2009
Highlights only (all that has survived of my 2009 emails)
No time to think about Days 1 and 2 - all happening so fast! All go, go, go here at the UWRF. Head spinning with delight and wonder at all the great writers and old friends I am meeting. All of us are enjoying it, different activities sometimes, but Pam Osmond and Cathy who have come with me to this festival are mostly doing the same things as me – the main program and some special events. The others, Cathy’s book club friends are just doing special events and book launches after their holiday down south. All eight of us are staying at Puri Saraswati.
Spectacular modern masked dancers on the first night- seen nothing like it before.
Spectacular modern masked dancers on the first night- seen nothing like it before.
The Nobel Laureate from Nigeria, Wole Soyinka is a dream - the most beautiful old man, erudite, funny, warm - we are all in love with him. He has been a mentor to young indigenous Australian writer Tara June Winch and their partnership on the podium was very special to witness
Special session of six women writers just now with Pam Allen as chair. Heady stuff to hear from Nepalese, Turkish, British, Indonesian, Canadian and Australian women - such a privilege and unique opportunity.
I have been going from 9am to 7pm every day without a break except a mad dash up the road to a different location - then to a book launch or dinner- talk, talk, talk!! Off now to the Maya Resort for a special luxury Balinese lunch session with four other women writers.
Special session of six women writers just now with Pam Allen as chair. Heady stuff to hear from Nepalese, Turkish, British, Indonesian, Canadian and Australian women - such a privilege and unique opportunity.
I have been going from 9am to 7pm every day without a break except a mad dash up the road to a different location - then to a book launch or dinner- talk, talk, talk!! Off now to the Maya Resort for a special luxury Balinese lunch session with four other women writers.
Back to the real world from Maya - as much as Ubud can be called the real world!!
The festival ended with a bang for all of us - at Shamini Flint's book launch of the second in her Inspector Singh detective series - this one is set in Bali - A Conspiracy Most Foul. We met her last year and loved her - she was launching one of her kids books then on an environmental theme, and this year she was invited back as a presenter. Heaps of fun. We eight women became known as her “Australian Aunties” as we were at as many of her sessions as possible, cheering her on.
The festival ended with a bang for all of us - at Shamini Flint's book launch of the second in her Inspector Singh detective series - this one is set in Bali - A Conspiracy Most Foul. We met her last year and loved her - she was launching one of her kids books then on an environmental theme, and this year she was invited back as a presenter. Heaps of fun. We eight women became known as her “Australian Aunties” as we were at as many of her sessions as possible, cheering her on.
,We had staying with us at Puri Saraswati, the wonderful Aussie iconic intellectual journalist, Mungo MacCallum and his wife - had lots of chats at the breakfast table and also in the pool. He was sponsored to come here by the Byron Bay Writers Festival. Was here last year too, but not as a writer. (From comments he made I think Byron Bay will invite Shamini from Singapore to their next festival - if so, we Australian “aunties” will stack her events! We also had staying with us at Puri Saraswati a Nepalese journalist and writer, Sushma Joshi, who is one of Nepal's only two women journalists - a brave and very clever writer - we loved her readings. One of our group bought all her copies for the Sydney book club she belongs to.
Did I tell you that when I attended the event with the Indonesian writers some of whom I translated, they asked me and the two other translators there to sit out the front with the writers and speak about the challenges of the translator’s task? Had no notice, but plenty came out of my mouth - doesn't it always?! I could not refrain from mentioning the challenge of the subject matter- exploding cows and flying wild boars, and sexual abuse of girls during the circumcision rituals in rural Madura. Good god!
Not all books – brushing away the cobwebs on a walk in the rice fields too.
Not all books – brushing away the cobwebs on a walk in the rice fields too.
I have hardly touched on all the amazing people I met and the sessions I attended- but will leave some tales for when I get home. Some of the organisation was problematic, (Cathy wrote three pages of helpful suggestions in her evaluation) but I did not seem to notice any serious problems - just went with the flow and loved it all. Enjoyed the substitute speakers as much as the ones who had cancelled without notice.