In September a diverse group of leading New Zealand contemporary writers come together for the Going West Books and Writers Weekend ‘Right Word, Right Place, Right Time’ held in Titirangi, Auckland from 10-12 September.

In September a diverse group of leading New Zealand contemporary writers come together for the Going West Books and Writers Weekend ‘Right Word, Right Place, Right Time’ held in Titirangi, Auckland from 10-12 September.

Each year, the weekend features a smorgasbord of word-based delights with writers and wordsmiths drawn from all areas of writing – poetry, fiction, non-fiction, songwriting and film.

Two sessions in the 2010 programme centre around moving image – a special tribute to poet and short story writer JC Sturm including the screening of segments of the documentary Broken Journey: The Life and Art of JC Sturm; and award-winning filmmaker Roger Horrocks on artist Len Lye.

JC Sturm, wife of poet James K. Baxter, was one of the first Maori women to obtain a university degree in 1949. Her short stories featured in select journals throughout the 1950s and 60s. She went on to produce collections of poetry, and her writing featured in key journals and anthologies.

In the 2007 documentary, Broken Journey: The Life and Art of JC Sturm, the author – then aged 80 – reflects on her life and the influences that shaped her writing including her early years in the Taranaki coastal town of Opunake as well as the impact of her local pa, Parihaka.

Director Tim Rose describes the hour-long documentary as “an intimate story of a long, well-lived life”. As Jacqui tells the story of her life, the accompanying narration in Maori paints the picture of parallel events in New Zealand society – the depression and the war; urbanisation; the changing role of Maori women; and Maori women in literature.

Clips from Len Lye films will feature at the Festival Weekend in a session with Roger Horrocks who recently won the Van Gogh Award at the Amsterdam Film Festival for his film Art That Moves which captures the moment when 16-year-old Len Lye has “the best idea of his life” for a new art of movement. The film was made to accompany the book of the same name which was published by AUP.

Roger says that while the film is a dramatisation “the words in the film are taken from Lye's writings. They provide a voice-over commentary in his words. Lye is a marvellous writer and I want to include that aspect in my Going West session.

“I'll talk about Lye's highly original conception of ‘art that moves’, and how it informed his amazing films and kinetic sculptures.”

Roger adds that the session will also include some rare and little known poems and prose poems written by Len Lye.

Going West Books and Writers Festival Weekend takes place from 10-12 September at Titirangi War Memorial Hall in Auckland. The tribute to JC Sturm will be on Friday night and Roger Horrocks’ session takes place on Saturday afternoon. Bookings for the weekend are through Ticketmaster 0800 111 999 or www.ticketmaster.co.nz or visit www.goingwest.co.nz for more information.