I regularly find myself chairing panels at writers’ festivals or in bookshops and I give a standard spiel at the beginning of every event.

If this award-winning author would stop yabbering about his novel, I'd like to make a brief statement…

‘We’ll have time for questions at the end,’ I say, ‘And let me emphasise that we want questions, not statements.  If you stand up and make a statement, I will cut you off and publicly humiliate you.’

It usually gets a laugh ... until they realise I’m completely serious.

There’s always at least one person per event who uses the occasion to pontificate instead of just asking a question.  At any function for a book about refugees, for example, I can all but guarantee a sixtyish bloke in a flowing shirt, leather mandals and a silver bangle will leap to his feet and rail about the evils of the Howard government – even if the book is about North African asylum-seekers to Europe.

At the Sydney Writers’ Festival this year, I chaired an event for Christos Tsiolkas, the author of ‘The Slap’, one of the best-selling books of the past few years.  Several people launched into detailed views about his book – or even loosely related subjects - with no questions in sight.  Christos was very gracious but I was delighted that other audience members were shouting ‘That’s a statement!  Sit down!’  Really, why would anyone think that 300 people who’ve gathered to hear a reading by a best-selling author are keen on a lengthy diatribe from the floor? 

I’m a journalist so I’m all for freedom of speech.  Just not when I’ve paid money to hear Christos Tsiolkas or anybody else and an audience member drains time.

One of the funniest examples I’ve seen of somebody being cut off was at the Sydney Institute.  Several people in a row had stood up and made statements.  When it came time for the next question, the Executive Director, Gerard Henderson, gave a very sharply worded instruction that the audience was invited to ask questions, not deliver lectures.  He then called on a woman who took to her feet.

‘When I was a young girl ...’ she began.

‘That is NOT a promising start!’ Henderson cried.

My personal standard: is the book The Idiot’s Guide to Acting?  Am I Cate Blanchett?  No.  So I save my pontificating for ... errr ... this blog.

Here are this week’s ten interesting things to read, watch or listen to:

1. The Denver Post has a great documentary photo series titled ‘How an American soldier is made’, following a young man from recruitment to deployment. (Thanks @nadine_lee on twitter for steering me to it.)

2. In Texas, the downsizing of newsrooms means the burden of covering executions now mostly lands on one reporter’s shoulders.

3. Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International, is one the most respected foreign policy commentators around.  On Afghanistan, he’s suggesting that President Obama consider something less than the 40,000 additional troops requested by the commander of US Forces.  Read it here.

4. Is Melbourne a city of bookworms or bogans?  Tony Martin argues the latter. My favourite bit:  “Oh, sure, it’s a city of some books, but what was the biggest selling book of last year? Was it by Tim Winton? Geraldine Brooks? Peter Carey? No, it was a book about how to remove stains from fabric. How to remove the remnants of a Bacardi Breezer from your best pair of tracky pants.”

5. Comedian Chris Rock doesn’t mince words regarding Roman Polanski’s conduct

6. Christopher Hitchens takes issue with the comic styles of Al Franken, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert (thanks @mfullilove on twitter for the tip)

7. One of Australia’s most accomplished musicians, the pianist Geoffrey Tozer, died earlier this year, destitute and ruined by alcohol.  Stuart Rintoul wrote two very moving and disturbing pieces for The Australian asking what happened.  Here and here.

8. Julia Baird in Newsweek on the merits of silence.

9. Ever hit send on email and realised with horror it’s not going where you intended?  You’re not alone.
10. Author John Birmingham offers his take on preparing to write a novel and where ideas come from.

- You can follow Leigh Sales on twitter via @leighsales or watch her on ABC1’s Lateline.

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15 comments

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    • Old Bert with mandals says:

      06:44am | 04/11/09

      Well I have a question, why is it that politicians won’t answer a question?

    • Dan says:

      06:48am | 04/11/09

      It’s not just literary events. It happens anytime where there’s a question & answer session. You have audience members who seem to think that they know as much as the person who is meant to answer the questions. They don’t, and others aren’t interested in what they have to say. A similar thing happens in concerts when people yell things from the crowd.

      BTW, did you have to ruin this terrific article by bringing up Henderson and Hitchens? (At least you didn’t include a picture of Hitchens, like there was not so long ago on this same site.)

    • Lisa says:

      07:58am | 04/11/09

      Too true, Leigh. I wish more chairs had said that in sessions I’ve been to - painful.

    • RGG says:

      09:08am | 04/11/09

      Almost as bad - university students during lectures who “ask a question” purely to demonstrate that they know more than the lecturer and everyone else in the room. It wouldn’t be so bad if they were actually correct in their apprehension.

    • Zeta says:

      09:33am | 04/11/09

      Is there anything fun that Christopher Hitchens can’t ruin?

    • Martin Milne says:

      10:21am | 04/11/09

      What a depressing article. Apparently, only famous people or published authors say anything worth listening to.
      No wonder the standard of public debate is so terrible in this country.

    • hoofman says:

      10:56am | 04/11/09

      I’ve been a very naughty boy. So naughty, that I need to face public humiliation at one of your writer’s festival sessions for not sticking to the rules about questions, Leigh. Why is a good disciplinarian so hard to find these days?

    • watty says:

      11:20am | 04/11/09

      Old Bert I also have a question.

      Why is it that journalists and commentators stick to the script when interviewing Rudd but turn Rottweiller on any Member of the Opposition?

    • Phil says:

      12:43pm | 04/11/09

      Speaking as someone who regularly attends live Q&A events, I wholeheartedly agree.

      Anyone who starts with the words “Speaking as someone ...” should be immediately ejected.  For example:

      “Speaking as someone who spent six months volunteering in Borneo”
      “Speaking as someone who is an active member of the arts community”
      “Speaking as someone who has two boys”
      “Speaking as someone who once worked for a mining company”

      It’s okay - I’ll see myself out.

    • Old Bert says:

      05:38pm | 04/11/09

      @watty, journalists and commentators, who often ask questions, ought to question their own questioning tactics, as it’s other journalists and commentators who question the questioning journalist or commentator, on any percieved or real political bias. Those journalists who play devil’s advocate need to be careful not to spill the beans or they open up a can of worms. How can you let sleeping dogs lie if you let the cat out of the bag?  Bring in a new broom and if you’re not careful you’ll find you’ve throw the baby out with the bath water. If you change horses in the middle of the stream next thing you know you’re up the creek without a paddle, and then the balloon goes up.

    • Don Oorst says:

      07:34pm | 04/11/09

      Did anyone ever catch the debate on ABC about global warming that kept getting frigging crazy interjections from members of the larouchite cult about , ugh man I dunno crazy conspiracy stuff about the “synarchy” (What IS that anyway?) and how they where ‘classically trained mathmaticians’ or some nutty stuff like that (larouchites seem obsessed with gauss and hate newton as an official policy).

      It was the worst and most annoying sort of interjection but god damn was it entertaining

    • Girl Fishing says:

      09:43pm | 04/11/09

      @Don Oorst Larouchites are always entertaining, they lighten the mood of any public debate or election campaign.

    • BT says:

      03:06pm | 05/11/09

      @RGG, too true. In every course I have ever undertaken there is always “that” guy/girl. Happily though they are usually the first ones to believe they already know everything there is to know on the subject and withdraw from the course - leaving the rest of us to enjoy learning in peace!

    • Arj says:

      06:28am | 09/11/09

      ‘We’ll have time for questions at the end,’ I say, ‘And let me emphasise that we want questions, not statements.  If you stand up and make a statement, I will cut you off and publicly humiliate you.’

      OOOooooooohh tough!!!

    • derek says:

      01:19pm | 09/11/09

      yes. this is an important issue, & the public should be made aware. ever heard someone say mid-question ‘i’m not exactly sure what my question is, i just wanted to say…’

 

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