Review: Lines of Wisdom
Published by: Affirm Press
Edited by: Martin Hughes and Beth Hall
RRP: $39.95
Young Writers, Old Stories, Timeless Encounters
Nobody spins a story quite like your grandparents, and too often we simply don’t take the time to listen to them. We don’t have time, or they take too long, or we can’t be bothered to reconcile their past with our own present. But, turning our backs on the stories of those older than ourselves, is turning our backs on one of the richest kinds of education – experience.
In an effort to delve into the extraordinary wealth of wisdom this country’s older generations possess, and ‘promote a conversation between generations’ publishing house Affirm Press contacted the National Young Writer’s Festival to put out a simple request – ‘young writers required to profile old people they find inspirational.’
The result is a book for people young and old, a collection of stories about personal heroes and heroines, and a beautifully written dialogue between the generations that comprise Australia’s diverse population. Vogel Award-winning writer Danielle Wood profiles Marjorie Bligh, writer, housewife and rumoured inspiration for Barry Humphries’ Dame Edna Everage; journalist James Massola talks to his Grandfather, ninety-five year old Silvio who cannot get a word in edgewise without his wife of sixty-three years talking with him; young Muslim journalist, Samia Hossain meets staunch Nationalist Marlene Ross in an ultimately enriching clash; Beth Sometimes talks to a Pitjantjatjara woman and artist, Amanyi; Jessica Cook reflects on the life of Lebanese poet, Chafic Ataya, entirely in their common genre, verse; and writer Talia Linz talks to Holocaust survivor and eternal optimist, Peter Rossler.
These snippets of people’s lives are as sweet as they are strong, as nostalgic as they are hopeful. They are glimpses of ordinary people with extraordinary tales to tell. And they’re not alone. The world is full of people like those Oliver Strewe* has captured so beautifully in the pages of this book. More than anything, Lines of Wisdom shows that not only does everybody have a story, but we all have so much to learn from each other – if only we’d take the time.
* Except for one photo, P45, taken by Beth Sometimes
