Staff Profile: A/Prof Maria Takolander

What do you do, what department/school/institute and where are you located?
I am an Associate Professor in Writing and Literature in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Waurn Ponds.

When did you start at Deakin University and what was the role?
I started at Deakin in 2004 as a research assistant on an ARC-funded project investigating literary festivals and their audiences. I travelled to Byron Bay, Perth, and Mildura. It was a great job—and very useful for me at the time as an emerging writer.

Where did you study?
I am a proud Deakin alumna.

Describe yourself in 3 words.
An escape artist.

What book are you currently reading?
The Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights (in translation)—for a book review.

Three favourite films? 
Too hard! But in the last month or so we’ve been watching the ridiculously beautiful Alain Delon—in Melville’s La Samouraï, Antonioni’s L’Eclisse, and Clément’s Plein Soleil.

What have you done that you are most proud of?
I am very proud of my eight-year-old son, who is a humane and immensely entertaining person.

Where did you go on recent holidays or best holiday?
In 2017 I was a guest of the International Festival of Poetry in Medellín, Colombia, which was nothing less than life changing. Here was a city prepared to do the hard work of acknowledging its terrible past, and here was a city that understood how to use poetry, music, art and architecture to build a vibrant future for everyone.

Favourite food and drink
Karjalanpiirakka (type of Finnish pasty) and Stockholm Blend (type of flavoured black tea).

What is your favourite movie quote?
The one that gets used most at our house is ‘we can’t call the people’ (from Madagascar).

What is the one food you wouldn’t want to give up?
I gave up meat and dairy some years ago, and that seems enough!

Where is the worst place you could get stuck in?
The kitchen.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, a sheep-like Spoodle called Charlie.

What is your favourite hobby?
Cross-country skiing—though I have to settle for bush-walking far more often.