The fourth in a series of posts that looks at the history of the central Christchurch sites on which your new library, Tūranga, has been built. If you were standing in front of the spot now taken up by Tūranga's Goods Entrance on Gloucester Street on the evening of 6 November 1872 you would have been looking across…
The Nerd Degree: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018
The thing I really enjoy about comedy podcast, The Nerd Degree, is that though there's generally a theme running through the episodes, you really never know what you're going to get. And neither do the panelists, for the most part. But a safe bet is that there'll be amazing facts, nerdy knowledge and plenty of…
Ted Chiang – Arrival: WORD Christchurch
American science fiction writer Ted Chiang has a very particular way of speaking. He pauses a lot to gather his thoughts, and the intonation, or melody, of his voice doesn't vary much. This can have the effect of making it feel that he is taking a very long time to get to the point. Fortunately…
Paraweta, Poo Bum, and stories in te reo
Like most kids my son enjoys stories before bedtime (which is just as well because his mum is a librarian and he was going to be getting them regardless). Like a lot of Kiwi parents I do my best to add some te reo Māori into the mix where I can, but my own Māori…
Mortification: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018
There are few things I enjoy as much as a true tale of shame and embarrassment told by a gifted spinner of yarns. Even better if the story in question doesn't have me as its protagonist, though this isn't compulsory. In fact, many's the time I've found myself in some ridiculous predicament only to think…
Timey-wimey stuff: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018
Last year, as part of WORD Christchurch's Autumn Season, James Gleick spoke on his wide-ranging cultural history of Time Travel. If you have any interest in, as Doctor Who puts it, "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff" it's a great read. This WORD Christchurch Festival session brought together American author, Ted Chiang (whose novella, The Story of Your Life…
Starry, starry night: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018
It certainly was a rather star-studded affair on Friday night at the Isaac Theatre Royal for WORD Christchurch's gala event. Everywhere a person turned there were famous faces about; Helen Clark striding past on the footpath out front, Michele A'Court queuing at the bar in the foyer, Georgina Beyer chatting in the row in front…
You write funny!: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018
What you really want from a session called "You write funny!" is for there to be writers and for them to be humorous. It's pretty much right there in the title. You're expecting to laugh a bit. And certainly this Friday night session at WORD Christcchurch Festival 2018 MCed by the affable Ray Shipley filled…
New Regent Street Pop-up Festival: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018
The New Regent Street Pop-up Festival is like the whole of WORD Christchurch distilled into an hour and twenty minutes, and if that sounds intense well, yes, that would be an accurate assessment. In some ways it's like trying to pick something off a menu - how do you know what you'll like the best…
125 Years – Are We There Yet?: WORD Christchurch Festival 2018
Are we there yet? 125 years on from the historic law change that granted New Zealand women the right to vote, an impressive line-up of women gathered in a WORD Christchurch panel at The Piano to discuss this question. Georgina Beyer, Dame Anne Salmond, Sacha McMeeking, Lizzie Marvelly, and Paula Penfold were chaired by the…
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