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Thursday 28 August 2008
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In a program broadcast live from the Melbourne Writers' Festival, Peter Mares discusses Hitler, Stalin, evil and the writing of history with Professors Michael Burleigh and Orlando Figes. Michael Burleigh has written extensively about Germany in the 1930s and 40s. His book The Third Reich: A New History won the 2001 Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. His most recent work is the controversial and very topical Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Modern Terrorism. Orlando Figes specialises in Russian history and his books include the award-winning A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924. His latest book is The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia.
Hunters and Collectors acquires three new band members, who all play instruments not traditionally associated with rock'n'roll but who come to give a distinctive style to the band's music.
Please note that this episode contains strong language.
Wednesday 27 August 2008
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Italian novelist and scholar Umberto Eco has 30 000 books in his Milan appartment and another 20 000 volumes in his country manor.
New Zealand writer Emily Perkins's book Novel About My Wife is set in London, where the author lived for 10 years.
The judges for the world's richest short story prize, the Frank O'Connor Award, thought Jhumpa Lahiri's latest collection Unaccustomed Earth was so good they didn't bother making a shortlist -- they just gave her the prize outright.
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The innards of a hot water cylinder prove 'instrumental' to the band.
Please note that this episode contains strong language.
Tuesday 26 August 2008
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Augusten Burroughs made the terrible events of his adolesence funny in Running with Scissors. Now Burroughs has written another memoir, one that goes further back into his childhood to investigate his relationship with his father. It's a darker work called A Wolf at the Table.
Mark continues his account of the early days of Hunters and Collectors.
Please note that this episode contains strong language.
Monday 25 August 2008
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Barry Maitland is known for his forensic police procedurals featuring the investigative pair of Detective Chief Inspector David Brock and Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla of Scotland Yard's Serious Crime Unit, but his latest work breaks the mould. The novel, called Bright Air, is set in Australia and, unlike his other work, it's written in the first person, making it a more personal and interior narrative that explores psychological conflicts along with investigating the crime.
Mark Seymour was born into a musical family in country Victoria. They moved to Melbourne when he was young, and it was at the University of Melbourne he met the other musicians with whom he came to form Hunters and Collectors, in 1981. Over the course of the band's life they released nine studio albums, three live ones, and a number of EPs, and played to ever growing audiences both in Australia and overseas. The music continued to evolve throughout the band's eighteen year long career, eventually making the 'crossover' from edgy alternative to commercial radio hits. And all the while, the joys and difficulties of working in a democracy of blokes kept things interesting.
Please note that this episode contains strong language.
Friday 22 August 2008
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There's currently a major emphasis on getting children to read, engaging them in the written word through initiatives like Premier's reading challenges and Children's Book Week. Most of us who read for pleasure can name books and stories we loved when we were young, books that helped to shape our sense of identity and our sense of place, books that opened our minds to alternative worlds and new possibilities. Award-winning writer Sonya Hartnett, children's literature specialist Professor John Stephens and illustrator and author Tina Matthews discuss writing for children.
Lisa St Aubin de Terán's final train journey in this reading takes her back to England, and there's probably not much doubt that it will prove to be an eventful one.
For copyright reasons this reading is not available as a podcast.
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