A panel consisting of Shane Maloney, Wayne Macauley, John Tranter and Susan Wyndham, Chaired by Jane Gleeson-White discussed 'Our Literary Heritage: What role do the classics play in our culture?' at the Byron Bay Writers' Festival.

John Tranter defined the classic, in Latin - classicus, a work of superior literature.

Tranter said that: "classics can change your life".

The panel discussed Michael Hayward's Text Publishing Classics. Hayward believes his 30 books are classics, but they are not on university courses. Tranter believes that when people say that classics should be on university courses they are talking about their bank balances and not about culture.

Susan Wyndham told us that a classic is a story passed down through generations, but there are also new classics like Where the Wild Things Are....read more...