Australian novelist Tim Winton, who has also written short stories, plays, children\u2019s books and non-fiction, is the winner of numerous literary prizes, including the Miles Franklin award, which he has won on no fewer than four occasions. Winton joined William Fiennes at Newcastle University\u2019s Culture Lab to discuss his work and to read an excerpt from his new book, Eyrie<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Winton introduced Eyrie<\/i>\u2019s protagonist, Keely, who is recovering from a hangover and has a disordered life: \u2018he\u2019s hiding, from the world really, at the top of a seedy high-rise and he\u2019s not looking after himself\u2019. Winton\u2019s work is sensually rich evoking the smell of Keely\u2019s unwashed towel and the sounds of his neighbours: \u2018his fellow tower dwellers [who] were anonymous to him in the most satisfying way imaginable\u2019. Winton\u2019s writing gives clearly-defined images of his character\u2019s disaffection with life.<\/p>\n
There is a strong sense of place in Winton\u2019s work: \u2018grace comes from sitting and looking at a place until it reveals itself to you and until you understand it.\u2019 Eyrie<\/i> is set in a high-rise in Freemantle, Australia. Setting his novel in a vertical building in a land where the environment is primarily horizontal gives Winton\u2019s characters an alternative perspective: \u2018you have a different way of looking at the world\u2026people become creatures\u2026they become objects rather than subjects\u2026if you\u2019re out of love with humanity, and you\u2019re looking down on the world\u2026 humans look like things\u2019. In the writing of Eyrie<\/i>, the building came before the characters: place came first.<\/p>\n
Environment in the broader sense emerged from the discussion as a key theme for Winton. He talks enthusiastically of being in love with the way we live physically, and of loving the challenge of writing about this. Winton sees environment as a reality that is sometimes forgotten in the current obsession with virtual reality: \u2018we often just ignore the underlying material organic reality upon which we all exist. That\u2019s the great fallacy of our time.\u2019<\/p>\n
A warm and humorous speaker, Winton is not afraid of showing his humanity or of promoting the simple benefits of kindness. It is easy to see why his work is so highly regarded and why he has won so many accolades. Listening to him speak certainly makes you feel that you have struck gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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