The 2001 Leslie Rees Fremantle lecture: the creative mind

Libby Hathorn

Delivered at Fremantle Children's Literature Centre, 18 September 2001

To be creative means to experience life in one's own way, to perceive from one's own person, to draw upon ones own resources, capacities roots... Only from the search into oneself can the creative emerge.
Moustakas
Creativeness has its roots in the initiative which comes into being only when there is deep discontent, one must be wholly discontented, not complainingly but with the joy, with gaiety with love.
Krishnamurti

We must reserve a little back shop, all our own, entirely free, wherein to establish our true liberty and principal retreat and solitude.
Montaigne

Introduction

I am honoured to be the first writer to deliver The Leslie Rees Fremantle Lecture after Leslie's passing last year. This is an emotional return for me to Fremantle and the Centre in many ways, not the least of which is the memory evoked of happy times here with my own husband John, and the good fellowship I've enjoyed here with Lesley (Reece), the director here and other writers like Gary (Crew), who are present tonight. This evening I'm delighted to be honouring the memory of a very special person, of Leslie Rees, writer and journalist. And this in turn is heightened by the sense of what is really precious in our lives - people and places and revisitings, especially in the light of horrific recent events in the United States. I feel honoured to be here as I feel fortunate.

Libby Hathorn writes fiction for young people. Her work has been adapted to stage, screen and online.

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