Category: The Written Word
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Review: Shane Jones’ ‘Light Boxes’
I’m going to start out this review by saying that, if I ever post a review here, it’s because I think the book in question is worthy of your dollars. There should be a rule that people only ever review books they enjoy: it would make the literature supplements of the weekend newspapers much easier…
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Who Gives a Toss about Saving the Newspapers?
Attended the ‘Future of Quality Journalism’ panel at Adelaide Writers’ Week on Tuesday. Wasn’t. Impressed. The members of the panel – ABC documentary presenter Michael Cathcart, and journos Malcolm Knox, Alice Pung, and Ian Townsend – are intelligent people. I’ve read their stuff: it’s damn good. Unfortunately, they collectively stumbled right from the beginning, misunderstanding…
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Constructing an Internet Bookshelf
One of the problems with reading on the internet seems to be that there’s too much competing for your attention at any one time, and not a huge amount of incentive to persevere with what you’re concentrating on at any moment. I don’t know about you, but I consider a physical book a challenge. I…
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Those who should write, don’t. Those who can write, shouldn’t.
This is going to seem super obvious, but I’m of the impression that, generally, those with the most compelling stories to tell are either unwilling or unable to give voice to their experiences. There’s something inherently pompous about writing, because in writing, you’re basically telling the reader, “Hey, over here. Listen to me! Me me…
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“Fuck this. I’m gonna be a lawyer”: On Paying Writers
On the On Dit Facebook page, I posted an editorial suggesting that writers to student magazines should get paid. How? The government should jiggle around their ‘Arts’ funding, and set aside maybe $7000 for every university publication that can demonstrate a commitment to providing a platform for quality writing, photography, and illustration. ($7000 doesn’t go…