BIG NAMES DRAW A LITERARY CROWD

The APC LitFest attracted another big crowd on 9 and 10 June.

The annual event is a tribute to the power of the written word, which this year brought together acclaimed novelists Sarah Krasnostein and Laura McPhee Browne and talented singersongwriter Hanna McKittrick, who were all interviewed by APC students.

All three writers spoke of the power of writing to connect people to others and to establish your own inner identity.

As Sarah Krasnostien put it: “If you want to understand the complexities of the world, you need to understand the complexities within yourself.”

What did we learn from the evening? Several big things:

• Writing is you, it is your identity, yourself, your person

• Writing is also others – it is connection, relationships, each other

• Writing is, above all else, understanding – knowing ourselves and knowing others, and when we understand art, poetry, music, stories, we know the world.

It would be remiss not to mention the traditional owners acknowledgement speech delivered by APC student Joe Stacy, who recognized the Aboriginal people as the original storytellers.

The literature festival was a lovely night that left everyone with a profound understanding of the supreme value of stories.

We thank all the APC teachers and staff for helping to make LitFest happen and all the parents and community members who came along and made it such a well attended event.

Thanks also to the Rotary Club of Albert Park whose secondhand book market raised $1700 for APC.