"Breath" by Tim Winton

[chrisb]

Just netted him a Miles Franklin award

He received the award "in absentia" as he was up at Ningaloo Reef. I heard though that he sent in a video acceptance speech in which he admonished our laws that allow cheap imports into Australia of Aussie-authored books.

[puurri]

^^ of course, his publisher told him to.

[oldman]

........ If art, as some wanker once said, is supposed to take you away and return you a different person then Breath didn't work.

Wanker! (not you Stu)

God I hate artists and their self definitions and their overweening pretensions. FFS, do what you do, but don't go dressing it up in BS just to try to give it some gravitas.

Like universities, the politics of the art world is so vicious precisely because it is so inconsequential.

I think that is Henry Kissinger I'm paraphrasing.

[puurri]

^^^ I think the original was "in academe the politics are so vicious because the rewards are so small".

[puurri]

^^^ I think the original was "in academe the politics are so vicious because the rewards are so inconsequential".

Edit to read "inconsequential"

[RickyG]

I still can't believe i gave it to my mum for her birthday - there's some parts in it that made me blush (she reckons she enjoyed it though)

[puurri]

^^ setting yourself up for RS comment there 'bra.

[RickyG]

Yes, I did realise that after I wrote it (I don't want to go there for obvious reasons). Actually I read Cloudstreet after Breathe (had long been on my to-read list), then lent it to her. She handed it back and said some of it was a bit off-putting and didn't like it much, I would've thought it would be the other way 'round.

[Beanpole]

"A liferaft thrown to a swimmer who has successfully reached shore" I think G B Shaw called it.

A bit like all the "avante garde" crew that milk the OZ Council for a living. The OZ Council will not fund Sculpture by the Sea and it is way way more successfull than anything they ever touch probably because of it.
Winton is probably as safe an option as you can get. It gets a bit like the-will Kelly win his 19th World Title-scenerio except Winton is not in a race and has only put on a harness not a comp t shirt.

[puurri]

"A liferaft thrown to a swimmer who has successfully reached shore" I think G B Shaw called it.

A bit like all the "avante garde" crew that milk the OZ Council for a living. The OZ Council will not fund Sculpture by the Sea and it is way way more successfull than anything they ever touch probably because of it.
Winton is probably as safe an option as you can get. It gets a bit like the-will Kelly win his 19th World Title-scenerio except Winton is not in a race and has only put on a harness not a comp t shirt.

^^You should sit in on a grants assessment committee!

Though some Board members do try it's pretty much a mates club barring CCD and ATSIAB. Have some classic tales of political interference both LIB and LAB when their "mates" didn't get up or the topic was "contentious."
A google of "Escape from Woomera" or "Virtual Palestine" might bring some results. It got to a point that they were abt to be abolished by Howard's mob in 2003; not discounting Hunt's opinions (as minister) on blakfellas when Mal was PM (Jennifer Isaacs has the gos on that one). and Jan McLucas (Sen QLD) putting her bib in for her constituents in 2000. And Alston and Herron etc in a NT libel case (Ross-Manley vs The Age) in 2003.

As to funding for worthless causes the saying around the Music Board staff was "not more funding for YET ANOTHER "Youth Orchestra" or the Theatre luvvies bitching about how "little" they got to swan around the international stage. Though OZCO never funded the Pymble Players.

Off topic; the staff are now so pissed off they went on strike this week.

[bood]

did Tim W go to Ningaloo because he knew he was getting the award for breath? did puuri just purge?

[puurri]

^^ there are many tales in politics as events of the last week have shown.