By Kath Gannaway
Sandy Jeffs, Bruce Pascoe, Alexis Wright, Tony Birch, Ramona Koval, Andy Jackson … talking about the concept of identity in their work.
They are some of the most awarded and respected names in Australian literature, and they will be together, in Christmas Hills, on Saturday, 29 April for the inaugural Christmas Hills Writers and Readers Festival.
The festival is a natural progression from other cultural activities such as poetry readings, orchestral players and several book clubs that are held in the Christmas Hills Hall.
Local poet and author Sandy Jeffs has lived with schizophrenia for 40 years and was among the first wave of consumers in the late 1980s to speak publicly about living with schizophrenia.
Sandy, and the amazing writers who join her, Indigenous writers and those from different cultural backgrounds, will provide a rare opportunity for community members to broaden their knowledge and explore diverse issues, as authors share stories about being Indigenous, or of a European background, having a physical difference or living with a mental illness … things that set them apart from society.
By claiming a voice well beyond societal expectations, or searching for roots in the past to explain the present, the writers will explore these issues in an engaging and creative way.
Participants will hear extraordinary stories and brave voices, dealing with loss and discovery of identity while searching backgrounds.
They will tackle issues and ideas through conversation and connection across cultural divides.
One of the festival’s primary aims was to build on the work the community has been involved with on the Gawa Wurundjeri Aboriginal Resource Trail nearby at Watsons Creek.
A very different literary connection is the venue – the Christmas Hills Hall that was established in 1877 as a Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library with 700 books to enrich and inspire a wide community.
For more information, and to book, visit www.eventbrite.com.au.
