Daniella Judge reports back from this year’s eclectic Word Christchurch festival in Ōtautahi.
Perfectly timed to uplift winter-weathered souls, Word Christchurch is an annual opportunity to hear from some of New Zealand’s best writers. This year’s theme of “joy” encompassed a wide range of events, from a reading enthusiasts soireé, to Duncan Sarkies’ extensive chip packet collection, to a poetry dating show with former poet laureate Chris Tse.
Not only was I able to attend many Word events as a book nerd, but as a volunteer I got a backstage insight into how the event is run. Most of the volunteering was simply scanning tickets of excited audience members, handing out the mic during question and answer segments, and making the space as accessible as possible. It was a piece of cake, especially as this bookish crowd fitted the stereotype of being soft-spoken and polite.
My festival began earlier in the month ushering school-loads of children to hear from finalists in the New Zealand Books Awards for Children and Young Adults: Rachel Clare, Jane Arthur, Kiri Lightfoot, David Riley, Rachael King and Juliette MacIver. The questions the kids asked the writers were sharp – one boy asked, “How do you know what to keep in the story and what to cut out?” It was amazing to witness how seeing authors in person helps young people comprehend that the dream of writing a book can become a reality.
On the Friday night of the festival weekend Cabinet of Curiosities: Tiny Lectures on the Weird and Wonderful was a laugh-out-loud affair. Taking place in the intimate Little Andromeda and hosted by culture critic Erin Harrington, Cabinet of Curiosities was a celebration of the niche interests of six writers. Duncan Sarkies kicked off with his impressive chip packet collection (over 300 packets!) that told the tale of Bluebird and Eta’s long-time rivalry. Next up Una Cruickshank imparted vital information about lead poisoning; then Chris Tse explained how his popular self-made fan page for everything Bic Runga in the early 2000s got him an exclusive jump on listening to Runga’s album Birds and how her song ‘Sway’ followed him to China.
We were then graced with the warm presence of Ariana Tikao (Kāi Tahu) who taught us Māori words for different kinds of farts and had us snickering. Catherine Chidgey spoke to us as though we were a room full of friends by exposing the lengths she has and will go to procure her art deco beaded purse treasures from eBay. The night was topped off with Kate Camp demonstrating live how she effortlessly gets changed out of her togs after ocean swims. The bravery, the confidence, the skill – it was truly unmatched.
I adored hearing from literary top guns Catherine Chidgey, Charlotte Wood and Michelle Duff at the Queens of Atmosphere event on Saturday. The writers spoke of the quiet, deliberate choices behind their books. Chidgey revealed that for The Book of Guilt she wanted to “create an interior isolated world from the perspectives of the young narrators”. Duff, a journalist known for her biography of Jacinda Ardern, said it was hard not to write her short story collection, Surplus Women, in an inherently feminist atmosphere because “the heart of a book is its truth”.
On the topic of her Booker Prize shortlisted novel, Stone Yard Devotional, Wood discussed returning to her childhood landscape and finding a new appreciation for the barren environment that was vital to her story. The conversation had its lighter moments. It will take a while to scrub from my mind Duff’s confession that she learned the sacrilegious habit of dog-earing book pages to mark a passage from a not-to-be-named Spinoff books editor: “If she can do it, so can I,” Duff joked. This was much to the disapproval of Chidgey, who proudly held up her bookmark. Meanwhile, Wood cracked the spine of her own book in mock protest.
Have a Beer with Duncan Sarkies left us all with warm fuzzies. The author of “that alpaca novel” Star Gazers beamed as he told us that an alpaca he’d met — whose coat is the same colour as his beard — won the category for best colouring. Sarkies gushed over his appreciation for the alpaca farmers that gave him insights into the community that would become his book.
On Sunday the skies opened, but the grey tint over the city made for a cosy backdrop at the Christchurch Art Gallery. Ideal for checking out the incredibly creative zines and art prints at Zinefest – I went away with a brown bag packed with papery goodies.
My second-to-last event was Steve Braunias: Inside the Trial of the Century. Lianne Dalziel, whom Braunias requested interview him for the session, drew out his insights into the mood of the Polkinghorne trial and his impressions of the people involved in the case. With Polkinghorne arrested a long 16 months after the death of his wife, Braunias commented that the police work was “Z grade”. Braunias seemed at odds with how he felt about Polkinghorne’s character: “Over the eight weeks of trial I got to like him … he had a generosity of spirit, and would carry out free eye surgeries.” Later in the hour he read aloud what his column would have said had the trial resulted in a guilty verdict. This never-published article ultimately called Polkinghorne a “sex-obsessed gimp”. Nearing the end, an audience member asked, “Where is Polkinghorne now?” Steve replied, “Walking around Remuera with his bulldog Winston. There is something in that saying that dog owners look like their pets.”
My Word weekend ended with The Romance of Fantasy. Rachael King interviewed fantasy writers Andrea Eames and Rachael Craw about their novels and their (not always smooth) publishing journeys. Despite facing some unpredictable hurdles, Craw still loves the journey of writing fantasy: “I’ve always had a bit of whimsy in me,” she said. Andrea Eames was a University of Canterbury student doing her creative writing project when she met Rachael King and the two have cheered each other on in their respective writing journeys ever since.
I had a superb time at Word, but I have to note that over the course of the festival it was hard not to observe that the audience demographic tended towards middle-aged and older. Despite the University of Canterbury being the festival’s principal partner, there was an obvious lack of university students or even young professionals attending. I wondered whether this speaks to the cost-of-living crisis or if it was about the programme. I think if a real effort to connect with the University’s student association, and the English and Journalism departments, the festival could rally more interest from young people. Or, even better, if students were included in creation of the programme, word-of-mouth may well bring these communities to a truly fantastic time.
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