Ever since WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival ended on Sunday I've felt rather sad and a little lost. When I've been to other literature festivals I've been enthused, happy and have absolutely gorged myself on as many sessions as possible. Then they ended and that was that. WORD was different to that and also, for me, significantly different to previous WORD festivals. Let me try and explain how.
For me, WORD 2016 was like having my best friend visit for a full on weekend of anecdotes, reminiscence, political discussion and culture. Now they've gone back home and I miss them.
The main sessions which stood out for me were those related to feminism, short stories and storytelling. The sheer numbers attending the feminist sessions from Dame Fiona Kidman, Helene Wong, Debbie Stoller, Tara Moss and Barbara Brookes was heartwarming.
However, the absolute highlight of the festival, for me was the oral storytelling of Ivan Coyote. It is a rare thing to find oral storytelling events in literature festivals. It is, as the saying goes, "as rare as hen's teeth" to find storytelling for adult audiences. But WORD programmed this to audiences who lapped it all up and hungrily asked for more. Oral storytelling is the one thing above all that I've missed since moving to New Zealand from the UK over 7 years ago. I hadn't come across Ivan Coyote before, so my choice of their sessions was purely guided by the words "storyteller and raconteur". My punt paid off as these sessions were fantastic. Like most storytelling events, they were just too short and that's a great criticism to have!
So now, I have a few more books and collections on my shelves just like an album of photos to remember the weekend. Until the next time, WORD.
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