A world-renowned expert in American literature and culture, Sarah Churchwell (The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells) delivers the 2023 John Button Oration.

Examining one of the most popular stories of all time, Gone with the Wind, Churchwell shows how histories of mythmaking have informed America’s racial and gender politics, the resurgence of white nationalism, the Black Lives Matter movement, the enduring power of the American dream, and the violence of Trumpism.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2023 

This event was proudly supported by the John Button Fund, Melbourne School of Government and the Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne

A world-renowned expert in American literature and culture, Sarah Churchwell (<a href="https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781789542998/9781789542998" data-emb-href-display="www.readings.com.au" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781789542998/9781789542998">The Wrath to Come: Gone with the Wind and the Lies America Tells</a>) delivers the 2023 John Button Oration.
Examining one of the most popular stories of all time, Gone with the Wind, Churchwell shows how histories of mythmaking have informed America’s racial and gender politics, the resurgence of white nationalism, the Black Lives Matter movement, the enduring power of the American dream, and the violence of Trumpism.
Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2023 
<hr>
This event was proudly supported by the John Button Fund, Melbourne School of Government and the Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne

Australia's boldest literary festival.

Melbourne Writers Festival

Conversations from Australia's boldest literary festival.

Conversations from Australia's boldest literary festival.

The John Button Oration: The Great American Lie

[Content warning: Sensitive themes] Listen to former Australian of the Year Grace Tame as she talks about The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner, her sharply intelligent, deeply felt and at times blisteringly funny memoir that shares her story – in her own words and on her own terms.

In conversation with Abigail Ulman, Tame talks about the hard-won journey to finding her voice, what her experience reveals about a culture of abuse in our society and institutions, the writing and editing process behind her memoir, and the values and passions that have helped her become a leading advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse who has inspired countless people from all walks of life.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2023

Please note, this conversation explores sensitive topics including child sexual abuse and domestic violence. 

[Content warning: Sensitive themes] Listen to former Australian of the Year Grace Tame as she talks about The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner, her sharply intelligent, deeply felt and at times blisteringly funny memoir that shares her story – in her own words and on her own terms.
In conversation with Abigail Ulman, Tame talks about the hard-won journey to finding her voice, what her experience reveals about a culture of abuse in our society and institutions, the writing and editing process behind her memoir, and the values and passions that have helped her become a leading advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse who has inspired countless people from all walks of life.
Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2023
Please note, this conversation explores sensitive topics including child sexual abuse and domestic violence.

My Name Is Grace Tame

"You can’t really interview a ghost." – Shehan Karunatilaka

Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka won the 2022 Booker Prize for his dazzling magic-realist satire The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Set during his homeland’s long civil war, the story follows its title character, a self-described photographer, gambler and ‘closet queen’, who wakes up as a ghost with a week to discover who killed him.

One of the great literary voices of our times, Karunatilaka joins ABC RN’s Kate Evans (The Bookshelf) to discuss the novel's genesis and international success, the ethics of photography, and how Sri Lanka's history and culture informed the novel – with some cricket and daddy issues thrown in.  

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2023 

This event was proudly supported by ARA Group

This event was presented in partnership with ABC RN

This event was supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund – a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.

<blockquote>
"You can’t really interview a ghost." – Shehan Karunatilaka
</blockquote>
Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka won the 2022 Booker Prize for his dazzling magic-realist satire <a href="https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781908745903/the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida--shehan-karunatilaka--2021--9781908745903">The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida</a>. Set during his homeland’s long civil war, the story follows its title character, a self-described photographer, gambler and ‘closet queen’, who wakes up as a ghost with a week to discover who killed him.
One of the great literary voices of our times, Karunatilaka joins ABC RN’s Kate Evans (The Bookshelf) to discuss the novel's genesis and international success, the ethics of photography, and how Sri Lanka's history and culture informed the novel – with some cricket and daddy issues thrown in.  
Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2023 
<hr>
This event was proudly supported by ARA Group
This event was presented in partnership with ABC RN
This event was supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund – a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.

Shehan Karunatilaka: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

For millennia, reciprocal relationships with plants have provided both sustenance to First Nations communities and many of the materials needed to produce a complex array of technologies. In this wide-ranging discussion, learn more about this fascinating relationship and how it forms the basis of everything – respect, connection and our future survival.

Featuring co-authors of Plants: Past, Present and Future – Barkandji researcher and storyteller Zena Cumpston, Wiradjuri geographer and scientist Michael-Shawn Fletcher, and geographer Lesley Head – and prize-winning Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian writer Bruce Pascoe, with Sally Warhaft.

“If we don’t learn to relate to each other, we’ll continue to destroy the earth.” 
– Bruce Pascoe

For millennia, reciprocal relationships with plants have provided both sustenance to First Nations communities and many of the materials needed to produce a complex array of technologies. In this wide-ranging discussion, learn more about this fascinating relationship and how it forms the basis of everything – respect, connection and our future survival.
Featuring co-authors of <a href="https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781760761875/plants--zena-cumpston-michael-fletcher-lesley-head--2022--9781760761875">Plants: Past, Present and Future</a> – Barkandji researcher and storyteller Zena Cumpston, Wiradjuri geographer and scientist Michael-Shawn Fletcher, and geographer Lesley Head – and prize-winning Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian writer Bruce Pascoe, with Sally Warhaft.
<blockquote>
“If we don’t learn to relate to each other, we’ll continue to destroy the earth.” – Bruce Pascoe
</blockquote>

The John Button Oration: The Great American Lie

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