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01
October
Highlights of the 13th annual Going West
Books and Writers Festival 2008
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Cap Hamish Keith and Mayor Bob Harvey
home. Click image to enlarge. |
Challenging thinking and showcasing New
Zealand's multi-cultural society were the
highlights of the 13th annual Going West
Books and Writers Festival 2008 held in
Titirangi on a gloriously sunny weekend in
September.
Chris Price set the tone of the festival as
she challenged the audience about "the
slipperiness of truth in writing" leading to
plenty of discussion over the ensuing days
as we evaluated the truth in a variety of
writing, while the energy of eight
Polynesian performance poets 'Polynation'
inspired and entertained, bringing colour
and vibrancy to the festival.
Celebrating the many cultures of New Zealand
writing continued with sessions on Chinese
writers in New Zealand, a focus on Ngahuia
Awekotuku's stunning book Mau Moko - the
World of Maori Tattoo, and a celebration of
the Croatian community with the launch of
Stephen Jelicich's book From Distant
Villages.
Wonderful tribute sessions to writer Nigel
Cox and writer/filmmaker Barry Barclay
provided unique personal glimpses, while
'Homegrown - documenting our popular music'
resulted in a dynamic discussion on New
Zealand music writing, and was followed by
West Coast blues style band Stingray.
Going West Books and Writers Festival 2008
is an annual event programmed by Murray
Gray. Read more
about the festival events and keep
up-to-date on events for 2009.
16 September
Local Talent Wins Going West Poetry Slam
Avondale's Courtney Meredith won the
Going
West Poetry Slam on Saturday night - the
first woman to ever win the event.
Courtney secured her spot in the final with
her poem 'Auckland's Talking About Me', then
won the $500 prize with '86'.
The fifth annual Going West Poetry Slam
attracted 36 entries with poets travelling
from as far away as Wellington! The event is
part of the month-long Going West Books and
Writers Festival 2008, currently underway in
Waitakere City, West Auckland.
Poetry Slams have become a phenomenon around
the world and pit performance poets against
each other in front of a judging panel and
audience.
Georgina Monro of Titirangi came second in
the Poetry Slam, winning $200 and was
thrilled with her success - 'it's the first
time I've ever read poetry for an audience,"
she says. Her winning poems were 'Hardware
Caf‚' and 'Trainee Nurse'.
Third prize of $100 went to Jamie Banks from
Half Moon Bay for his poems 'I'm a Reliever'
and "Single Is As Single Does'. An
encouragement prize of Artisan wine was
awarded to another first-time performer,
Leilani Burgoyne who travelled up from
Wellington to enter. Her poems were
'Paradise Pasifika' and 'Fresh'.
The Going West Books and Writers Festival
has been running for 13 years and this
weekend holds its major event - the Literary
Weekend 'The Word Around Us' featuring
readings and discussions with many of New
Zealand's best known contemporary writers.
The final event for Going West Books and
Writers Festival is the annual free family
day, Storyfest on Saturday 27 September at
Kelston Community Centre. Themed 'On the
move - journeys great and small', Storyfest
is a fun day of storytelling, performances,
workshops, mural art and entertainment.
Going West Books and Writers Festival 2008
also includes a series of exhibitions and
workshops at Waitakere galleries and art
centres as well as a touring programme which
involves sending three writers around 14
West Auckland schools to talk about their
writing.
22 August
Fun promised
at Going West Poetry Slam
Get ready for the excitement of
performance poetry at its best at the fifth
annual Going West Poetry Slam as part of
Going West Books and Writers Festival 2008.
The poetry slam takes place on Saturday 13
September at the Titirangi War Memorial Hall
from 7pm and MC Michael Rudd promises a fun
night.
Poetry slams have become a popular
phenomenon throughout the world and Michael
experienced his first slam in Australia
eight years ago at Sydney's Sandringham
Hotel. "It was known as a bit of a rock and
roll place and they started having poetry
slams there on a Monday night and they were
a great success," he says.
"I loved the immediacy and the great energy,
and I was bitten by the bug. The audience
there really were non-poetry people so I
liked the way the poetry slams demystified
the power of the word."
Michael says the great thing about the Going
West Poetry Slam is that it attracts such a
wide range of people. "Anyone can come and
take part and we get people who have never
read in front of an audience before through
to experienced slammers.
"It's great to see the audience response
especially when someone comes along and just
leaves everyone gobsmacked."
The Going West Poetry Slam is open to
everyone - entry is $5 on the door and poems
must be three minutes long or less. Michael
recommends people prepare their poem,
practice reading it out loud and in front of
others, "but we also get some people who
come along and do it off the cuff on the
night - we never really know what's going to
happen, but it's always plenty of fun."
The poetry slam is one of the highlight
events of the Going West Books and Writers
Festival 2008. Also on Saturday 13 September
is the Book Market from 9am-2pm at the
Titirangi War Memorial Hall . The Book
Market is a chance to look for treasures
among the wares of the region's finest
second-hand and rare booksellers, plus there
are demonstrations of paper-making, along
with music, coffee and snacks.
The major event on the festival calendar is
the Literary Weekend 'The Word Around Us'
which takes place from 19-21 September at
the Titirangi War Memorial Hall and features
conversations and readings from some of New
Zealand's leading contemporary writers.
The festival concludes with Storyfest, a
free family fun day on Saturday 27 September
at the Kelston Community Centre from
10am-4pm.
22 August
Writer Questions
Truth at Going West Books and Writers
Festival
What is truth? Poet and writer Chris
Price will examine the fine line between
truth and fiction in writing at the Going
West Books and Writers Festival 2008.
Chris is the keynote speaker at the
festival's Literary
Weekend 'The Word Around Us' which takes
place from 19-21 September at
Titirangi War Memorial Hall.
"Truthiness is a term coined in the United
States which describes statements that sound
true, but which have no basis in fact," says
Chris.
She gives the example of when Hilary Clinton
was reported to have arrived in Sarajevo
under sniper fire. "It sounded plausible
enough, but it was different from the
actuality."
Chris says she sees wide usage of
'truthiness' in the media and in non-fiction
and biographical writing. "Fake memoirs have
been in the media a lot lately." She adds
that some journalists and writers justify
their 'truthiness' by saying their only
obligation is to be "interesting.
"We need to ask whether we want our news to
be true or to be just true enough. It is a
rather alarming concept to me. There has
been a real blending of fact and fiction
which is jumping the tracks into the
objective world of journalism."
Chris is a Wellington-based poet and writer
who was this year the University of Auckland
writer-in-residence at the Michael King
Writers' Centre where she completed a new
book of poetry The Blind Singer which will
be published next year. She also started a
digressive biography of 19th century poet
anatomist Thomas Lovell Beddoes "which will
endeavour to have its facts straight!"
25
July
Poets, Musicians, Writers and
Photographers Create a Vibrant Going West
Books And Writers Festival 2008
 Leading contemporary New Zealand writers,
an award-winning theatre production, a book
market, poetry slam and free family day are
all a part of Going West Books and Writers
Festival 2008.
The annual festival features five main
events - the theatre season of
Strange
Resting Places at
Glen Eden Playhouse
Theatre from 27 to 30 August, the Book
Market and Poetry Slam which both take place
at the Titirangi War Memorial Hall on
September 13, the Literary Weekend 'The Word
Around Us' from 19-21 September and
Storyfest on Saturday 27 September.
Now in its 13th year, Going West Books and
Writers Festival has become a major event on
the Waitakere calendar, offering plenty of
opportunities for people of all ages to
engage, be entertained and challenged, and
immerse themselves in a festival which
celebrates not only the literary world, but
West Auckland's wonderful hospitality!
The festival begins with the theatre season
and is quickly followed by the Book Market
where hidden treasures can always be found
(and there are experts on site for
on-the-spot valuations). After spending the
morning browsing through books, take part in
the Poetry Slam ... as a poet or a voting
member of the audience.
The major event of Going West Books and
Writers Festival is the Literary Weekend - a
weekend which has become known for its
exciting mix of New Zealand and Pacific
writers, thinkers and performers.
Themed 'The Word Around Us', programme
director Murray Gray has once again brought
together an entertaining and challenging
line-up - stay for the entire weekend or dip
into sessions which appeal. Here's a taste:
- Award-winning poet Chris Price shares her
observations on the slipperiness of 'truth'* Polynation - experience the performance
power of nine Pasifika poets
- Eco-writers Francesca Price, Gareth
Renowden and Niki Harr, discuss how
sustainable living might lead to a brighter
future
- Poet and novelist Alison Wong, performance
poet Renee Liang and novelist Mo Zhi Hong
talk with journalist Gilbert Wong about
Chinese New Zealand writing
- Ngahuia Te Awekotuku shares the story of
the quest to create Mau Moko - The World of
Maori Tattoo, a magnificent illustrated
history of the process and tradition of
Maori tattoo which has just won the
Lifestyle and Contemporary Culture category
at the 2008 Montana book Awards
- Dame Fiona Kidman relives the heady days
of broadcasting in the 1960s with writer and
broadcaster Karyn Hay
- Cultural curmudgeon* Hamish Keith and
writer and occasional political curmudgeon
Bob Harvey share a "full and frank"
conversation (*churlish or miserly fellow)
- John Dix (Stranded in Paradise), Nick
Bollinger (How To Listen to Pop Music) and
Gareth Shute (NZ Rock 1987-2007) join
professional musicians Kim Willoughby and
Ian Morris to compare notes on the NZ music
scene PLUS live music from West Auckland
jump blues band Stingray!
- Poet Janet Charman reads from her
award-winning collection Cold Snack
-
 The Night Kitchen - a look into the lives
of three NZ writers fitting their work in
around busy lives with children
- Well-known fiction writer Laurence
Fearnley talks with Geoff Walker about her writing life
- From Distant Villages - a Croatian
celebration with storytelling, readings from
the newly-published book From Distant
Villages and traditional song
- Plus celebrations of the works of Nigel
Cox, Dame Ngaio Marsh and Barry Barclay
Important dates to remember:
To arrange interviews or for more
information contact:
Sally Woodfield
Publicist for the Going West Books & Writers
Festival 2008
Mobile: 021 868 020
Email:
swpr@ihug.co.nz
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