Fitzroy Writers Festival - Maxine Beneba Clarke and Jacinta Parsons

What does it mean to grow older in a world that worships youth? To age as a woman, as a mother, as a storyteller?

In her new poetry collection Beautiful Changelings (Hachette Australia), Maxine Beneba Clarke turns her lyrical gaze to aging, womanhood, motherhood, identity, and resilience. Meanwhile, broadcaster and writer Jacinta Parsons, in A Wisdom of Age (HarperCollins/ABC Books), reflects on the freedoms and reckonings that come with time, asking what we gain, and what we leave behind, when we embrace the truth of aging.

In this intimate conversation, these two celebrated voices interview each other about their new books exploring beauty, change, survival, and the transformative power of language. Together, they consider how storytelling shapes who we are and who we might become.

About Beautiful Changelings:

Beautiful Changelings is an incantation, a song, a war cry, a testimonial, a lament, a reckoning and a welcoming. Wrecking-ball revisitings of the myths, mantras and fairy tales fed to girls. Poignant, unashamed tributes to ageing, womanhood, motherhood, and reclaiming your dreams, your boundaries and your time.

This explosive new collection celebrates women and girls as the enigmatic wonders they are: beautiful changelings.

About A Wisdom of Age:

In this book, Jacinta talks to the women who inspire her, the women who are doing this ageing thing right. Looking to the source, Jacinta is mining the wisdom direct from those that know how to do it well, those older women who say, this is what feels good. Drawing from the experiences of everyday women right around the country, Jacinta reflects on conversations she's been having about the 'wisdoms' of ageing, asking: now that we know what's held us back and who has controlled this narrative, how are we going to do this better?

Photo credit for Maxine Beneba Clarke: Leah Jing McIntosh

Photo credit for Jacinta Parsons: Matthew Parsons

Yarra Libraries is proud to partner with Fairfield Books as our dedicated Festival bookseller.

The Fitzroy Writers Festival is only made possible through the generous support of the Thomas, Samuel and George Ewing Trust, a fund that fosters literacy, libraries, and a lifelong love of learning for the benefit of Fitzroy residents and visitors.

Fitzroy Writers Festival will be Auslan interpreted. The Fitzroy Town Hall entrance is located via a large set of stairs from Napier Street. Lift access is available via Moor Street. There are two wheelchair accessible toilets located in the Fitzroy Town Hall, next to the Ballroom.

The Route 11 Tram stops at Bell Street/ Brunswick Street (from the city) or King William Street/Brunswick Street (from the north) and is a 350m walk to the Fitzroy Town Hall.

If you have accessibility questions or requirements, please contact us at [email protected] or on 1300 695 427.

Where

Cost

Free