Vin Ordinaire: A masterclass with J.M. Coetzee Writing Fellow Cath Kenneally

In this masterclass, J.M. Coetzee Writing Fellow for 2015, Cath Kenneally, will consider her writing as a series of constantly renewed attempts to capture/encapsulate the humdrum, the quotidian and the familiar, using examples of writing by others she admires as a measure. In ‘The Street’, 3: Practical Exercises, Georges Perec, writes: "Do you know how to see what’s worthy of note? … You don’t know how to see. You must set about it more slowly, almost stupidly. Force yourself to write down what is of no interest, what is most obvious, most common, most colourless." It is this task that endlessly presents itself in the practice of writing, that must always be completed anew. Cath will discuss the poetry of Jenny Bornholdt and Janet Charman, as well as some of her own poems, as examples of writing that take the quotidian and make it tell. Writing about places other than home does not require a new way of seeing or writing, a point Cath will examine with reference to travel poems and prose. Cath will also provide participants with writing prompts, which will offer ways of surprising the everyday into unfamiliarity.

Cath Kenneally was the recipient of the inaugural J.M. Coetzee Writing Fellowship in 2015, a residency generously supported by the Copyright Agency Limited Cultural Fund. She is the author of several award-winning books of poetry and two novels—Room Temperature and Jetty Road. Cath has regularly published reviews of books and visual arts in The Weekend Australian, Australian Book Review, and the Adelaide Review, and since 1990 has been a producer and presenter of flagship arts programs on Radio Adelaide, such as Arts Breakfast and Writers Radio. Her awards include the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship and the John Bray National Poetry Award. She holds both an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Adelaide.

To register your interest, please email rita.horanyi@adelaide.edu.au.