The Perth USAsia Centre, the City of Perth Library and Boffins Books are delighted to invite you to attend a compelling public discussion featuring Don Watson, historian, author and public speaker.
With characteristic wit and acuity, Don Watson will speak about his essay in the upcoming Quarterly essay that takes us on a journey into the heart of the United States in the year 2016. Plunging into the apparent chaos of the presidential campaign and tracing America's recent past, he puts Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in a larger frame.
He considers the irresistible pull for Americans of American exceptionalism, and asks whether this creed is reaching its limit. He explores alternative paths the United States could have taken, and asks where its present course might lead Australia as a dutiful ally.
"As a star of the epigram he's right up there with Tocqueville, and as a story-teller he loses nothing to Theroux." – Tom Keneally
"The best book by an outsider about America since – forever" – David Sedaris, on Don Watson's American Journeys.
Moderated by Robin McClellan, CEO, Leadership WA.
Copies of Quarterly Essay will be available for sale on the night.
Can't make it? We'll happily have a copy of Don Watson's Quarterly Essay 63 signed for you. Simply contact us via phone, email, online or visit us in-store, and we'll take care of the rest.
Quarterly Essay is an agenda-setting Australian journal of politics and culture. Each issue contains a single essay written at a length of about 25,000 words, followed by correspondence on previous essays.
Established in 2001, Quarterly Essay aims to present the widest range of political, intellectual and cultural opinion and to foster debate. It offers a forum for original long-form investigations, profiles and arguments.
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Don Watson is a historian, author and public speaker. After writing political satire for Max Gillies and speeches for the Victorian premier John Cain, he became Paul Keating’s speechwriter in 1992 and wrote the award winning biography Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: Paul Keating Prime Minister (2002). His Quarterly Essay, Rabbit Syndrome – Australia and America, won the inaugural Alfred Deakin essay prize in the Victorian premier’s literary awards. His other books include Death Sentence: The Decay of Public Language, American Journeys and Bendable Learnings: The Wisdom of Modern Management. Watson's Worst Words, Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words, and The Bush.
