When poet Kate Camp took up the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship in 2017, it was to write memoir, not poetry.

Memoir writing raises interesting questions  – of fact and fiction, ethics and ego, what one remembers, and what one chooses to reveal. In this lecture, Kate Camp examines a more difficult and profound question – who cares? Who could possibly give a damn about the details of someone else’s life?

Drawing on her own work and that of other New Zealand writers, Camp’s lecture is an entertaining, insightful, and at times deeply personal exploration of the 'point' of writing memoir.

Originally delivered September as the Frank Sargeson Memorial Lecture, initiated by Waikato University with the support of the Friends of Hamilton Library.

Kate Camp is the author of six collections of poetry from Victoria University Press, the most recent is The internet of things. She held the Creative New Zealand Berlin Writer's Residency in 2011 and was Writer in Residence at the University of Waikato in 2002. Her memoir writing has appeared in journals including Landfall, Griffith Review and North and South. She is also the voice of Kate’s Klassics – reviews of classic literature with RNZ's Kim Hill.

Please note the change of venue for this special addition to our programme.

Read or download the full Writers on Mondays 2018 programme

From mid-July to October each year, the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), home of Victoria University of Wellington's renowned creative writing programme, runs a series of events highlighting writers active in and around Wellington, as well as guests from overseas.

Writers on Mondays is presented with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, National Poetry Day and Circa Theatre.

Admission is free, all welcome.