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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In 1930, John Maynard Keynes spelt out a vision of the impending utopia. Work, he said, will become a thing of the past. ‘For the first time since creation,’ he predicted, ‘man will be faced with his real, his permanent problem – how to occupy the leisure which science…will have won for him.’
'So where did this vision of future past go? Like baco-foil suits and meals of protein pills, it proved to be a concept that withered on the vine. Instead of an excess of free time to be enjoyed at leisure, a radically different regime now dominates the developed nations: the leisure principle.
'The leisure principle is one of work hard to play hard, a rigorous pursuit of monetarised hedonism: YOLO, live your best life, have a good time all the time.
'From the ecstasy of the digital to the monied spectacle that is sport, the gamification of everyday life to the flourishing hierarchy of influencers, Griffith Review 81: The Leisure Principle sets out to scrutinise the terms and conditions of this contemporary compact and consider how we came to cede so much just to amuse ourselves to death.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Only literary material within AustLit's scope individually indexed. Other material in this issue includes:
The defence : Chess v. artificial intelligence by Richard King
We will never be modern : Blurring the lines between life and work by Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Virtue signals Big Tech’s morality grab by André Dao
Upping the ante : The new dominance of online betting by Drew Rooke
In the fullness of time : Technology and the porosity of leisure by Suneel Jethani
‘A world we must defend’ : Pokémon, profiteering and the playground economy by
Women’s work : Investigating leisure and gender through time by Simone Fullagar and Adelle Pavlidis
Oh, the shame of it : The trap of rational recreation by David Ellison
Stories from the city : Placemaking and public art by Amanda Hayman, Troy Casey, Carody Culver
Dressed for success : Beneath the layers of business casual by Avery Trufelman, Carody Culver
Contents
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An Idle Moment : Finding the Time for Non-doing,
single work
essay
'IN 2008, FINNISH performance artist Pilvi Takala embarked on an audacious project called The Trainee. For one month, she worked as a marketing intern at the global accounting firm Deloitte. Instead of carrying out the usual responsibilities expected of this role, Takala did…nothing.' (Introduction)
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Revolutionary Wave : Surfing the Storm Swells of History,
single work
autobiography
'I CAN’T REMEMBER exactly how it started. With a random sighting, perhaps, of a lone surfer carving up a sunlit wave: like entering a cathedral for the first time and seeing all that stained glass. But from that point forward the sight, smell and sound of a storm swell steaming into shore exerted a devastating pull on me. I was a thirteen-year-old provincial boy from Swansea in South Wales, and already a student in the science of Atlantic swells, the way they travel to shore in neat parallel lines, in sets of three – a prime number. Swells have order but it comes from disorder; their source is always chaos. They arrive on shore in graceful step, wearing bridal veils of pale spindrift. What the eye can’t see is their fantastic propensity for violence.' (Introduction)
- The Geography of Respect Rock Climbers, Traditional Owners and Reconciling Ways of Seeing, single work
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All Work and Some Play : Life in the Alternative Stream,
Ian Powne
(interviewer),
single work
interview
'Musician, singer-songwriter, author, composer – Dave Graney wears many hats. Since 1978, he and his collaborator and partner, Clare Moore, have fronted bands including the Moodists, Dave Graney ’n’ the Coral Snakes and the Dave Graney Show. But Graney’s no stranger to the world of non-creative employment – he’s worked everywhere from a Mount Gambier timber mill to London’s historic Lincoln’s Inn, all while writing, performing, recording and touring music in the UK and Australia. In this conversation, which has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity, he talks to 4ZZZ’s Ian Powne about his working life as a self-described ‘failed bludger’.' (Introduction)
- Etc., single work short story
- Hump Day, single work short story
- Lying on Grass, single work short story
- Salted, single work short story
- All the Boys She Ever Loved, single work
- Open Water, single work short story
- The Rise and Decline of the Shopping Mall, single work short story
- A Night at the Theatre, single work short story
- Their Presencei"Straight away you’re taller, sprung firm and", single work poetry
- Sonnet for the Weekendi"Glory to God for long weekends,", single work poetry
- History in Sid Meier’s Civilization VIi"Because they spawn near each other", single work poetry
- Louchei"On the bleached beach", single work poetry
- Just like the Day before and the Dayi"after and the day beyond that", single work poetry
- At the Subway Stationi"In a world of cunning shades", single work poetry
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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An Idle Moment : Finding the Time for Non-doing
2023
single work
essay
— Appears in: Griffith Review , 1 August no. 81 2023;'IN 2008, FINNISH performance artist Pilvi Takala embarked on an audacious project called The Trainee. For one month, she worked as a marketing intern at the global accounting firm Deloitte. Instead of carrying out the usual responsibilities expected of this role, Takala did…nothing.' (Introduction)
-
An Idle Moment : Finding the Time for Non-doing
2023
single work
essay
— Appears in: Griffith Review , 1 August no. 81 2023;'IN 2008, FINNISH performance artist Pilvi Takala embarked on an audacious project called The Trainee. For one month, she worked as a marketing intern at the global accounting firm Deloitte. Instead of carrying out the usual responsibilities expected of this role, Takala did…nothing.' (Introduction)