Canterbury Tales Book Club Project: Williamstown Literary Festival 2012

The Canterbury Tales Book Club Project ...

WARNING: Coarse language, violence, sexual references and blasphemy.

The WiIliamstown Literary Festival is well and truly engraved in my calendar. This is my community coming together to celebrate ideas, language, new publications, old tomes ...

As well as honouring locals who have made their mark in the literary world, established authors from afar are invited to come and share the talk and of course there are open mics for poets and storytellers who have something to say.

In my continuing enthusiasm to have spoken language at literary festivals, some mates and I have been entrusted with a spot on the Sunday of the festival where we will be sharing our examination of The Canterbury Tales and yes ... they are rude and blasphemous - hence the warning.

The Canterbury Tales mark a turn in the history of English Literature, a popularising of the vernacular, a shift away from the use of French and Latin for the purposes of literature.

This is Chaucer 101 for enjoyment and education. It will be provocative but above all it is our wish to whet your curiosity. Isn’t that what a Festival of Literature is all about?

Here we are at our first meeting. That's Catherine Ryan with the bike. Catherine is preparing 'the lecture' and Danny O'Connell, (pointing the finger) is tackling the Miller's Tale. Simon Leverton is sitting at the head of the table eating and thinking about music - he's our MD.

Missing for the first meet/moot was Bernard Caleo, comic book maker, who is creating a Kamishibai version of the Nun's Priest's Tale. Bernard is busily making a documentary about the Melbourne's Graphic Novelists. Check it out:

Claire Saxby was also absent from our first meeting. Lordy! its like herding cats getting a bunch of creatives in the same place at one time. Claire is a well loved writer for children but what is less well know is she is an amazing poet and our favourite MC.

Learn more about the Williamstown Literary Festival here.