In the sport of Sydney v Melbourne, which is very popular down in the bottom right hand corner of this country, I have usually abstained.
Well, that's not entirely true. I have usually said that Sydney people are interested in money and Melbourne people are interested in culture. I've said that Sydney is expensive and Melbourne is cheap. I've said the food is better, the art is better, the bands are better, the pubs are better, the boys are better, the girls are better, and the people, well, they're just better in Melbourne. Melbourne's better. That's basically been the idea behind my otherwise very neutral position of abstinence from the debate.
HOWEVER.
Not only did I recently have a very lovely time in Sydney with several engaging and hilarious Sydneysiders, where I enjoyed the benefits of a culturally diverse, intellectually challenging, absurdly cheap writers' festival, but today I picked up the newspaper in Melbourne and I read an article comparing the Melbourne Writers' Festival to the Sydney Writers' Festival.
When I finished reading the article, I put the newspaper down and I attempted to regulate my breathing. I attempted not to pass out from shock. I attempted to come to grips with this thought going through my head:
Wow. Maybe Sydney IS better than Melbourne.
The article is here.
Basically, the Melbourne Writers' Festival people say (and I HOPE you were misquoted):
1. We want the Melbourne festival to be as successful as the Sydney one
2. We want the funding to enable that
3. The reason the Sydney festival works is that most of the events are free
4. We wouldn't make the Melbourne festival free
.... which begs the question: huh?...
No, the Melbourne folk are saying they want the money to make the festival bigger, but they don't want the events to be free because that "devalues" the festival and it means the same small group of wankers who go every year because they can afford it might be overcrowded by the masses of other dudes who might go along because... well... because the EVENTS ARE FREE.
Anyway.
I'm moving to Sydney. Honestly. Who thinks like that.
Devalues?
I tell you what. I flew to Sydney this year AND last year to go to the Sydney Writers' Festival because the flights are cheap and the events are free. When it's not free, it's ten bucks, or fifteen. The most I paid was $35 to see Richard E Grant in the Opera House and he wasn't even close to the best thing I saw. The best thing I saw was ten bucks.
I know Sydney has more money for funding, but COME ON, Melbourne. Lift your game. I've been to Sydney two years in a row and the Melbourne Writers' Festival only once. It was too expensive and it was full of people who used to teach me English at university.
So, after reading that tiny article in the paper, Sydney v Melbourne is actually looking like a contest for the first time in living memory. If it weren't for the pokies in the pubs, I might just pack up and go.
Although, there's no Morrocan Soup Bar in Sydney. Is there?
Somehow, the comment posted here on Thursday by Rosemary has been removed. My blog software sometimes removes posts when it's attempting to be cleverer than it is. I apologise for this and Rosemary should feel free to re-post, or continue this discussion of course.
Lorin
There's the Nepalese Kitchen in Surry Hills... Does that count? The banquet's a little more pricey than Moroccan Soup bar (but not much) and it includes goat! What more could you want?
My point isn't that Melbourne should do everything for free. My point is that the Sydney Writers' Festival has an preference (as stated in The Age article) for "accessibility", whereas the Melbourne Writers' Festival has the attitude (as stated in The Age article) of "we rather enjoy how small it is and how it appeals to the same people every year".
Yes, Sydney Writers' Festival is very expensive, very sponsored and subsidised (even their carbon emissions were paid for!) and hugely popular. There has to be some way to make money from that...
For instance, I bought heaps of books. I bought them from one bookseller, because there was only one bookseller at the festival. They had a deal with the festival and they completely cleaned up. Surely, the more people who go to an event, the more money can be made out of it. They also had a massive raffle, which everyone I know bought tickets to while standing in the queue to the free (or cheap) events.
As for the difference between literary events and comedy shows/theatre/film... I don't see a difference between any of those things, but then again I don't see the heads of those other festivals saying in the newspaper that they'd rather not devalue their events by having ordinary people come to them.
I fully support the writers' festival getting more funding. I would personally volunteer to take the money Ron Walker uses for his little car race and send it down to the festival, but it seemed from the comments in the paper yesterday that even if that did happen, the writers' festival still wouldn't opt for accessibility, on account of events being "devalued" because they're free or cheap.
It's the philosophy of that policy that infuriates me. If the writers' festival is fighting back, let's fight for the right thing.
Go Lorin!
I agree with everything you said. Especially the bit about the Moroccan Soup Bar.
I'm a Sydneysider who's never been to the writer's festival before and I went this year to a couple of events (thanks to Mel's influence) and they were two of the best things I've ever seen. I bought books and I'm made a solemn vow to spend days on end sampling everything the festival has to offer from next year onwards!
I can't comment on the Melbourne equivalent, but I think the attitude behind the Sydney writers festival definitely has to be commended and it would be fantastic if it was extended to other areas of the arts scene. And as you say, it's not just about the ticket prices (although in a city where you feel like they're about to start charging a toll for every exhalation because it's the only thing left people aren't making money on, it is refreshing).
hey lorin... what was the best thing you saw at the sydney writers festival? trudi
Best thing I saw by a million miles (although most of it was excellent) was Shane Koyczan. Look up his website. He was brilliant. Otherwise, I loved The Big Reading, which was a selection of authors reading from their books. Readings are always great for me because I'm an inconsistent reader, and writers usually know how to read their books better than anyone else does. I also followed a few writers who I liked - Steven Hall, Rawi Hage, Moshin Hamid.
I am planning to write about these once I get my act together. That could take a while...
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