Melbourne Writers Festival: Inside Asia

In a conversation mediated by Alicia Sometimes, writers Benjamin Law and Pico Iyer discuss their fascination with Asia. At times hilarious, occasionally serious, but consistently entertaining and insightful, the pair exchange their travel experiences. Law talks candidly about his latest book, Gaysia, in which he observes several Asian countries' attitudes towards homosexuality; from how Japan's fondness for camp TV show characters and personalities belie how invisible the Japanese gay community is, to religious Malaysian groups that aim to “pray the gay away” and cure the “sexually broken”. With enviable eloquence, Iyer – who was born in Britain, raised in America and lives in Japan – speaks about the idea of home being a piece of inwardness rather than a piece of soil, how to integrate yourself into another culture, and Asia's struggle to balance Western culture and products with Eastern ideals. In a rapidly shifting global economy, it's important to analyse not only economic and political change, but cultural as well.