Stephen Orr is not happy with the way the Adelaide Writers' Week is being run and lays out his arguments on the ABC website. Basically he believes that the programming revolves solely around the big names imported from overseas to the detriment of the upcoming local talent.
Writers' festivals do have the job of exposing locals to a wide range of the world's best writers - in this case, Carey, McEwan, Germaine Greer and dozens of others. But they also offer the opportunity to celebrate our own writing culture, to tell our own stories and populate our pages with recognisable characters; to ask the difficult questions, to say, 'Hey, are we really a generous, giving people? Are we a bit dim, obsessed with hamstrings and the sound of V8 engines?'
[Thanks to Sean Williams for the link.]
