This week on The ABR Podcast, we feature a special commentary by Simon Tedeschi on writers’ festivals. At the level below headlines, writers’ festivals have in recent years undergone a more subtle but pernicious shift, he argues. Whereas they were once sites of complex dialogue and genuine exchange, now ‘both political and literary language ... functions to perform reassurance and calibration’. Tedeschi reflects on a broader ‘societal impatience with ambiguity’ and asks us to consider: ‘What specific cultural function is a writers’ festival intended to perform?’ 

Simon Tedeschi won the ABR Calibre Essay Prize for his essay ‘This Woman My Grandmother’, and he is the author of Fugitive (2022). Here is Simon Tedeschi with ‘“Suppose I am wrong?”: On writers’ festivals, reassurance, calibration, and risk’, published in the April issue of ABR. 

This week on&nbsp;The ABR Podcast, we feature a special commentary by Simon Tedeschi on&nbsp;writers&rsquo; festivals.&nbsp;At the level below headlines, writers&rsquo; festivals have in recent years undergone a more subtle but pernicious shift,&nbsp;he&nbsp;argues. Whereas they were once&nbsp;sites of complex dialogue and genuine exchange,&nbsp;now&nbsp;&lsquo;both political and literary language&nbsp;...&nbsp;functions to perform reassurance and calibration&rsquo;.&nbsp;Tedeschi reflects&nbsp;on a broader&nbsp;&lsquo;societal impatience with ambiguity&rsquo;&nbsp;and asks us to consider: &lsquo;What specific cultural function is a writers&rsquo; festival intended to perform?&rsquo;&nbsp;
Simon Tedeschi won the&nbsp;ABR&nbsp;Calibre Essay Prize for his essay &lsquo;This Woman My Grandmother&rsquo;,&nbsp;and he is the author&nbsp;of&nbsp;Fugitive&nbsp;(2022). Here is Simon Tedeschi with &lsquo;&ldquo;Suppose I am wrong?&rdquo;: On writers&rsquo; festivals, reassurance, calibration, and risk&rsquo;, published in the April issue of ABR.&nbsp;

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

For more information about ABR, visit our website, www.australianbookreview.com.au

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.
For more information about&nbsp;ABR, visit our website, <a href="http://www.australianbookreview.com.au">www.australianbookreview.com.au</a>

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

The ABR Podcast

ABR is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast, The ABR Podcast.

Released fortnightly every Wednesday, The ABR Podcast will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

ABR&nbsp;is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast.
Released fortnightly every Wednesday,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast&nbsp;will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

This week on The ABR Podcast, we feature a special commentary by Simon Tedeschi on writers’ festivals. At the level below headlines, writers’ festivals have in recent years undergone a more subtle but pernicious shift, he argues. Whereas they were once sites of complex dialogue and genuine exchange, now ‘both political and literary language ... functions to perform reassurance and calibration’. Tedeschi reflects on a broader ‘societal impatience with ambiguity’ and asks us to consider: ‘What specific cultural function is a writers’ festival intended to perform?’ 

‘“Suppose I am wrong?”: On writers’ festivals, reassurance, calibration, and risk’ by Simon Tedeschi

This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature a special commentary by Dennis Altman on the new literary scams enabled by artificial intelligence. Altman recounts the multiple emails he has received from people ‘whose lives will not be complete if they are not given the opportunity to promote one of my books … to a global audience’. These emails are purportedly from authors as varied as Patrick Süskind and Annie Ernaux. Apparently, ‘geography places no limits on my potential fan base,’ Altman writes, ‘nor, I suspect, will mortality.’  

Dennis Altman is a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at La Trobe University. His most recent book is Righting My World: Essays from the past half-century, published by Monash University Publishing in 2025. Here is Dennis Altman with ‘“May today sink peace into your soul”: New scams in the literary world’, published in the April issue of ABR. 

This week, on&nbsp;The&nbsp;ABR&nbsp;Podcast, we feature a special commentary by Dennis Altman on the new literary scams enabled by artificial intelligence. Altman recounts the multiple emails he has received from people &lsquo;whose lives will not be complete if they are not given the opportunity to promote one of my books &hellip; to a global audience&rsquo;. These emails are purportedly from authors as varied as Patrick S&uuml;skind and Annie Ernaux. Apparently, &lsquo;geography places no limits on my potential fan base,&rsquo; Altman writes, &lsquo;nor, I suspect, will mortality.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Dennis Altman&nbsp;is&nbsp;a Vice Chancellor&rsquo;s Fellow at La Trobe University. His most recent book&nbsp;is Righting My World: Essays from the past half-century, published by Monash University Publishing&nbsp;in 2025. Here is Dennis Altman with&nbsp;&lsquo;&ldquo;May today sink peace into your soul&rdquo;: New&nbsp;scams&nbsp;in the literary world&rsquo;,&nbsp;published in the April issue of&nbsp;ABR.&nbsp;

This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature a special commentary by Dennis Altman on the new literary scams enabled by artificial intelligence. Altman recounts the multiple emails he has received from people ‘whose lives will not be complete if they are not given the opportunity to promote one of my books … to a global audience’. These emails are purportedly from authors as varied as Patrick Süskind and Annie Ernaux. Apparently ‘geography places no limits on my potential fan base,’ Altman writes, ‘nor, I suspect, will mortality.’  

‘“May today sink peace into your soul”: New scams in the literary world’ by Dennis Altman

This week, on The ABR Podcast, Felicity Plunkett reviews Fear Less: Poetry in perilous times, by former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. In a cultural moment when language is often ‘weaponised to cultivate division and fear’, Smith proposes a more audacious alternative: to live otherwise, refusing to succumb to ‘hot takes and livid tirades’. Smith’s call for ‘urgent compassion’, Plunkett writes, positions poetry as a means of fostering ‘careful listening and mutual respect’. Poetry insists, Smith writes, that ‘your life must be as important to you as mine is to me’. 

Felicity Plunkett is the ABR Poetry Editor and a poet and critic. Her latest work, A Kinder Sea, is published by the University of Queensland Press. Here is Felicity Plunkett with ‘Urgent compassion: Paying courageous attention’, published in the April issue of ABR.  

This week, on&nbsp;The&nbsp;ABR&nbsp;Podcast, Felicity Plunkett reviews&nbsp;Fear Less: Poetry in perilous times, by former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. In a&nbsp;cultural&nbsp;moment when&nbsp;language is often&nbsp;&lsquo;weaponised to cultivate division and fear&rsquo;,&nbsp;Smith proposes a more audacious alternative: to live otherwise, refusing&nbsp;to succumb to&nbsp;&lsquo;hot takes and livid&nbsp;tirades&rsquo;.&nbsp;Smith&rsquo;s&nbsp;call&nbsp;for &lsquo;urgent compassion&rsquo;,&nbsp;Plunkett writes,&nbsp;positions poetry as a&nbsp;means of fostering&nbsp;&lsquo;careful listening and mutual respect&rsquo;.&nbsp;Poetry&nbsp;insists, Smith writes,&nbsp;that&nbsp;&lsquo;your life must be as important to you as mine is to&nbsp;me&rsquo;.&nbsp;
Felicity Plunkett is&nbsp;the&nbsp;ABR&nbsp;Poetry Editor and a poet and critic. Her latest work,&nbsp;A Kinder Sea, is published by the University of Queensland Press. Here is Felicity Plunkett with &lsquo;Urgent compassion: Paying courageous attention&rsquo;, published in the April issue of ABR.&nbsp;&nbsp;

‘Urgent compassion: Paying courageous attention’ by Felicity Plunkett

This week, on The ABR Podcast, Eleanor Spencer-Regan reflects on Melbourne poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe’s poetic career. Wallace-Crabbe made the poem ‘a space for thinking in public’, she writes. In his work, poetry is treated ‘less as statement than as real-time event: a site in which ideas are tried out rather than asserted’. His most enduring legacy, Spencer-Regan suggests, lies in the intellectual capaciousness of this approach: one that is ‘curious, plural, generous, and ever alert to contingency’. 

Eleanor Spencer-Regan is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne and the Principal of Janet-Clarke Hall, Australia’s first residential college for women. Here is Eleanor Spencer-Regan with ‘Thinking in public: The vulpine poetry of Chris Wallace-Crabbe’, published in the March issue of ABR. 

This week, on&nbsp;The ABR Podcast, Eleanor Spencer-Regan reflects on&nbsp;Melbourne poet&nbsp;Chris&nbsp;Wallace-Crabbe&rsquo;s poetic career. Wallace-Crabbe&nbsp;made&nbsp;the poem &lsquo;a space for thinking in public&rsquo;,&nbsp;she writes.&nbsp;In&nbsp;his work,&nbsp;poetry is treated &lsquo;less as statement than as real-time event: a site in which ideas are tried out rather than asserted&rsquo;.&nbsp;His&nbsp;most enduring&nbsp;legacy,&nbsp;Spencer-Regan suggests, lies in the intellectual capaciousness of this approach: one that is &lsquo;curious, plural, generous, and ever alert to contingency&rsquo;.&nbsp;
Eleanor Spencer-Regan is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne and the Principal of Janet-Clarke Hall, Australia&rsquo;s first residential college for women.&nbsp;Here is Eleanor Spencer-Regan with &lsquo;Thinking in public: The vulpine poetry of Chris Wallace-Crabbe&rsquo;,&nbsp;published&nbsp;in&nbsp;the March issue of&nbsp;ABR.&nbsp;

This week, on The ABR Podcast, Eleanor Spencer-Regan reflects on Melbourne poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe’s poetic career. Wallace-Crabbe made the poem ‘a space for thinking in public’, she writes. In his work, poetry is treated ‘less as statement than as real-time event: a site in which ideas are tried out rather than asserted’. His most enduring legacy, Spencer-Regan suggests, lies in the intellectual capaciousness of this approach: one that is ‘curious, plural, generous, and ever alert to contingency’.   Eleanor Spencer-Regan is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne and the Principal of Janet-Clarke Hall, Australia’s first residential college for women. Here is Eleanor Spencer-Regan with ‘Thinking in public: The vulpine poetry of Chris Wallace-Crabbe’, published in the March issue of ABR. 

‘“Suppose I am wrong?”: On writers’ festivals, reassurance, calibration, and risk’ by Simon Tedeschi

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