Meeting with Author Agnieszka Burton at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Sydney
13.02.2026
"Ozland. Space Is Everything", the literary debut of a Polish journalist who has lived in Australia for many years, was the focus of another event organised as part of the Literary Club at the Consulate.
On 12 February 2026, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Sydney hosted another meeting of its Literary Club, which has been operating for over a year. The event centred on a book exploring Australia's history, culture, and environmental challenges.
During the discussion, the author shared insights into the process of writing literary reportage, emphasising that in order to portray a place honestly and in depth, one must live there and become part of it. As she explained, space in Australia is not merely a backdrop to events but the very foundation of identity, uniting the country's history, culture, and the spirituality of its people.
Particular attention was given to the history and culture of Australia's Aboriginal peoples. The discussion addressed the difficult and still highly relevant legacy of colonisation, its consequences for Indigenous communities, and issues of exclusion, dispossession, and the loss of cultural identity. Agnieszka Burton spoke about the significance of land in Indigenous traditions, the transmission of memory through storytelling, and the contemporary challenges faced by First Nations communities. Participants also had the opportunity to listen to selected excerpts from the book.
The author also spoke about her professional and academic career. Agnieszka Burton is a multimedia journalist publishing in both English and Polish. She works for the Polish-language service of Australia's SBS Radio. She is a graduate of the Polish School of Reportage in Warsaw and is currently pursuing a PhD in Philosophy and Creative Writing at Monash University in Melbourne.
The meeting concluded with a lively discussion and numerous questions from the audience. Once again, the event demonstrated that the Consulate's Literary Club serves as an important platform for dialogue, bringing together the Polish community around literature and contemporary social and cultural issues.
