By Renee Liang

I guess I'd better introduce myself - .I'm Renee. My qualifications for the rare honour of being a TBI blogger? I'm one of the legion of 'emerging artists' who read this site every week, and I'm also 'out there' in the Auckland arts community getting into lots of stuff. On this blog, I aim to talk about some of the things I see and think about, and also figure out (rather publicly) some things about being an 'emerging artist'. By the way, this blog is interactive (er - as far as static type on a web page can be - .), so feel free to send me your comments or suggestions.

I'm mainly a writer, so this month being NZ Book Month I've been in my element. By Renee Liang

I guess I'd better introduce myself - .I'm Renee. My qualifications for the rare honour of being a TBI blogger? I'm one of the legion of 'emerging artists' who read this site every week, and I'm also 'out there' in the Auckland arts community getting into lots of stuff. On this blog, I aim to talk about some of the things I see and think about, and also figure out (rather publicly) some things about being an 'emerging artist'. By the way, this blog is interactive (er - as far as static type on a web page can be - .), so feel free to send me your comments or suggestions.

I'm mainly a writer, so this month being NZ Book Month I've been in my element.Actually, now that there's so many events in Auckland all year round, NZ Book Month scarcely causes a blip on the calendar for the severe literary addicts. But I guess for the average Mr and Mrs Wong, and their kids, this is a great way in to the business of reading, buying and talking about books. A glance at the chaotically bright and busy website reveals that there are events not only for hard-core bibliophiles (writer's festivals and readings), but also kid's lunches, foodie events for the parents, and even an event aimed squarely at men (OK, so books about sporting heroes and BBQs are still books, right?). There are also some lovely and useful links for wannabe writers such as the publisher's database and events calendar - and this runs all year round, so it's a good place to go to keep track of everything that's happening. Yes, this site is funded by the NZ book industry. But there's some good information on there, and it tends to be fairly up to date.

More on my adventures in Bookmonthlandia later. I wanted to talk about something that's been bothering me for a while. It was a comment by Riemke Ensing at an event I was part of at the Art Gallery. Riemke is a fantastic poet and kind of charms the crowd with her forthright Dutch approach to annoying questions. It happened that someone asked her if she thought the 'literary and arts renaissance' that we all intermittently think we're in the middle of, was really anything new. "Absolutely not", she barked, a little glint in her eye. "There's never anything new. We're always just reinventing the old things."

This was oddly disturbing, and afterwards when I trawled the crowd, I found few to agree with my viewpoint that maybe, just maybe, some parts of what they (read I) were doing might be a little original? "She's right", they all said, nodding sagely as if they had thought so all along. I wanted to scream, "So why are you writing then?"

I guess I wanted to maintain the illusion, the self-belief (or deceit?) that is needed to keep writing. The thing that keeps me up in the middle of the night when the magic has left and I'm not allowed any more coffee. Pretty much the only resource shared by all writers, and not just writers, is that almost arrogant confidence that what they have to say is worthy. And that it has never been said (in quite that way) before. What Riemke said was probably true, but it shouldn't stop us from sealing off that thought when we begin to write so that we have the guts - and the hope - to keep going.

Of course, swanning around at literary festivals helps to boost the delusions of grandeur a bit. That's what I ended up doing last weekend, after being invited to speak at the Going West Books and Writer's Festival. I found it an incredibly warm event, and it wasn't just because of the Titirangi sunlight and the famously good catering. It was also because the audience seemed really interested in what was being said. They were also fascinated by writers as people. It struck me that going up on stage to talk about "what influences your work" is a little like public striptease (not, you understand, that I've ever tried this). You reveal yourself piece by piece, flashing a bit here, dropping a skirt there. Occasionally you reveal more than you intended, but by then - oops - it's too late. And the audience love seeing the wobbly bits - it shows writers are human, after all. Hurray. I wobbled away in the grand knowledge it was all taped and kept on the Waitakere City archive forevermore.

Of course, the part of NZ Book Month I know a lot about is the poetry readings. I'm one of 4 MCs (the others being Miriam Barr, Christian Jensen and Ila Selwyn) who currently share the job of running Poetry Live, and I also make it my business to keep an eye out for other poetry events. Anyway, the thing about many poetry readings is that they are strictly low-budget, low-key and open to all comers - all things which promote access, which I believe in. Most poets don't produce lots of books, at least not ones that make a profit. That's not really the point though. But more on that another time.

Never one to turn down free dessert, to end my tour of Bookmonthlandia I got myself invited to the Sunday Star-Times Literary Lunch. As this was a $65-a-head and held in the ballroom of the Langham Hotel, I'd feared this event would be full of ladies who said "darling" and "gorgeous" a lot and lengthened their vowels. I entered just in time to hear earthy guffaws - Kim Knight was telling a gory story about her mother trying to gas a possum with a length of hose attached to a car exhaust. Hmmm. Kind of hard to shake that image.

Later I sat next to Shonagh Koea who confided that she'd almost not come, seeing as it was such a lovely day and she really preferred her own company. She's written a memoir recently featuring some classic Kiwi comfort food, and I asked her whether she considered there was such a thing as an iconic Kiwi food. She understood my trick question immediately. "Well, times are changing, aren't they?", she said, looking at my Asian face and smiling. "I guess we'll have to change too." We were interrupted by Peta Mathias who'd taken the podium and was drumming up some kind of crowd frenzy over her comparisons of cooking to sex. "When you're young you cook to impress - it's sex on a plate!" she proclaimed. "When you get older it's about being with friends and family - food is simpler, closer to who you really are. And at 60 - well, you should just be grateful if the lights are low!" This was a lot funnier than it reads on paper.

Anyway, it's rather early in the morning, so I'll stop ranting about food and sex. I'll be posting this blog fortnightly, and next time I'll be starting a series looking at ideas around guerrilla poetry, art in life, street art and transient art. Thanks for reading!

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25/09/08