Polly Barton: Oral Histories

British writer and translator Polly Barton’s work includes translations of contemporary women’s fiction by a range of Japanese writers including the offbeat and dryly funny There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura. Her 2019 Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize winning 50 Sounds is an evocative memoir of her encounters with the Japanese language and love of the culture. Her new book Porn: An Oral History is a revealing and joyful oral history of porn based on nineteen interviews with people across a range ages, genders and sexualities. Does Polly see oral histories as another way of translating cultures? She’ll discuss this and more with local ‘sexpert’ podcaster Melody Thomas.

In association with The Wheeler Centre and Brisbane Powerhouse.