Critical Limit
Critics Eda Gunaydin, Michael Sun and Cher Tan examine the present state and potential futures of literary criticism.
Featuring
About the Event
Literary criticism seems to be in an endless state of decline. In so-called Australia, a particular flavour of cultural cringe is yoked to cultural hegemony: a critic might find themselves locked within the ivory tower, or self-censoring for fear of offence, or deliberately pursuing contrarianism for clicks. How, then, do critics move beyond this deadlock? Who decides what is ‘good’ criticism? What, exactly, is the function of criticism at the present time? This panel discussion sees three critics examine the possibilities of literary criticism, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the critic. Together they will pick apart these issues and attempt to propose a future for reviews that takes into account not only writers and editors, but readers and culture as a whole.
Presented in partnership with Liminal
Accessibility
Accessible toilets available
Assistive Listening
Registered Assistance Animals welcome
Wheelchair accessible
For information regarding accessibility at The Wheeler Centre, click here.
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About the Bookseller
The bookseller for this event is Amplify Bookstore.
About Liminal Festival
Bringing together some of the continent’s most talented writers, the Liminal Festival contemplates the language of our shared histories and future.
The Liminal Festival is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
Featuring
Eda Gunaydin is a Turkish-Australian essayist and researcher whose writing explores class, intergenerational trauma and diaspora. Her collection Root & Branch: Essays on Inheritance (NewSouth Publishing) won the 2023 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction, and was short... Read more
Cher Tan is an essayist and critic. Her work has appeared in the Sydney Review of Books, Hyperallergic, Catapult, The Age, Disclaimer Journal, Cordite Poetry Review and Overland, amongst many others. She is an editor at Liminal and the reviews editor at Meanjin. Peripathetic: Notes on (U... Read more
Michael Sun is a critic, essayist, and editor from China and Australia. His writing on film, music, and literature is regularly published in The Guardian, Esquire, ABC Arts, Sydney Review of Books, and Liminal Magazine, among many others. Recently, he hosted the Guardian’s online culture podcast S... Read more
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