An Afterthought

I’m writing this blog post kind of unexpectedly – unexpectedly because technically I don’t have to. If my mathematical calculations are correct – it’s been fourteen months since I pulled out of my single semester of a Bachelor of Accounting, so this proposition is made hesitantly – I’m about 500 words over my total word-count already, but I don’t really mind if I get penalised for it.

It’s been a week since the festival ended – semester two commences tomorrow. I’m just thinking about all of those writers who came and shared a part of themselves with a crowd of people the majority of whom they’ve never met. I don’t really believe in the cynicism about writers’ festivals – certainly not about this one. This event shows that books form connections with people that transcend physical proximity, and I think writers are aware of that when they come to speak to their readers. They speak with a familiarity that echoes the tone of their works – picking up a conversation started on paper and expanding it into the rooms we sat in for four days. I think it’s kind of beautiful.

I’m posting the lyrics to one of my favourite songs because it seems to fit here. It’s called ‘Immortal’ and it’s by Marina and the Diamonds, one of my favourite musical artists. It isn’t strictly poetry but it’s one of the songs I’ve heard in my life that speaks to me the most.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYGKxxTXqSs

As long as we keep sowing love in the world, it will live on and on and on, and it will make a difference. That’s what these writers have done – the festival is just another place they’ve decided to plant. This is what I want to do, for the rest of my life, I think.

And that’s what this festival and this subject has reaffirmed me to do. So I’m happy and grateful for this experience, and for life in general.