Song lyrics with Sarten and friends a festival treat

Terry Sarten, Jay Rerekura and friends will share their songbooks at a Whanganui Literary Festival event next week. Photo/Stuart Munro

A song lyric, says Whanganui writer and musician Terry Sarten is a work of literature.

"Thanks to Nobel and Dylan, a song lyric is now snuggled on the literary rung beside poetry, novelists, paperback writers and hacks of all descriptions," he says.

As part of the Whanganui Literary Festival next week, Sarten will gather with fellow musicians and songwriters Jay Rerekura, Tara Green, Jordan Wallace and Karlene Hamblyn to present a selection of their favourite artists' work as well as their original work.

There has been a change of venue since the festival programme was printed and the event will now be held at Lucky Bar + Kitchen rather than Delicious Cafe as advertised.

"The event will be more about the singing and less about discussion," says Sarten.

"These people are all great singers and it will be a fun experience."

Sarten, along with Christodolous Moisa, is representing Whanganui in the festival line-up which includes visiting writers Nick Bollinger, C K Stead, Fiona Farrell, Jo Seagar, Adam Dudding, Roger Hall, Sarah Laing and Selina Tusitala Marsh.

Sarten says he has been a writer of short stories and short songs as well as a newspaper columnist, medical journal contributor and editor.

"I'm also a social worker and sometimes I've been all of these at the same time," he says.

In Sarten's regular Wanganui Chronicle column, he often employs satire to "undermine the posturing of politicians, trendy types, both do-gooders and do-badders whether local, national or international."

Jay Rerekura says he is likely to play something from one of his favourite artists Sam Cooke and may even perform his rendition of A Change Gonna Come which wowed everyone at the Winter Wonderfest finale.

Join Terry Sarten and friends for Poetry and Songwriting, Lucky Bar + Kitchen, 53 Wilson Street, 6-8pm, Wednesday, October 4. No booking required.