Siri Hustvedt: Mothers, Fathers and Others

‘Remember this: the world loves powerful men and hates powerful women. I know. Believe me, I know. The world will punish you, but you must hold fast.’

Across seven novels and five collections of essays, Siri Hustvedt has often devoted her thinking to delineating differing states of being, particularly those of men and women. In her new essay collection, the moving, funny, and sharply considered Mothers, Fathers and Others, she sets about complicating this task, reminding us that the boundaries we take for granted are far less fixed than we often expect. Hustvedt playfully invites readers to reconsider categories such as self and other, art and viewer, nature and nurture. Do they exist at all? Might our fixation with them be leading us into personal, political and philosophical strife?

In this conversation, hosted by Tali Lavi, Hustvedt will explore the ways being alive means re-evaluating our relationships with art, science, family, and with the world around us.

The online bookseller for this event is Hill of Content

This event takes place online and is available on demand from Tuesday 7 December  6.30pm AEDT, until Tuesday 14 December 5pm AEDT.

To avoid disruption, please ensure you have finished watching by this time. The viewing period cannot be extended for those who did not view the event prior to this time.

After booking, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link that allows you unique access to the event for the available broadcast period.

Please ensure you keep this email with the unique link as it is required to view the event during the broadcast period.