Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue's vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. During this first year as a blogger (2009) Sue wrote an astonishing number of well-researched and interesting posts. Let's say 4 per week at around 600 words per post. … Continue reading Bill curates: What do I mean by spare?
Month: July 2020
Chris Flynn, Mammoth (#BookReview)
I am not a big fan of anthropomorphism and have read very few animal-narrated books. Animal farm is one, while Watership down, so enamoured by many of my generation, is not. However, I was intrigued by Chris Flynn's Mammoth, which is narrated by a 13,000-year-old American Mastodon fossil, and was glad when my reading group decided … Continue reading Chris Flynn, Mammoth (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Allen & Unwin’s House of Books
I have written a few posts over the years on the publishing of Australian classics, including one in 2014 in which I mentioned Allen & Unwin's Australian Classics series. That series seems to have disappeared, but the publisher does have another initiative, House of Books. Here is what Allen & Unwin say about this series … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Allen & Unwin’s House of Books
Archie Roach, Tell me why: The story of my life and my music (#BookReview)
Good things come to those who wait! At least, I hope so, because Lisa has had to wait a long time for a review from me for this year's Indigenous Literature Week. Finally, though, I finished the main book I chose for this year's challenge, Archie Roach's memoir, Tell me why: The story of my life … Continue reading Archie Roach, Tell me why: The story of my life and my music (#BookReview)
Bill curates: Imre Kertesz’s Fateless or Fatelessness
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue's vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. Sue reads some striking books and writes some (many!) striking reviews, of which this is one. I'm not sure I agree with her about Holocaust fiction, but I do … Continue reading Bill curates: Imre Kertesz’s Fateless or Fatelessness
Monday musings on Australian literature: Indigenous Australian writers and the Miles Franklin Award
This is not going to be a treatise on the Miles Franklin Award and diversity. We all know literary awards have not been as diverse as they could have been (and that they still have a way to go). We know, too, that this is not only due to judging, but also reflects the fact … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Indigenous Australian writers and the Miles Franklin Award
Bill curates: Elizabeth Jolley’s My father’s moon
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue's vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. Elizabeth Jolley is one of the greats and I am sorry that I have only read her in fits and starts. I have had, unread, Brian Dibble's biography of … Continue reading Bill curates: Elizabeth Jolley’s My father’s moon
Monday musings on Australian literature: Indigenous Australian literature, 1970s
Although Lisa's (ANZLitLovers) annual Indigenous Literature Week is officially over for 2020, I thought I'd bookend it with a second Monday Musings, this one on how Indigenous Australian literature looked around 50 years ago. Who was writing then, and what were they writing? My main sources were Trove, of course, and the Macquarie Pen anthology of Aboriginal … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Indigenous Australian literature, 1970s
Helen Garner, Yellow notebook: Diaries, Volume 1, 1978-1987 (#BookReview)
The opening session of last November's inaugural Broadside Festival featured Helen Garner in conversation with Sarah Krasnostein about her recently published Yellow notebook, the first volume of her edited diaries. It was an excellent, intelligent conversation. Garner came across as the forthright writer she is, one who fearlessly exposes difficult and unpleasant things, alongside joys and triumphs. … Continue reading Helen Garner, Yellow notebook: Diaries, Volume 1, 1978-1987 (#BookReview)
Bill curates: JM Coetzee’s Diary of a bad year
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue's vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. When Sue wrote this review in July 2009 - yes I am progressing only slowly, but there is so much to choose from! - Diary of a Bad Year … Continue reading Bill curates: JM Coetzee’s Diary of a bad year
Whispering Gums 