I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall, And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all (From "Clancy of the Overflow", by Banjo Paterson) In "Clancy of the Overflow", Banjo … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Outback continent, urban culture?
Month: January 2011
Mario Vargas Llosa, The feast of the Goat
If Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa's The feast of the goat had been a traditional historical novel, chances are it would have started with the assassins concocting their plan and then worked chronologically to its logical conclusion. But, it is not a traditional historical novel, as is reflected in the structure Vargas Llosa has chosen to tell his … Continue reading Mario Vargas Llosa, The feast of the Goat
David Mitchell, Earth calling Taylor
And now for something a little different from novelist David Mitchell, a short story titled "Earth calling Taylor". You can read it online at FT.com. FT.com is the online version of the Financial Times, so it's not surprising that Ryan Taylor, the protagonist of the story, works in the finance industry. The story starts with Ryan … Continue reading David Mitchell, Earth calling Taylor
Monday musings on Australian literature: the Great Australian Novel, or?
First, a confession. I am not one who believes we need to define such a beast as "The Great [name your country] Novel". However, just to be perverse, I thought that for this week's Monday musings it would be interesting to look at what might qualify for such a label - and, in doing so, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: the Great Australian Novel, or?
Mary Church Terrell, What it means to be colored in the capital of the United States
I heard a radio interview this week with Jane Elliott of the brown-eye-blue-eye experiment fame, and she suggested that racism is still an issue in the USA (through the efforts of a vocal minority) and is best demonstrated by the determination in certain quarters that Barack Obama will not win a second term*. It's therefore … Continue reading Mary Church Terrell, What it means to be colored in the capital of the United States
On being a taxonomical reviewer
I was reading a review this morning of a poetry anthology, and the reviewer, one Dr. Martin Duwell I believe, said that the book "encourages the taxonomist in me". Ah, I thought, a person after my own heart ... because I too have a taxonomical bent in my approach to literature. (I am, it has … Continue reading On being a taxonomical reviewer
Monday musings on Australian literature: A dry or not so dry continent?
It's rather ironic that in the last week or two when I've written a couple of posts about Australia's image* as a "sunburned land" (Barbara Hanrahan) or "sunburnt country" (Dorothea Mackellar), the image the world has been seeing is somewhat opposite - a raindrenched land. Then again, Dorothea Mackellar did also write that this is … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: A dry or not so dry continent?
Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 1)
This year is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's first (published) novel, Sense and sensibility. To celebrate this, my local Jane Austen group plans to discuss the novel over the next three months, volume by volume. We tried this last year with Mansfield Park and valued the opportunity it presented to delve … Continue reading Jane Austen, Sense and sensibility (Vol. 1)
Matt McClelland, Best river and alpine walks around Mt Kosciuszko
For many years now, Mr Gums and I have been going to Thredbo in Kosciuszko National Park for a few days in early January. In other words, instead of heading east to the coast, like many of our city's residents, we head south to the mountains for a bit of R&R involving bushwalking, dining and reading. … Continue reading Matt McClelland, Best river and alpine walks around Mt Kosciuszko
Monday musings on Australian literature: Mountain murmurings
Mountain? Because this week's Monday musings was inspired by my recent sojourn in the mountains. Murmurings? Because it will be more pictorial than textual. And what does all this to have with Australian literature? Two things, primarily: My definition of "Australian literature" for this blog series is a broad one - it is intended to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Mountain murmurings
Whispering Gums 