Well, good news for me (because it's all about me of course!) Not only had I read more of the longlist and the shortlist than is my usual achievement, but one of those books is the winner - and a wonderful winner it is too, Melissa Lucashenko's Too much lip (my review)! Really, as much … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2019 Winner announced!
Month: July 2019
Monday musings on Australian literature: No Vogel prize in 2019
For those of us who follow the major Australian literary awards, The Australian/Vogel is one we like to keep an eye out for, because it has launched a number of significant careers during its nearly 40-year history. For those who don't know it, the award is for an unpublished manuscript, which can be "a work … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: No Vogel prize in 2019
Louise Erdrich, The bingo palace (#BookReview)
When I bought Louise Erdrich's The bingo palace in 1995, I never expected it to take me 24 years to read it but, there you go. Time flies, and suddenly it was 2019 and the book was still sitting on the high priority pile next to my bed! Truly! It took Lisa's ANZLitLovers Indigenous Literature Week … Continue reading Louise Erdrich, The bingo palace (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: New Territory 2019
For the third year I am a mentor for the ACT Writers' Centre arts writing program, which was called in its first year, ACT Lit-bloggers of the Future program, but rebadged last year as New Territory or, Adventures in Arts Writing. It was broadened then to include theatre, when the Street Theatre joined the National … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: New Territory 2019
Vale Kerry Reed-Gilbert
Note: It is traditional in most indigenous Australian communities to avoid using the name of a deceased person, for some time after their death. And so, as is my wont regarding writing about indigenous writers, I checked out what I believed to be authoritative precedents, and found that Wiradjuri woman Kerry Reed-Gilbert's name has been used … Continue reading Vale Kerry Reed-Gilbert
Bangarra: Thirty years old and still going strong
Last night we attended Bangarra Dance Theatre's current touring program, 30 Years of Sixty Five Thousand. This title refers to the fact that Bangarra, Australia's indigenous dance company, is thirty years old this year and that, as they write in their program, they present "stories through a dance form that is forged from more than 65,000 … Continue reading Bangarra: Thirty years old and still going strong
Australian Women Writers 2019 Challenge completed
As has become tradition, I'm writing my completion post for the Australian Women Writer's Challenge, around the middle of the year, though I will continue to contribute until the year's end, and do a final round-up then. I signed up, as always, for the top-level, Franklin, which involves reading 10 books and reviewing at least 6, and as always I've … Continue reading Australian Women Writers 2019 Challenge completed
Monday musings on Australian literature: Listen to Indigenous Australian authors
Some years, I've written an indigenous Australian focused Monday Musings post to start and conclude NAIDOC Week and Lisa's ANZLitLovers Indigenous Literature Week. I have been researching a topic for this year's second post, but it's taking longer than I expected, so have decided to hold it over to next year. Meanwhile, having committed to a … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Listen to Indigenous Australian authors
Stan Grant, On identity (#BookReview)
Stan Grant seems to be the indigenous-person-du-jour here in Australia. I don't say this disrespectfully, which I fear is how it may come across given Grant's views "on identity", but it feels true - particularly if you watch or listen to the ABC. He pops up regularly on shows, sometimes as presenter, other times as … Continue reading Stan Grant, On identity (#BookReview)
Tony Birch, The white girl (#BookReview)
We need more novels like Tony Birch's The white girl and Melissa Lucashenko's Too much lip. This is not to say that we don't need all the wonderful Indigenous Australian literature I've read and reviewed here over the years, but some of the books, as excellent (and as beloved by me) as they are, can … Continue reading Tony Birch, The white girl (#BookReview)
Whispering Gums 