How are things in Wogga Wogga ?
Scottie Bowman (bowman@mail.indigo.ie)
Mon, 30 Mar 1998 08:37:31 +0000
Lesley,
That's what happens when you get to my age. You have trouble
enough keeping up with the action ten miles down the road, let
alone on the other side of the world.
My prejudices all stem from two or three decades back when
literary life in places like London & New Guinea was absolutely
swamped with what felt like teeming hoards of Australians.
The bastards were everywhere. All these sun browned two-metre
men striding around the place stealing the women & putting us
to shame with their unaffected & friendly ways. (GG, of course,
as the only visible woman didn't seem quite so friendly; though
I'm glad to report that nowadays she's turned, with her granny specs
& teasing smile, into a complete Doty Pet.)
A writers' festival every two weeks, you say. Cripes, if they all
check in at 20,000 that means something like half a million book
lovers. Or is it half a million book writers ? I'd no idea.
What is an indigenous press, incidentally ? Is that the same as
aborigenous ? As you might expect from my previous post,
my interest really begins to quicken at this point. `Mugabala'
sounds distinctly colourful. Could you let us have even a snippet
of the innovative work appearing there ?
Again, my apologies for the stereotyping. I'm disappointed not
to have raised more than a fleeting smile. Still. One stereotype
obviously holds true if yourself, Camille & Godot are anything to go
by: the Ozzie with the infectious sense of fun.
Scottie B.