Audio from the session: Now and Then.
A mash-up of readings of new voices and established writers noted for their evocation of our challenging past. The session is chaired by Brendan Were.
A special thank you to the organisers and participants for allowing us to record this event.
Summary
The "Now and Then - Same Same But Different" writers festival recorded at Auckland University of Technology in 2016 offered a rich auditory tapestry with contributions from a diverse group of writers spanning several decades. The event celebrated literary achievements, acknowledged the past, and delved into the changing landscape of LGBTQI+ writing and cultural expression from the 1960s through to the 2010s.
The recording encapsulated the Wallace Arts prize for best short story and commemorated David Linden Brown, a community literary figure who passed away in December. The Pride writing competition, created by Alternative Bindings, was highlighted for its role in fostering a space for both emerging and established writers to express their stories of triumph, joy, pain, and difference.
The line-up of speakers included a blend of established and emerging voices such as Aorewa McLeod, Brendan Were, Heather McPherson, and Michelle Durey, each bringing their own stories and reflections to the stage. Ruby Porter, a poet and writer, shared poignant poems that resonated with themes of identity and exploration.
The festival provided an opportunity for writers to share their work, while also discussing the evolving challenges and experiences of LGBTQI+ writers. Speakers reflected on historic struggles for recognition and the contemporary barriers still faced by marginalized voices. Through poetry, prose, and personal anecdotes, the event served as a testimony to both continuity and change within the LGBTQI+ literary community.
As the festival progressed, the contrast between "then" and "now" was palpable, with discussions on the shifting perceptions of gender and sexuality and the impact of societal change on personal narratives. From the humorous recollections and candid remarks about the challenges of gay dating to the introspective ponderings on identity, the variety of content underscored the complexity and depth of the LGBTQI+ experience.
The recordings offered a window into evolving cultural attitudes, the persistence of struggle, and the celebration of identity. It encapsulated the spirit of the LGBTQI+ community's creative and literary advancements over the decades, linking the voices of the past to those shaping the present and future. The event provided not just an occasion to honor literary achievements but also to recognize the profundity of storytelling in the quest for understanding, validation, and human rights.
This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.
Voices
Tags
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, activism, addiction, aim best first book award, alternative bindings, andrew rumbles, aorewa mcleod, aotearoa new zealand, art new zealand, artist, arts, auckland, auckland art gallery, auckland university of technology, birthmark, books, bottom, brendan were, bro'town (tv), calling the fish and other stories (book), casting off, christchurch, coming out, constantine cavafy, cracked (short story), cum, dance, dare truth or promise (book), david lyndon brown, dear november, desire, douglas wright, elam school of fine arts (auckland), exhibition, family, family portraits, fantasy, feminism, field punishment no.1 (tv), four artists with cups (poem), gay, genderless, germaine greer, gina cole, graffiti, gymnastics, haunting douglas (documentary), heather mcpherson, herne bay petanque club (auckland), heterosexual, human rights, ika, imogen (poem), international institute of modern letters (iiml), jade du preez, james wallace, joann loulan, julie helean, katherine mansfield short story awards, keri hulme, lambda literary awards, landfall (journal), law, lesbian, lesbian sex (book), lily of the valley (short story), lippy pictures, madeline reid, manukau institute of technology, marcia quackenbush, marked men (book), marriage, mary daly, mary stanley, matt wort, mental health, michael giacon, michelle durey, misjudged (short story), misogyny, my lover moves (poem), māori, narcissism, national poetry slam, neighbourhood watch (book), new zealand post children's book awards, nod ghosh, orgasm, out walked mel (book), painting, pak'nsave, pakeha, paula boock, planes, poetry, poetrylive at the thirsty dog (auckland), pride, pride parade, publishing, queenstown, queer, racism, radio, radio new zealand, re-draft, reality bites (film), relationships, robert burns fellowship (university of otago), ron brownson, ruby porter, rugby, runway gay, sam orchard, samesame but different (2016), scopophilia, self help, self publish, semira davis, sesqui 1990, sestina (poem), seven lesbians and a bar of soap (short story), sex, sex poems with no bra on (poem), sexism, shopping, sissy, skin hunger (book), spanish steps (short story), speak, memory (book), spiral (journal), state highway 1b (poem), steven joyce, stuck at the lights (poem), susan sontag, tangiwai - a love story (tv), te herenga waka - victoria university of wellington, te reo māori, tea cups (poem), the blue lawn (book), the bone people (book), the female eunuch (book), the insiders guide to happiness (tv), the mortification of henry james (short story), the open accounts of an honesty box (book), the penguin book of new zealand verse, the strip (tv), the triumph of hope (short story), the unfortunate experiment, tikanga, tino rangatiratanga, tiriti o waitangi / treaty of waitangi, top, trans-exclusionary radical feminism (terf), transgender, university of auckland, university of otago, until proven innocent (tv), visual arts, vladimir nabokov, voyeurism, wallace arts trust prize for short fiction, walt whitman, we the ones, wellington, who was that woman, anyway? (book), william dart, william taylor, winona ryder, women, writing
Tags (computer generated)
2020s, agenda, attack, attraction, australia, awards, bear, beating, bertha, bird, blood, board, bonnet, boredom, breasts, broken, bus, camp, canada, capitalism, career, cars, cartoons, casting, cats, celebration, change, cheese, children, church, class, clothing, code, collective, coming up, community, competition, confidence, consciousness raising, conservative, conversation, covenant, crime, culture, david, death, defiance, difference, dog, dream, dresses, eating, emotional, energy, environment, events, experiment, face, faith, fashion, fat, fear, fire, fishing, flying, food, france, french, friends, fun, future, gallery, gender, german, god, governance, grandparents, grief, growing up, hair, happiness, hate, health, hell, history, hit, homer, honesty, hope, horse, hospice, hotel, humanity, identity, individual, inspiration, joe, journal, journey, katherine mansfield, knowledge, labels, ladies, language, laundry, leather, legs, lgbt, lifestyle, london, love, lover, lust, macho, mainstream, mary, media, meetings, memoir, mirror, mistakes, mistress, mobility, music, narrative, new zealand first, news, otago, other, outreach, pacific, pain, pants, parade, pardon, parents, passing, passion, people, piercing, plan, police, policy, politics, posters, prince, privilege, profile, punishment, questioning, reading, representation, research, respect, ritual, running, russia, sad, scholarship, school, sexuality, shade, shame, short story, sin, sleep, smile, smiling, smoking, soap, social, softball, space, spaces, sport, sprung, stall, stickers, straight, strength, struggle, stuff, suicide, support, teacup, technology, teeth, tension, time, touch, tough, tradition, trans, treaty, trick, trust, truth, understanding, uniqueness, university, voice, waitangi, walking, water, website, wind, wine, work, youth