Kim Mahood's memoir Position doubtful is a such a stimulating read. That might sound weird for a book whose subtitle is Mapping, landscapes and memories, but the thing is that it hits the spot in so many ways that are central to the issues confronting Australians right now. In other words, it's about our relationship to place. Specifically, … Continue reading Kim Mahood, Position doubtful (#BookReview)
Month: June 2017
Monday musings on Australian literature: Changing literary tastes (2)
My last Monday Musings post was on Changing literary tastes from the 1920s to 1940s, using newspaper articles I'd found in the National Library of Australia's Trove. Today's post draws on just one article from the 1950s. I'm choosing just one because it, unusually in my experience, has a by-line - for a person worth … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Changing literary tastes (2)
Emily Maguire, An isolated incident (#BookReview)
Emily Maguire's novel, An isolated incident, reminded me of Charlotte Wood's The natural way of things (my review). Sure, An isolated incident is a crime novel, albeit a genre-bending one, while The natural way of things is a dystopian novel, but both deal with the same fundamental issue, misogyny. Wood exposes the scapegoating of women for … Continue reading Emily Maguire, An isolated incident (#BookReview)
Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney, A secret sisterhood (Pt 1) (#Review)
Midorikawa and Sweeney's book, A secret sisterhood, published this month, is subtitled The hidden friendships of Austen, Brontë, Eliot and Woolf, by which you might guess why a copy came my way! And so, as homework for my Jane Austen group meeting this month, I've just read the first part, which is about Jane Austen and … Continue reading Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney, A secret sisterhood (Pt 1) (#Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Changing literary tastes (1)
Research can send you off on all sorts of tangents - particularly if don't have to be focused. What fascinating things you can find when you go with the flow (in the wonderful Trove)! It started with my recent post on Currawong Press, which, somewhat serendipitously, led to a post on books published in The Australian Women's … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Changing literary tastes (1)
My literary week (8), a cultural life
There's always something going on here in the nation's capital, besides politics that is and despite the belief in some circles that it is a soulless place! In fact, it's so busy here - so packed full of things to do - that my reading has been pretty slow of late. However, I have been … Continue reading My literary week (8), a cultural life
Rebekah Clarkson, Barking dogs (#BookReview)
The best way to describe Rebekah Clarkson's debut book, Barking dogs, is that it's a portrait of a community undergoing social change. This community is Mount Barker on the outskirts of Adelaide. Once a farming community, it is now, says Wikipedia, "one of the fastest growing areas in the state", the province of developers, the aspirational … Continue reading Rebekah Clarkson, Barking dogs (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: ACT Writers Centre
Do you have a writers centre in your neck of the woods? We do in Australia, but I've barely written about them before. They generally provide support and/or training for writers, via online and face-to-face mechanisms, some free-of-charge but most fee-paying, and tend to be membership organisations. Over coming months, I'll share what's happening in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: ACT Writers Centre
Linda Neil, All is given (#BookReview)
Linda Neil's second book, All is given, is subtitled "a memoir in songs". I wondered if this meant her memoir would be structured around specific songs - but that's probably way too prosaic an idea. Certainly, it's not what I got! I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I didn't know of Linda Neil, who is … Continue reading Linda Neil, All is given (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading the reader (Survey)
Late last month, the Australia Council of the Arts released the results of a survey they conducted with Macquarie University. It is, the introduction to their final summary says, "the third stage of a major study of Australia’s changing book industry, by the Australian Research Council and Macquarie University." The project, according to the Macquarie University website … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading the reader (Survey)
Whispering Gums 