Learning from reality television

The arts used to pursue cultural popularity but decry popular culture. Not any more.
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Stage set from a shoot for The Bachelorette. Image via tenplay

Kate Durbin defines her latest poetry collection ‘literary television’. For E! Entertainment she transcribed every detail of a clutch of reality TV shows and turned her observations into poems.

‘I decided to transcribe everything I saw because I like the idea of paying close attention to something that we don’t often pay attention to… something that’s completely throw away, something we watch blindly or naively… In the US, reality TV is considered to be a bit stupid by many, but here in Australia it seems to dominate television, and the media presents it as more serious. I tried to make television more “literary”, because when you read a novel you give it a degree of attention you wouldn’t give a TV show,’ she says.

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Craig Garrett
About the Author
Craig Garrett is an international audio producer, award-winning community radio journalist, author and editor with over 20 years’ experience in the creative arts, literary and media sectors.