Wow.
I went to the night expecting some boring book people talking about books. How wrong I was. The level of conversation from both the authors and the fellow students from the class enhanced my view of what to expect from the next couple of days.
First impressions however. The wood fire smouldering in the room with mallee stumps used for that touch of real world charm and local connection. Glasses of red wine were being held by many of the patrons and it seemed like a very good idea (however I did not partake).
The book of the night was Your heart is a muscle the size of a fist by Sunil Yapa. As Richard Denniss pointed out in his introduction "It looked like a chick read and I thought that is what it would be about, but how wrong I was".
When Sunil Yapa read a piece from the beginning of the book I was entranced immediately with the power and the emotions that were being portrayed. The protestors, police, delegates, police chief, the hippy son - estranged. I can't wait to read the book and learn more about the characters and where it will lead.
The discussion began with a talk from Richard about how Government and Business use language to try and confuse normal people. The markets - we need to be scared of the markets. But who are the markets. The rich people and corporations and if that is the case we don't care and the markets can do what they want.....
The most powerful image that I took from the night was the militarisation of the police. The fact that they get surplus military equipment and also the fact that community policing has gone out the window and is non-existent. This made me think about the wider world and if this is happening in the land of the free and the home of the brave how long before this happens in Australia?
That is the first day down and only four days left.
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