This week's Monday Musings will be a brief one, partly because my time is tight (I really must finish Parrot and Olivier in America by tomorrow) and partly because I'm primarily going to post a link to a map: the online interactive Victorian Literary Map. As you might have guessed from my various Literary Road postings, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The Victorian Literary Map
Month: November 2010
The long and short of it, novelistically speaking
The novella has ambivalence built into its DNA. It’s neither one thing nor the other and tends to make you think even as it lures you down blind alleys and serves up irresolute endings. (The Daily Beast) Readers of this blog know that I am partial to short novels, particularly novellas. I always feel a … Continue reading The long and short of it, novelistically speaking
Dr Peter Kocan wins the 2010 Australia Council Writer’s Emeritus Award
Some literary awards tend to fall somewhat under the radar, and one of these is the Australia Council's Writer's Emeritus Award - even though it's a fairly generous one: $50,000. This is one of those lifetime awards; it is given to a writer over 65 years old* (hence, I suppose, the "emeritus") for "exceptional contribution … Continue reading Dr Peter Kocan wins the 2010 Australia Council Writer’s Emeritus Award
Monday musings on Australian literature: The future of Australian literature
'If their [Australian writers'] work is so interesting,' comes the query, 'why isn't it known here [London]?' This query was put to Australian novelist and literary figure, Vance Palmer, in 1935! When I read it, I couldn't help thinking plus ça change. A few months ago I wrote on Hilary McPhee's concern about the continued low profile … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The future of Australian literature
Toni Jordan, Fall girl
It's just as well I'm not one of those readers who likes to draw conclusions about writers' lives from their writing, because if I were I'd be seriously concerned about Toni Jordan. You see, her latest novel, Fall girl, is about a con-artist, a very experienced one in fact. And Jordan writes so convincingly you'd … Continue reading Toni Jordan, Fall girl
Edith Wharton, A journey
I am a fan of Edith Wharton and have read around seven of her novels, some of which are part of my personal canon. However, I have only read a couple of her short stories, and she wrote quite a few of those too. In fact, she was a prolific writer. And so, when last week's … Continue reading Edith Wharton, A journey
Monday musings on Australian literature: Guest post by Lisa from ANZLitLovers
When I started this Monday musings series, I said that I'd have the occasional guest post. The first one, I decided then, had to be Lisa at ANZLitLovers. Not only did she give me a lot of encouragement when I started blogging (thanks Lisa!) but she is one of our most committed bloggers on Australian literature. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Guest post by Lisa from ANZLitLovers
To tour or not to tour: the art of being a tourist
As readers here know, Mr Gums and I have just returned from a week in Hong Kong. I did say that my Macau post would be the post to represent that trip - after all, this is primarily a book blog - but have decided that one more won't push the friendship too much. My … Continue reading To tour or not to tour: the art of being a tourist
Gretchen Shirm, Having cried wolf
I have come to the conclusion that short stories are the best holiday reading for me. After a day's sightseeing followed by reading up on sights for the next day, I usually find I have little time left for my reading. Novels are hard to read under such circumstances, but short stories? Well, they are … Continue reading Gretchen Shirm, Having cried wolf
Monday musings on Australian literature: Some Australian travel writing
At luggage carousels one can question travelling (Donald Horne, The intelligent tourist) Having just returned from our trip to Hong Kong, I thought this would be a good opportunity to post about some Australian travel writing. Hmm ... good idea, but where to start? The first problem is that while I usually enjoy travel literature … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Some Australian travel writing
Whispering Gums 