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Live - Luke Davies - Sydney Writers' Festival
Reviews, By Joal, 26th May, 2008
Apparently Luke Davies’ mother thinks he’s just like Britney Spears. And Luke agrees, except these days he wears underwear.
Davies is the author of three novels, the most well known being Candy, adapted into a film starring Heath Ledger. He also collaborated on the film’s screenplay. In addition to this, Davies has published five books of poetry, the latest of which is Totem. It’s a collection of 40 love poems and one extended aria and it won The Age Book of the Year in 2004.
Appearing at the recent Sydney Writers’ Festival, Davies does resemble our beloved Britney. Although, as he sits on stage in what looks like a 60s style sailor-collar denim jacket with a cheeky grin, it’s definitely more of the innocent ‘hit me baby one more time’ pop diva he’s exuding these days.
But Davies admits that it’s the substance abusing, off-the-rails Britney that seems to make his writing so fascinating, and it’s this ‘old’ Luke that his mother complains about resurfacing every time an article is written about him and his work.
Candy is said to be a “thinly veiled” autobiographic account of Davies’ own experience with heroin addiction, “a horrible nightmare, life defining moment”, but an experience he appreciates, as it brought him to where he is now. A sold-out Writers’ Festival session on Saturday called Under The Influence, saw Davies delve once again into how his creativity is linked to and fascinated by the feeling of addiction.
“I can’t let [drug addiction] be the white elephant in the room,” says Davies. “I’m happy to talk about it. I hope in 10 years time I’m not still being asked about it… but if one person reads about me and finds their way out of a dark place, that’s what I associate myself with.” Even if that means his mum’s co-workers bring in an embarrassing article about Davies being a ‘junkie’ every now and again.
And the relevance and importance of writing about drug abuse and addiction seems to have ironically been validated. With the death of Heath Ledger, who played Davies – his autobiographic-self in Candy, passing-away from a suspected drug overdose earlier this year, Davies’ themes seem as pertinent as ever.
And although Davies promises his mother his next book won’t have any drugs or sex or bad stuff, his most recent release God Of Speed, details the life of Howard Hughes, the 1930s film producer, aviator and philanthropist. Davies said he was attracted to the neurotic character, his self-medication, and the contrasting power and fragility of a man who was admirable, but by the end of his life completely unlikable and fundamentally an ugly character.
The most poignant moment in Davies Writers’ Festival appearance was in reflecting on the difference between himself and his characters. “Love is listening, the ability to be there with someone, to connect. Addiction is an autistic lock-down…” where things can be taken in, but nothing given. “The tragedy of Howard Hughes was that he never escaped that blackhole, but I did.”
Reviews, By Joal, 26th May, 2008
Apparently Luke Davies’ mother thinks he’s just like Britney Spears. And Luke agrees, except these days he wears underwear.
Davies is the author of three novels, the most well known being Candy, adapted into a film starring Heath Ledger. He also collaborated on the film’s screenplay. In addition to this, Davies has published five books of poetry, the latest of which is Totem. It’s a collection of 40 love poems and one extended aria and it won The Age Book of the Year in 2004.
Appearing at the recent Sydney Writers’ Festival, Davies does resemble our beloved Britney. Although, as he sits on stage in what looks like a 60s style sailor-collar denim jacket with a cheeky grin, it’s definitely more of the innocent ‘hit me baby one more time’ pop diva he’s exuding these days.
But Davies admits that it’s the substance abusing, off-the-rails Britney that seems to make his writing so fascinating, and it’s this ‘old’ Luke that his mother complains about resurfacing every time an article is written about him and his work.
Candy is said to be a “thinly veiled” autobiographic account of Davies’ own experience with heroin addiction, “a horrible nightmare, life defining moment”, but an experience he appreciates, as it brought him to where he is now. A sold-out Writers’ Festival session on Saturday called Under The Influence, saw Davies delve once again into how his creativity is linked to and fascinated by the feeling of addiction.
“I can’t let [drug addiction] be the white elephant in the room,” says Davies. “I’m happy to talk about it. I hope in 10 years time I’m not still being asked about it… but if one person reads about me and finds their way out of a dark place, that’s what I associate myself with.” Even if that means his mum’s co-workers bring in an embarrassing article about Davies being a ‘junkie’ every now and again.
And the relevance and importance of writing about drug abuse and addiction seems to have ironically been validated. With the death of Heath Ledger, who played Davies – his autobiographic-self in Candy, passing-away from a suspected drug overdose earlier this year, Davies’ themes seem as pertinent as ever.
And although Davies promises his mother his next book won’t have any drugs or sex or bad stuff, his most recent release God Of Speed, details the life of Howard Hughes, the 1930s film producer, aviator and philanthropist. Davies said he was attracted to the neurotic character, his self-medication, and the contrasting power and fragility of a man who was admirable, but by the end of his life completely unlikable and fundamentally an ugly character.
The most poignant moment in Davies Writers’ Festival appearance was in reflecting on the difference between himself and his characters. “Love is listening, the ability to be there with someone, to connect. Addiction is an autistic lock-down…” where things can be taken in, but nothing given. “The tragedy of Howard Hughes was that he never escaped that blackhole, but I did.”
Source: samesame.com.au
Inside Out Australia Reviews
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