In Richard Flanagan’s first public lecture as inaugural Boisbouvier Professor of Australian Literature at the University of Melbourne, the author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North had the audience in both fits of laughter and solemn tears last night at The Athenaeum as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival.
He rejected the idea of a national literary identity, while highlighting the importance and necessity of Australian writing. ‘I don’t believe in national literature, per se. I do believe in Australian writing, conceived mostly in obscurity, frequently in poverty, and forged against adversity,’ he said.
