Category: Admin

Admin, Life Writing

A Special Edition of Wayward Kin Read Deborah Levy’s Living Memoir

LJ Maher

It’s been a hot while my loves, and I know we are all zoomed out, but I also know that some of us are craving a little of that human connection outside of the humans/fur humans with whom we are locked down. Therefore, on Wednesday 1 September, 8, September and 15 September I will open the Zoom room for a 2 hour long love-fest on Deborah Levy’s living memoir series. Bring wine, bring tea, bring your adoration for those books you get something new from every time you read it. Bring your evangelical enthusiasm (“No, babes, you don’t understand. YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK.” – no judgement, we’ve all said some iteration of this sentence). This isn’t a “lit class” discussion, it’s wine, reflection, musing, philosophy, therapy, sharing. It’s vulnerability and respect. It’s real estate.

15 September 20:00 AEST: Real Estate

Available at Neighbourhood Books, Brunswick Books, Paperback Bookshop, Hill of Content

Enter the Zoom here from 8pm on 8 September.

Admin, Fiction

The Mid-Semester Silence – Part the First

LJ Maher

So as per, the semester is well back in (I’m marking, I’m writing lectures, I’m generally making other poor life choices) and so my non-academic writing has fallen by the wayside. I feel guilty for not maintaining a regular writing pattern, I know it would be good for me, but I also struggle to find the time/space/energy once semester kicks in. I’m hardly alone in this, so I think I do just need to exercise a little more discipline. So here I am. Being disciplined. And writing an unfinished blog about unfinished books.

Continue reading “The Mid-Semester Silence – Part the First” →

Admin

Wayward Girls Read

LJ Maher

Welcome to the Wayward Girls’ Book Club. this group grew out of a monthly lounge-room book club held at my home in Northcote, Victoria. we make a point of reading only short books (essays, poetry, novellas) because who has the time to slog through tomes? We try to read books by women, queer people, and non-Anglo/European authors. With a table heavy under wine and cheese and the sound of women’s laughter bouncing off of wooden floors, we shared our own stories and experiences, we caught up with each other, we consoled each other. We created a small refuge under the twinkle of fairy lights and the warmth of blankets. In some ways this space is Arcadian. While everyone is invited to read the books, we know there are times where that just isn’t going to happen: work, children, life, these things intervene and don’t always leave the time to read.

The Wayward Girls’ Book Club has run well for the last year, so I thought it might be time to expand: to make our experiences, our ideas, our chatter available on a broader scale. I admit, this is largely selfish: I’ll be leaving Australia later this year, and I want to take my book club with me, to have it in my pocket. This book club is about far more than getting through pages; it is about the intimate and loving connections forged between a roomful of women who were once perfect strangers. I invite you all to join us.