G’day all,
There is a story in today’s Age ( http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/top-of-the-pecking-order-franz ens-fame-in-full-flight-20110824-1jaaw.html> http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/top-of-the-pecking-order-franze ns-fame-in-full-flight-20110824-1jaaw.html) about the keynote speaker at the Melbourne Writers Festival, Jonathan Franzen, being a keen birder.
What the article didn’t mention is that Jonathan is also doing a session at the Festival about birds and writing on Saturday afternoon at 4 in the BMW Edge at Federation Square. The moderator will be Michael Veitch and the other guest panelist will be me. This is the biggest venue in the festival and there are still some tickets left so if you are in Melbourne it would be well worth making a booking. Franzen is a seriously good writer and in his latest novel, “Freedom” one of the main characters is involved in a scheme to protect habitat for the Cerulean Warbler in Virginia. He also wrote a brilliant piece on birdwatching in the New Yorker a few years ago.
The guy is a major literary figure (he has even had a cameo in The Simpsons- you can’t get much bigger than that!) and has the Melbourne literatti buzzing with his appearance at the festival. So unsurprisingly, it is a pretty safe bet that the majority of people at the session won’t be there to listen to a guy who’s written a couple of books about birdwatching in Australia. But I thought I would let Birding-aussers know it was on so that there may be some in the audience at least who won’t be hissing at the idiot birder to shut up and let Franzen speak!
Keep on twitchin’
Dools ===============================
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Let us know how Jonathan goes at Werribee today. Very funny hearing Fran Kelly this morning on RN horrified at the thought that he was spending a day at a sewerage farm. Obvious choice as far as I can see!
Debbie
G’day Alan,
I assume you meant to send your comment to me directly rather than to the list. No need to apologise to me as I laughed out loud when I read your dig at me. So no offence taken at this end.
Cheers, Sean
Sorry all for sending the silly comment to the list.
Using web mail at the moment at my father’s computer but that is a poor excuse.
Alan
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There is another one according to Jonathon Franzen
Alan, I could take offence at that. Greg Roberts? Sean? A quick list of birding writers would include Paul Theroux, EM Forster and Alan Paton, others will no doubt occur to me but I’m busy working on my next book…
So there is at least one birder who can write! 😉
Actually reading a Franzen novel at the moment.
I think there are Log Runners at O’Reilly’s feeding nestlings but did not try hard to find the nest in the Botanic Garden. Regards, Alan
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