~ True Stories Told Live ~

yvettecarol

May 25

Last weekend, I went to our local annual writer's festival. Each year, the festival offers a diverse range of inspiring events, rare opportunities to hear from the best writers in New Zealand and the world. This year, 200 writers converged, coming from Aotearoa, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, and Asia. With my writing group, the Fabulatores, we attended three out of the six days of events. The trusty notebook I've kept notes in since 2008 has gained ten more pages of entries! The first session we attended was the opening gala night, Thursday 18 May. 'True Stories Told Live.' Designed to celebrate the first fully in-person festival since 2020's cancellation because of lockdown restrictions and the ensuing years' reliance on Zoom for the international quotient. My friends and I found our way to the vertiginous seats in the balcony, and we were amazed by the way the Kiri te Kanawa Theatre filled. Without any doubt, the festival is gaining in popularity every year, with over 40,000 tickets sold and organizers reporting that nearly 20% of the audience were there for the first time. You could feel the electricity of excitement in the air, the joy of being in the same room as these highly talented people, and an audience of appreciative like-minded peers.

After a beautiful Maori welcome and song, Kathleen Drum, the chief executive, gave the opening address. She confessed her son had suggested she compose her speech with the help of a chatbot. But, while the resulting AI speech options had been adequate they were also ponderous, awkward, and lacked the unique touch of human perspective. Kathleen chose to write her own speech instead. Huzzah!
After another opening address or two by the organizers, we moved on to the main event. Eight bestselling/prizewinning authors were invited to stand up and tell stories, without props or script, inspired by a prompt. What was the prompt? They didn't tell us. However, one friend from my writing group figured it must have had something to do with power as most speakers alluded to it in some way.

Dr. Hinemoa Elder set the tone, beginning with, "Words might be small but they have a vast back story. Our ears tune into the vibration of words." "A thrust from a weapon can be parried but a verbal tirade cannot. What I bear witness to is the malignant power of online words." And she shared the work she is doing to introduce laws to protect people from trolling/online bullying.
Joshua Whitehead spoke of his Native American Indian belief in relatedness. "We talk about being in relation to the rocks, trees, water, the animals. Our language says to be in relation to all things, all at once."
Graci Kim confessed she'd always believed she'd die at 27. After experiencing coming close to death at that age, when a concrete truck hit and killed the two people walking behind her, she changed her life. She realized it 'wasn't about doing everything you can, but about meaning.' She left her diplomatic career and started writing children's fiction.
Bernadine Evaristo revealed the way she had to give up her old habits of ignoring any man she fancied, in order to build a relationship with the man she liked. The power of vulnerability led to a great relationship and marriage.
Dr. Que Mai Nguyen Phan said, "Along with vegetables, (her parents) fed mythology, songs, and literature to build me up, to teach me to dream."
William Sitwell told a number of hilarious stories about his days as "a young scribbler" (journalist), incl. having to impersonate Dame Barbara Cartland in public and making the front page of the national newspaper in drag.

Kiwi filmmaker, Gaylene Preston, said when she was four she was a 'terrible liar.' One day she visited their neighbours, the Bones, from whose house came the smell of fresh pikelets. '"I told them, Simon is over." Mrs. Bones said, "Simon from the radio? What does he look like?" I said, "He's got freckles and red hair." I wasn't used to the attention. She told her husband, Jack, to come and listen. I embellished the story. I got two pikelets. I was thrilled. I'd found the power of the audience."
And lastly, Anthony Joseph, the 2023 winner of the TS Eliot Prize, spoke of the power of love. "I tell my students, you have to love what you do. If you love it enough it'll give up its secrets."
We listened, learned, and laughed. It was so much fun and a great start to the weekend. Over the coming weeks, I'll share more of the content of the writers' festival and do my best to impart some of the flavor, though it has to be said, nothing beats being there.
Have you been to any conferences or festivals lately? What did you think?