Confession time, Andrew.
I was pleased to get to Collected Works last Saturday and that we were able to have a few words
before the actual launch.
The copy you inscribed for Bill Wootton is in my care till he returns from the far north.
Unfortunately, I had also committed myself to attend an event at Federation Square hard by, which is my excuse for scarpering before your launcher, the good Andy Jackson, could open his mouth.
I trust Walleah Press does their regular thing, and gets his script up on the website for all to read.
Did I say Fed Sq? it was ‘Beer de Luxe upstairs’ - the event was put on by
Benjamin Solah,' writer of truth, fiction and poetry, a spoken word artist and political activist’.
AND by
WTF - Writing through Fences - ‘people affected by the Australian immigration industry’.
I sat with them for a while over a glass of water, chatted during the break with a friend down for the day from Castlemaine.
She said the event there had a bigger turnout and raised more money.
I put this down to the small town community networking which can be so effective.
Too much on in Melbourne, as I’ve already implied.
I got no joy from the words spoken by the art-activists. While rancid politics in Australia ensures prolonged suffering for displaced people, there is much to be done by voices of conscience, but showing one’s aroused sympathy and anger to likeminded people struck me as most likely a dead end.
However, Janet Galbraith who is involved does brave things like visit detention camps and report on their evils.
best for now from Max
On 23 Jul 2014, at 7:46 pm, Andrew Burke <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Did they do a midnight flit? Leave the tennis club in the lurch? Bad
> sisters!
>
> A calm conversational poem, Max.
>
> Did you scarper from the book launch early? Didn't see you later.
>
> Andrew
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