The Open Stage, University of Melbourne
9:00am – 6:30pm
The fifth China Australia Literary Forum (CALF 5), ‘Ideas of the Future/Building Relations’, brought writers, critics and publishers from Australia and China together in dialogue about literature and cultural translation. It was co-hosted by the Writing & Society Research Centre, the Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture, the Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne, and the China Writers’ Association.
Over four sessions chaired by Isabelle Li, Nicholas Jose, Denise Varney and Jing Han, invited delegates were asked to speak for ten minutes on one of the program themes: i) Worlds of the Future, ii) Ecology and the Environment, iii) Economies and Networks, iv) Building Relationships.
Below are the speeches in each session, along with their accompanying translation.
PANEL ONE: WRITERS #1 (Chair – Isabelle Li)
- Lisa Gorton (novelist, poet) – ‘The Readers Digest Great World Atlas’
- Kate Fagan (poet) – ‘”Keep Every Story Live”: Natalie Harkin’s Archival Poetics’
- Mr Dong Xi (novelist) – ‘The Purpose of Writing is Communication’
- Ms Zheng Xiaoqiong (poet) – ‘The Way of Poetry’
PANEL TWO: WRITERS #2 (Chair – Nicholas Jose)
- David McCooey (poet) – ‘Future Worlds’
- Felicity Castagna (novelist) – ‘Past, Present and Future Worlds’
- Ms Xia Jia (novelist) – ‘Believe in the Future’
- Mr Long Yi (novelist) – ‘Enjoying the Internet’
PANEL THREE: CRITICS
- Justin Clemens (poet, critic) – ‘The Smallest and most Minimal of Beings’
- James Ley (critic) – ‘Untitled’
- Mr Yan Jingming (critic) – ‘The Future of Literature’
- Mr Li Guoping (critic) – ‘Untitled’
PANEL FOUR: PUBLISHERS
- Xiang Ren (scholar of publishing) – ‘Literary Publishing in a Connected Digital World’
- Mrs Ying Hong (editor and publisher) – ‘Belief in the Future’
- Sam Cooney (publisher) – ‘Building Relationships: Blak Brow: Stepping Back to Move Foreward’ (English Only)
