Stan Grant will be in conversation with Mark Kenny on his book Murriyang.Song of Time. Stan Grant is talking to his country in a new way. In his most poetic and inspiring work yet, he offers a means of moving beyond the binaries and embracing a path to peace and forgiveness, rooted in the Wiradjuri spiritual practice of Yindyamarra – deep silence and respect.
Murriyang, in part Grant’s response to the Voice referendum, eschews politics for love. In this gorgeous, grace-filled book, he zooms out to reflect on the biggest questions, ranging across the history, literature, theology, music and art that has shaped him. Setting aside anger for kindness, he reaches past the secular to the sacred and transcendent.
Informed by spiritual thinkers from around the world, Murriyang is a Wiradjuri prayer in one long uninterrupted breath, challenging Western notions of linear time in favour of a time beyond time – the Dreaming. Murriyang is also very personal, each meditation interleaved with a memory of Grant’s father, a Wiradjuri cultural leader. It asks how any of us can say goodbye to those we love.
This is a book for our current moment, and something for the ages.
“Heartfelt and vulnerable … Murriyang is one of the first books to address the wounds of post–Voice referendum Australia, making it a meaningful read for those reflecting on recent events. Grant implores readers to leave chaos behind, pause, contemplate and seek peace”.– Books + Publishing
Stan Grant FASSA is a Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi man. He is a public intellectual who has worked as a journalist, presenter, filmmaker and author. In his journalism he has reported from more than 80 countries, won three Walkley Awards, a Logie Award and four Asia TV Awards. As a writer he has published seven books including the bestselling Talking to My Country, which won the Walkley Book Award. His list of awards include three time winner of Australia’s highest journalism honour the Walkley Award, four time winner of the prestigious Asia TV awards, an Australian TV Logie Award, twice winner of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts award and twice winner of the US Peabody Award. From 2022–23, Grant hosted the ABC’s current affairs panel program Q+A. He holds a Doctor of Letters from the University of New South Wales and a Doctor of Theology from Charles Sturt University.
Professor Mark Kenny is Director at the Australian Studies Institute at ANU, where he hosts the popular podcast series ‘Democracy Sausage’. Mark is the Canberra Times political analyst and a regular on the ABC’s Insiders, Sky News Agenda, and radio programs across the country.
This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase on the evening in the Cultural Centre foyer. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.