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Boys on the Brink?
Sun
26
Sun 26 Oct 1:30 PM
Patrick White Lawns
Wheelchair
General Admission
60 Mins
October
Young men can find themselves adrift in a world without clear goals, boundaries and positive role models. Loneliness, disengagement from family and community, intense tribalism, distrust of women, and motiveless violence can take root. Three new works take very different routes to explore what can tear away at men and boys. Brandon Jack's Pissants shows what life is like as a fringe player of a football team: the pressure, the cruelty, and the bonds of inadequacy. Vijay Khurana's The Passenger Seat follows the purposeless lives of two teens, who flee from their hometown and commit horrific acts as they travel the backroads of Canada. David Stavanger's collection of poetry, The Drop Off centred around the modern 'broken' family, shows us a path through to hope. All of these works are complex, and at times disturbing. Join Brandon, Vijay and David to discuss what it can mean to grow up in today's world, understanding versus excusing destructive behaviour, and where we can find unexpected grace. Moderated by Michael Williams, editor of The Monthly.
Brandon Jack played for the Sydney Swans for five years. He is the author of the acclaimed 28: A memoir of football, addiction, art, masculinity and love.
Vijay Khurana was co-winner of the Griffith Review Emerging Voices Competition, and his debut novel, The Passenger Seat, was shortlisted for the Novel Prize. His short stories and essays have been published in The Guardian, The Erotic Review, and The Believer, among others. He is currently working on a second novel, as well as an English translation of Senthuran Varatharajah’s German novel Red (Hunger), which will be published by Tilted Axis Press in 2026. He has also been a presenter on radio station triple j, and in 2014 he published a children’s chapter book, Regal Beagle. He lives in Berlin.
David Stavanger is a poet, producer, parent and lapsed psychologist living on Wodi Wodi Dharawal land. He also spends some of his time as an Artistic Director and producer of MAD Poetry at Red Room Poetry. David co-edited Solid Air: Australian & New Zealand Spoken Word and Admissions: Voices Within Mental Health, and is the author of The Special and Case Notes, which drew on his lived experience of mental health/illness and went on to win the 2021 Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry. His newest collection is The Drop Off.
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Concession Tickets apply for children under the age of 16, full-time students, Commonwealth Health Care Card holders, Commonwealth Seniors Card Holders and Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card holders. Please have your eligible card with you at the venue.
Brandon Jack played for the Sydney Swans for five years. He is the author of the acclaimed 28: A memoir of football, addiction, art, masculinity and love.
Vijay Khurana was co-winner of the Griffith Review Emerging Voices Competition, and his debut novel, The Passenger Seat, was shortlisted for the Novel Prize. His short stories and essays have been published in The Guardian, The Erotic Review, and The Believer, among others. He is currently working on a second novel, as well as an English translation of Senthuran Varatharajah’s German novel Red (Hunger), which will be published by Tilted Axis Press in 2026. He has also been a presenter on radio station triple j, and in 2014 he published a children’s chapter book, Regal Beagle. He lives in Berlin.
David Stavanger is a poet, producer, parent and lapsed psychologist living on Wodi Wodi Dharawal land. He also spends some of his time as an Artistic Director and producer of MAD Poetry at Red Room Poetry. David co-edited Solid Air: Australian & New Zealand Spoken Word and Admissions: Voices Within Mental Health, and is the author of The Special and Case Notes, which drew on his lived experience of mental health/illness and went on to win the 2021 Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry. His newest collection is The Drop Off.
_______________________________________________________________
Concession Tickets apply for children under the age of 16, full-time students, Commonwealth Health Care Card holders, Commonwealth Seniors Card Holders and Commonwealth Pensioner Concession Card holders. Please have your eligible card with you at the venue.