Look Who's Talking 2017

Look Who’s Talking LITERARY EVENTS - LOCAL HISTORY - WELLBEING - LOCAL AUTHORS - LOCAL STORIES

2017 Program

What’s inside LITERARY EVENTS ........................................... 3 From music to mystery - Holly Throsby ............. 3 The Dressmaker - Rosalie Ham ......................... 4 Voice from The Bush - Don Watson ..................... 5 Hope for a new world - Tim Flannery .................. 6 Gratitude and truthfulness - Raimond Gaita ....... 7 The Dark Emu - Bruce Pascoe ............................... 8 Shining - Abdi Aden ................................................. 9 Words at play - David Astle ..................................... 10 Folklore, faith and fantasy - Hannah Kent .... 11 World Philosophy Day ........................................ 12 LOCAL HISTORY ............................................. 13 Higher Ground .................................................... 13 Duckenfield House .................................................. 14 Last Woman Hanged................................................. 14 Maitland’s Jewish connections ............................ 15 Pop goes the culture ........................................... 15 WELLBEING ................................................. 16 What is happiness anyway? .............................. 16 Why friendship matters ..................................... 16 Sleep well ........................................................... 17 Can you read yourself happy? ........................... 18 LOCAL AUTHORS .......................................... 19 Alana Henderson - Out of the Fog .................... 19 Greg Powell - Bushranger Tracks ..................... 19 Mel Jacob - In Sickness, in Health and in Jail .... 20 Nancy Knudson - Travel tales ......................... 20 LOCAL STORIES ............................................. 21 Ordinary people, extraordinary stories .............. 21 Culture shift ........................................................ 22 Local champions ................................................. 22 CALENDAR OF EVENTS ............................... 23 2

BOOKINGS Bookings are essential to all events.

Book online at maitland.nsw.gov.au/Library EARLY BIRD SPECIAL Book and pay for any of our Look Who’s Talking literary events by 28 February and receive a 20% discount per event.

FRIENDS DISCOUNT Friends of Maitland City Library receive a 10% discount to all paid events. For more information on becoming a Friend see maitland.nsw.gov.au/Library/YourLibrary/Friends

FROM MUSIC TO MYSTERY HOLLY THROSBY Singer songwriter Holly Throsby has turned her creative talents to writing fiction, with a debut novel, Goodwood, published in late 2016. Described as a compelling ride into a small community torn apart by dark rumours, Goodwood is a satisfying mystery, a dark coming of age story and a clear eyed portrait of time and place.

The talented Throsby has also published two comic books, as well as releasing five critically acclaimed solo albums and a collection of children’s songs. Nominated for four ARIA Awards, including two for Best Female Artist, and one for Best Children’s Album, she has also contributed to albums by other artists such as Josh Pyke and Jack Ladder and collaborated with singers Sarah Blasko and Sally Seltman in the band Seeker Lover Keeper.

Holly Throsby will be joined in conversation with Carol Duncan, local broadcaster, journalist and writer.

Tuesday 14 February 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Maitland Regional Art Gallery $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 31 January

Literary

3

Literary events

THE DRESSMAKER AUTHOR TALK AND FILM SCREENING ROSALIE HAM Before Rosalie Ham’s novel The Dressmaker was released as a star studded film, which went on to become a box office hit, it was already considered a best seller. Over 15 years since its publication, this evocative tale of a Parisian courtier who collides with her past in an Australian country town, The Dressmaker still inspires readers with its gothic tale of love, hate and haute couture.

Join Rosalie Ham as she talks about the inspiration for the book, the characters and the process of turning the book into a movie. This event includes a screening of The Dressmaker, starring Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving.

Friday 24 March 6.00pm author talk 7.00pm film screening Reading Cinema, Maitland $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

4

Literary

Literary events

VOICE FROM THE BUSH DON WATSON Don Watson’s new book is an essential companion to its award winning, brilliant predecessor, The Bush. A Single Tree includes diary extracts, memoirs, letters, journals, poems and fiction based on the same themes as The Bush. The accounts by settlers, explorers, stockmen, naturalists, artists and writers provide a varied array of perspectives and experiences of the land throughout the span of Australian history.

A former speech writer for Prime Minister Paul Keating and respected historian, Don Watson’s writing life spans academic history, television comedy, film writing, political speech writing, essays, biographies and travel. He is the winner of the 2015 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Book of the Year and the Indie Book Award with his insightful book, The Bush.

Thursday 6 April 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Maddies of Bolwarra $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

5

HOPE FOR A NEW WORLD TIM FLANNERY One of the world’s most prominent environmentalists, Tim Flannery gives his optimistic views on what our world will be like in 2050 and how we can combat climate change in his latest book Atmosphere of Hope: Searching for Solutions to the Climate Crisis.

An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, and conservationist, Professor Flannery was named Australian of the Year in 2007. He is the Chief Councillor of the Climate Council and one of Australia’s leading writers on climate change.

He is a well known presenter and writer of documentaries including The Future eaters (1998), Wild Australasia (2003), Islands in the sky (1992) and Bushfire (1997), and the author of over 30 books, of which The Weather Makers (2005) and Here on Earth (2010) have been best sellers.

Friday 12 May 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Cameron Centre, Hunter Valley Grammar School $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

6

Literary

GRATITUDE AND TRUTHFULNESS RAIMOND GAITA Award winning author and philosopher Raimond Gaita has been recognised for his exceptional and sometimes controversial views on the nature of ethical thought and moral philosophy.

Romulus, My Father, was a book that according to respected writer Helen Garner, ‘changed the quality of the literary air in this country’. Dignity and humanity are at the core of all Gaita’s books, which include Good and Evil, A Common Humanity, The Philosopher’s Dog, Breach of Trust and After Romulus.

Gaita is currently writing a book of essays expressing gratitude to people who have mattered to him. Those that enjoyed Romulus, My Father and After Romulus will recognise the same reflective narrative.

Wednesday 14 June 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Brough House $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

7

THE DARK EMU BRUCE PASCOE Winner of the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Award Book of the Year for The Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe argues for the reconsideration of our understanding of the way Aboriginal people lived in colonial times, drawing extensively from the journals of explorers to present evidence about the agricultural and technological sophistication of Aborigines.

Bruce Pascoe has written 27 books, winning the Prime Minister’s award in 2013 with his novel Fog. As a Board Member of First Languages Australia and the past Secretary of the Bidwell-Maap Aboriginal Nation, Bruce Pascoe presents a powerful voice on indigenous history and indigenous language revival. He is joined in conversation with Amorelle Dempster, leader of Slow Food Hunter Valley and the Australian Councillor for Slow Food International.

Thursday 3 August 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Tocal Agricultural College Chapel $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

8

Literary

SHINING ABDI ADEN From a care free, soccer playing teenager in Somalia, Abdi Aden’s world fell apart when civil war ravaged his country. Separated from his family, he fled his home in Mogadishu, experiencing danger, violence, starvation and barely avoiding death before escaping to Europe and finally to Australia.

He had no English speaking skills, no family or friends, no money, no home. Yet, against the odds, he not only survived, he thrived, completing secondary education and later university. He became a youth worker, was acknowledged with the 2007 Victorian Refugee Recognition Award and featured in the SBS series Go Back to Where You Came From.

Everything he has endured and achieved is testament to Abdi’s quiet strength and courage, his resilience and most of all, his warm hearted and enduring optimism. His memoir Shining recounts his remarkable journey.

Thursday 21 September 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Brough House $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

9

WORDS AT PLAY DAVID ASTLE Self described as a full time word nerd, David Astle is the crossword maker for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald as well as Wordplay Columnist with Spectrum. Gathering a large following in the SBS TV program Letters and Numbers, Astle continues to baffle devotees with his word games, crosswords and other puzzles.

David Astle has published a number of books on his passion for puzzles, including Riddledom: 101 riddles and their stories, Cluetopia: the story of 100 years of the crossword and Puzzles and Words 1 and 2. He is also the author of non-fiction, fiction and plays, of which his first novel Marzipan Plan was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award in 1986. In 2001 he won the James Joyce Suspended Sentence Award for his short stories.

Join this witty wordsmith for some inside tips on how to conquer those cryptic crossword clues.

Thursday 12 October 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Maddies of Bolwarra $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

10

Literary

FOLKLORE, FAITH AND FANTASY HANNAH KENT In her eagerly awaited follow up to Burial Rites, Hannah Kent once again illustrates her mastery in evoking an authentic voice of the past. Published in 2016, The Good People is based on a true story of a crime committed in pre-famine Ireland and the fairy folklore that was intertwined in everyday life, grappling with morality, grief and the nature of faith in a remote southwestern Irish village in the 1820s.

Hannah Kent found significant critical and commercial success with her first novel, Burial Rites, which won numerous prizes, including the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and the People’s Choice in the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. It was also shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Stella Prize, to name a few, translated into nearly 30 languages and is currently being adapted to film.

Thursday 2 November 6.00pm arrival 6.30pm start Monte Pio Hotel and Conference Centre $25 $20 for early bird bookings before 28 February

11

WORLD PHILOSOPHY DAY WAS SOCRATES A TERRORIST? Socrates is put on trial by the Hunter Valley Socratic Society as they ask the question: was Socrates a terrorist? With a contemporary spin on an ancient conundrum, members of the audience will participate in determining which way the hammer falls on the fate of the world’s most famous philosopher.

Join us in celebrating World Philosophy Day and the enduring value of philosophy for the development of human thought.

Thursday 16 November 6.00pm - 7.30pm Maitland Gaol Auditorium Free Bookings essential

12

Literary

HIGHER GROUND Faced with the challenge of restarting life again after the series of floods which culminated in the tragic events of February 1955, many local families saw the higher ground and open spaces west of the city as an opportunity to start afresh.

This began a process which completely changed the character of development in the Maitland area. Seen against the wider changes brought about by the growth of suburbs in the nation’s cities, Higher Ground tells the story of how communities change and grow in unexpected ways.

Thursday 23 February 6.00pm - 7.30pm Maitland Gaol Chapel Free Bookings essential

Local history

13

DUCKENFIELD HOUSE

LAST WOMAN HANGED

The design, building and ultimate disappearance of the once grand Duckenfield House, home of the Eales family, is a story of colonial prosperity, ambition and the rise and fall of a family pastoral dynasty.

Two husbands, four trials and one bloody execution, Caroline Overington delves into the archives to reveal the true story of Louisa Collins, a 41 year old mother of ten children from the Upper Hunter, who became the first woman hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol and the last woman hanged in New South Wales.

Join David Brouwer, author of John Eales of Duckenfield, as he recounts the compelling story of John Eales and the succeeding generations of the Eales family, whose Duckenfield House once stood as a dazzling monument to their wealth and social standing but is now sadly lost forever.

Thursday 20 April 6.00pm - 7.30pm East Maitland Library Free Bookings essential

How did a young woman who was born in Belltrees and grew up in Merriwa become the most reviled woman of her time? Meticulously researched and historically accurate, Last Woman Hanged won the Davitt Award for True Crime Writing in 2015.

Author Caroline Overington has twice won Australia’s most prestigious award for journalism, the Walkley Award for Excellence in Journalism. She has also won the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for journalism.

Thursday 8 June 6.00pm - 7.30pm Maitland Gaol Chapel Free Bookings essential

14

Local history

MAITLAND’S JEWISH CONNECTIONS The strength and prosperity of the Jewish community in mid nineteenth century Maitland was reflected in the early establishment of the Maitland Jewish Cemetery. The local Jewish community had religious traditions quite different from the Christian practices that dominated colonial Maitland at the time, placing importance on observing the Sabbath and other Jewish holy days.

POP GOES THE CULTURE Comedians make us laugh, but beneath the humour lies a rich layer of social commentary. We often look to comedians not just to make fun of the world, but sometimes to make sense of it.

Pop Goes the Culture will explore the ways in which comedy reflects popular culture and its enduring place in our community.

The stuff of comedy examines not just the minutiae of everyday experience, but some of the biggest questions of the day.

The Maitland Jewish Cemetery has been the focus of an intensive conservation program involving meticulous monumental research and restoration.

This open day welcomes visitors to learn more about our city’s Jewish connections and the state significant cemetery, considered to be the most intact dedicated Jewish cemetery in New South Wales.

How does comedy define our popular culture and how has this changed over time?

Sunday 20 August 10.00am - 12.30pm Maitland Jewish Cemetery Free

Bookings essential

This event is presented in celebration of NSW History Week.

Thursday 7 September 6.00pm - 7.30pm Maitland Gaol Chapel Free

Bookings essential

15

WHAT IS HAPPINESS ANYWAY?

WHY FRIENDSHIP MATTERS

Happiness is a deep seated yearning shared by us all, but does our inability to fully inhabit the present keep us from being happy? Are we desperately seeking happiness more than ever before because we’re more miserable than ever before, despite the obvious advantages of contemporary life?

Philosophers and cognitive scientists agree that friendship is an essential ingredient of human happiness.

Aristotle’s opinion was that friends hold a mirror up to each other and through that mirror we can see each other in ways that would not otherwise be accessible to us.

There is definitely a growing hunger for a more real, authentic and sustainable happiness. Are we on a permanent quest for something ultimately unattainable or is happiness easily achievable?

It is said that friends are an integral part of what it means to live the good life.

Join us as we explore the real power of friendship to enrich our lives.

Tuesday 21 March 6.00pm – 7.30pm East Maitland Library Free Bookings essential

16

Wellbeing

Tuesday 20 June 6.00pm – 7.30pm Thornton Library Free Bookings essential

SLEEP WELL Sleep is a subject that many of us instinctively assume we know a lot about. But sleep is surrounded by many myths and misinformation. Find out which sleep myths might be preventing you from getting a better night’s sleep with Newcastle psychologist Dr Shane Pascoe.

With the benefit of recent research, Dr Pascoe explains we are just starting to understand the hormonal and brain activity during sleep and how these play key roles in our health and wellbeing.

Tuesday 12 September 6.00pm – 7.30pm Maitland Library Free Bookings essential

17

CAN YOU READ YOURSELF HAPPY? The ancient Greeks posted signs above library doors informing readers that they were entering a healing place for the soul. At the end of the 19th century, Freud began using literature during psychoanalysis sessions and after the First World War, traumatised soldiers returning home from the front were often prescribed a course of reading. More recently, reading has been prescribed by psychologists, social and aged care workers and doctors as a mode of therapy.

The restorative power of reading is no surprise to readers who have been self medicating with great books their entire lives. Find out how and why reading books can be good for your mental health and your relationships with others.

Tuesday 14 November 6.00pm – 7.30pm Rutherford Library Free Bookings essential

18

wellbeing

Bushranger TRACKS Broken Hill

www.newhollandpublishers.com

History / Travel

Gregory Powell combines his interests in bushwalking and history to explore historical and scenic regions on foot. He is the author of books exploring the Snowy Mountains, the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley and has published four bushranger locality books.

Greg was a founding member of Hunter Bushrangers (formerly Rovent Historical Re-enactments), a living history group formed in 1969 which performed at public events all over the state until 2009.

Gregory Powell

Read about the Ned Kelly gang, Captain Starlight, Ben Hall and many other bushrangers of our colonial past.

With a keen imagination, the historic locations can transport the modern explorer back to the wild days of the early settlement when gold glittered, guns blazed, and men and women struggled.

Bushranger Tracks is the result of Gregory Powell’s continuing passion for Australian history and, in particular, the bushranger era. This is possibly the most extensive book detailing bushranger sites ever published.

Bonshaw

Enngonia

Tenterfield

Bushranger Moree

Collarenebri

Bourke

Millie

Walgett

Brewarrina

Inverell

Namo i

Gundabooka National Park

g rlin Da

Boggabri

Quambone

Newton Boyd

Ollera

Narrabri

Manila

Gunnedah

Carroll

Nyngan

Bendemeer

Tamworth

Quirindi

Breelong

Murrurundi

Coffs Harbour

Armidale Uralla

Blandford

Port Macquarie

TRACKS Narromine

Dubbo

Wellington

N E W

Merriwa Ulan Gulgong

Scone

Wollombi Orange Bathurst Blayney Hartley Cowra Carcoar Blaxland Grenfell Grabine Jenolan Caves SYDNEY Koorawatha Bigga Abercrombie Caves Bringelly Griffith Young Binda Thalaba Bargo Temora Wombat Leeton Narrawa Wallendbeen Wollongong Goulburn Mittagong Narrandera Wingello Yass Gunning Junee Wantabadgery Collector Wagga Wagga Gundaroo Lockhart Jerilderie Bungendore Kyeamba Henty Braidwood Majors Creek Walla Walla Mudmelong Batemans Bay Tumbarumba Krawarree Jinden Peechelba Nerrigundah Wooragee Wangaratta Cooma Beechworth Glenrowan Mt Kosciuszko Benalla Greta Euroa Whitfield Avenel Stringybark Creek Mansfield

Mossgiel

S O U T H

Forbes

Wingham Gloucester

Dungog Stroud Mudgee Singleton Paterson Rylstone Maitland

Kandos

Parkes

Barrington Tops

Newcastle

Eugowra Canowindra

Mt Wheogo

Lach

M ur ra y

W A L E S

Discover the historic sites of our wild colon ial past Deniliquin

Inglewood

Bendigo

Castlemaine Ballarat Buninyong

la n

Heathcote

A.C.T.

V I C T O R I A Wallan

Egerton

Hurstbridge MELBOURNE

Bairnsdale

Geelong Cape Schanck

Gregory Powell

OUT OF THE FOG

BUSHRANGER TRACKS

ALANA HENDERSON

GREG POWELL

A story of courage, perseverance and resourcefulness, Out of the Fog by Alana Henderson tells how the author recovered from stroke, breast cancer and diabetes through her self help journey.

Where did the Ned Kelly Gang, Ben Hall, Captain Starlight and the Hunter’s own bushrangers hang out? Based on decades of research, Bushranger Tracks, brings together bushranging history with information on current day historical sites, allowing the reader with a keen imagination to travel back to the wild days of early settlements when gold glittered, guns blazed, and men and women struggled.

Alana, a successful business woman, suffered a stroke at 59 years old, losing her ability to communicate. Three weeks later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and diabetes. With little help from the medical services, she drew on her ingenuity, determination, and creativity to survive and recover.

Thursday 9 March 6.00pm – 7.30pm Maitland Library Free

Monday 22 May 6.00pm – 7.30pm East Maitland Library Free Bookings essential

Bookings essential

Local authors

19

IN SICKNESS, IN HEALTH AND IN JAIL

TRAVEL TALES

MEL JACOB

Never meaning to go to Istanbul, Nancy Knudson ended up living there for two years. Finding no help from guidebooks about adjusting to life in this exotic city, Nancy wrote her book Accidently Istanbul, a humorous account of her experiences trying to decipher the intricacies of Turkish culture, food, politics and lifestyle.

Mel Jacob recounts how her near perfect life took an unexpected detour when her husband was jailed for two years. Mel tells with humour the story of a family left behind, chronicling the grief, stigma and conversational minefields of her husband’s whereabouts as she navigated single parenthood, prison visitations and nosy neighbours.

NANCY KNUDSON

A funny, touching account of grief, love and forgiveness, In Sickness, in Health and in Jail is Mel Jacob’s debut book. Her writing has also appeared in the Good Weekend, Sunday Life and the Sydney Morning Herald.

With a varied career in acting, founding her own travel company and being named owner of the year in the Telstra Business Women’s Awards, Nancy then spent six years sailing around the world with her husband. Her first book Shooting Stars and Flying Fish, chronicles the adventures from this time sailing the world.

Thursday 29 June 6.00pm – 7.30pm Rutherford Library Free

Tuesday 8 August 6.00pm – 7.30pm Thornton Library Free

Bookings essential

Bookings essential

20

Local authors

ORDINARY PEOPLE, EXTRAORDINARY STORIES Different experiences shape our lives and set us on unforeseen paths. John Grushka shares his extraordinary story of surviving the holocaust and Robyn Barnes takes us on a courageous journey from living under the shadow of a cult to finding freedom.

Tuesday 4 April 6.00pm - 7.30pm Rutherford Library Free Bookings essential

Local stories

21

CULTURE SHIFT

LOCAL CHAMPIONS

Family, language, traditions and spirituality are key to our sense of belonging. What happens to our identity when our worlds shift and change? As one of the stolen generation, Mary Terszak has wrestled with the question of identity and belonging. Hear Mary’s story and that of Kalpana Chandra, who came from India to adjust to a new culture in Australia.

Local champions are the everyday heroes whose actions teach us about courage, strength, grace and hope.

Tuesday 25 July 6.00pm - 7.30pm Maitland Library Free Bookings essential

Kathryn Bennett is involved in many social causes including managing a project to provide water to schools in Vanuatu.

Pat Allen gives back to the community through her volunteer work, which includes Youth Off the Streets and Palliative Care.

Learn how compassion is at the heart of what these energetic locals do.

Tuesday 24 October 6.00pm - 7.30pm East Maitland Library Free Bookings essential

22

Local stories

Calendar of events FEBRUARY

Page 3

Tuesday 14 February

Holly Throsby - From music to mystery

Thursday 23 February

Higher Ground

Page 13

Thursday 9 March

Alana Henderson - Out of the Fog

Page 19

Tuesday 21 March

What is happiness anyway?

Page 16

Friday 24 March

Rosalie Ham - The Dressmaker

Tuesday 4 April

Ordinary people, extraordinary stories

Thursday 6 April

Don Watson - Voice from the Bush

Thursday 20 April

Duckenfield House

Friday 12 May

Tim Flannery - Hope for a new world

Monday 22 May

Greg Powell - Bushranger Tracks

Page 19

Thursday 8 June

Last Woman Hanged

Page 14

Wednesday 14 June

Raimond Gaita - Gratitude and truthfulness

Tuesday 20 June

Why friendship matters

Page 16

Thursday 29 June

Mel Jacob - In Sickness, in Health and in Jail

Page 20

JULY

Tuesday 25 July

Culture shift

Page 22

AUGUST

Thursday 3 August

Bruce Pascoe - The Dark Emu

Page 8

Tuesday 8 August

Nancy Knudson - Travel tales

Page 20

Sunday 20 August

Maitland’s Jewish connections

Page 15

Thursday 7 September

Pop goes the culture

Page 15

Tuesday 12 September

Sleep well

Page 17

Thursday 21 September

Abdi Aden - Shining

Thursday 12 October

David Astle - Words at play

Page 10

Tuesday 24 October

Local champions

Page 22

Thursday 2 November

Hannah Kent - Folklore, faith and fantasy

Page 11

Tuesday 14 November

Can you read yourself happy?

Page 18

Thursday 16 November

World Philosophy Day - Was Socrates a terrorist?

Page 12

MARCH

APRIL

MAY JUNE

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

Page 4 Page 21 Page 5 Page 14 Page 6

Page 7

Page 9

21

Connecting our community East Maitland Library Garnett Road East Maitland NSW 2323 t 4933 7122 f 4934 5051 eastmaitland.library@maitland.nsw.gov.au

Rutherford Library Arthur Street Rutherford NSW 2320 t 4932 8730 f 4932 8025 rutherford.library@maitland.nsw.gov.au

Maitland Library 480 High Street Maitland NSW 2320 t 4933 6952 f 4934 5029 maitland.library@maitland.nsw.gov.au

Thornton Library Taylor Avenue Thornton NSW 2322 t 4964 4468 thornton.library@maitland.nsw.gov.au

maitland.nsw.gov.au/library Booking (free and paid) and payment prior to events is essential and may be made online at maitland.nsw.gov.au/library.

Contact Maitland City Library 4933 6952 for further information.