our collective experience of
these writings.
In
its 34th iteration, fourW also teaches us something that I think we
societally need to cherish: that is the value of an institution. Through their
steadfast annual tradition of publishing fourW: New Writing, the Booranga team
have created a generational, historical legacy for our nation, and yet another
reason to be proud to live on Wiradjuri land.
To
bring it back to the specific National moment referenced in the introduction of
fourW thirty-four, The Guardian
Essential report in October revealed that while 53% of all Australians voted ‘no’
in the referendum, if you cut the data according to civic participation, you
see a very interesting trend.
It
turns out that people in Australia who participate in something larger than
themselves, whether a church, a sports club, a civic group or a union, were
dramatically more likely to have voted in favour of change. It’s as if the
simple act of spending time with people, of opening one’s mind to the lives of
others plays a part in people choosing the more prosocial outcome. I wonder if
this is true of the experience of reading also? Reading is a portal into
someone else’s thinking, a way we can offer empathy and a listening ear to
other lives.
If
you’re looking for connection, or solace or a fellow traveler, I say look
around this room. Join Booranga, and sign up for their newsletter at their
website, participate in an upcoming workshop or open mic, or find a reading
group at our wonderful library.
In
our increasingly atomised, disconnected world, the chance to read, to imagine,
to write and to share seem not only desirable, but foundational.
Well,
those are just some musings. If you’d like to experience the much more eloquent
thoughts and stories of more than 70 Australians writing today, why not buy
this book instead! I’m absolutely delighted to launch fourW thirty-four, and
grateful for the opportunity to spend this time with you all today.
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