Backbencher

From the very beginning, it is apparent that Clark knows his audience when he addressed the National Folkfest. How else could he get away with a quote like "the most important things about Aussies have been said by drunkards, not all drunkards are wise" - Even if that quotation came from H. Lawson? Clark also uses that quote to differentiate Aussies from Kiwis in that he urges all listening to denounce the cult of the English and stop borrowing culture in the form of music, literature, monument epitaphs, etc. Instead, it is time make culture their own (harkening back to his nation-building days, perhaps?).

Through a collection of songs, Clark led the listeners through a brief history from when the oral tradition became written literature, from the bush to industrialization, and to present day suburbia. At turns, the sound of the speech was similar to political rhetoric and at times, it was fun, light, and amusing. To quote Bob Dylan, "times they are a-changin'" and such is true even for crusty old academics.

Here's a good question: Clark repeatedly spoke of influences on Aussie culture he listed Americans, Europeans, the British, Asians, etc. What makes the British different from the Europeans?

- Krista Hellman