IN CONVERSATION
4-5pm Saturday 5 June
Muse, East Hotel, Kingston Canberra ACT
Krissy Kneen The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen
In her 2010 memoir, Affection, Krissy Kneen introduced readers to her unique family and the towering matriarchal figure of her grandmother. Stern, domineering, fiercely loving, Lotty Kneen — born Dragica — was always tight-lipped about her early life and family history. She rebuffed Krissy’s curiosity and forbade her from taking the trip back to the old country that might have satisfied it.
When her grandmother died recently, Krissy finally felt at liberty to explore the questions that had nagged at her for so long. In The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen Krissy sets out with a box containing her grandmother’s ashes, intending to trace the old woman’s early life in Slovenia and Egypt, and perhaps locate some remnants of family.
Along the way she uncovers the extraordinary story of the colony of Slovene women who became the nannies of choice for the wealthy Italians of pre-war Alexandria — and identifies as best she can the places where Lotty’s restless, demanding spirit will be at peace.
Tickets
$10 (entry only)
$41.49 (entry + discounted copy of the book RRP $34.99)
$34.99 (Signed copy of the book. No event entry.)
Krissy Kneen is the award-winning author of memoir, Affection, and fiction: An Uncertain Grace, Steeplechase, Triptych, The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine, Wintering, as well as the Thomas Shapcott Award-winning poetry collection Eating My Grandmother. She has written and directed broadcast documentaries for SBS and ABC Television.
Beejay Silcox is an Australian writer and critic whose literary criticism and cultural commentary regularly appears in national and international arts publications. She's also a character in Krissy's latest book.
Venue
Muse, East Hotel
69 Canberra Ave, Kingston ACT
T: (02) 6178 0024