Pros and Cons of Writing from Australia's Wild Wild West

Chaired by Michael Bliss, a Minister-Counsellor for the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, the panel consisted of novelist Brenda Walker, South African-born poet John Mateer, and novelist Simone Lazaroo. 

 

All three writers on the panel hail from Perth, the coastal capital of Western Australia. Originally from Perth myself (well, Fremantle, but close enough), I was keen to hear their views on being a writer from the West. John Mateer observed that eight of the ten closest cities to Perth are actually in Indonesia, and Simone Lazaroo declared that Western Asutralian's were 'doomed' to write about the connection between Asia and Australia. 

 

She pointed out that this connection has historically been based on trade and economics, and that although we are 'complexly conjoined', we don't yet understand each other. The gulf created by the stilted interaction between Australian tourists and Balinese hospitality staff was brought up, and Simone said that she had based her characters on Australian tourists observed on previous visits to Bali. 

 

Brenda Walker agreed that the Western Australian perspective was Asia-based, and discussed the sense of difference experienced when she visits an Asian country, relating her experiences with a dramatic Balinese cremation ceremony and jumping from the searing heat of Perth to snow-covered Kyoto in Japan. 

The panel's chair, Michael Bliss also pointed out that Western Australia had a strong 20 year relationship with East Java, primarily focused on education, but that much more could be done to strengthen the cultural ties between Australia and Indonesia. 

 

All the panellists agreed that young and emerging writers in Western Australia needed more support from government bodies; ArtsWA was mentioned as a useful existing source for financial funding. Simone said that although the arts community in Perth was quite small, there are some incredibly supportive individuals within that community, namely fellow panellist, Brenda Walker.

 

The insular nature of such a small arts scene was discussed, with both Brenda and Simone agreeing that long-term tensions and irritations in the community can be a deterrent for some. Brenda said the internet was a 'blessing' for writers in Perth wanting to reach out to a wider creative network, and Simone said she annually visits some of her East-coast friends in order to recharge her creativity. 

 

John Mateer brought up the ease of mobility in and out of Perth, and suggested that the feeling of isolation felt by those living in Western Australia was negated by modern means of transportation. He jokingly questioned the continued existence of Perth, and wondered why people continued to keep moving to the town he described as a cluster of 'suburbs without a city'.

 

John mentioned that a big problem in Perth is a poor collective recollection of cultural events that have occurred in the city, and said that better funding for the arts could improve the public's knowledge and experience of creative endeavours. 

 

By Sophie MacNeill