Pam of Travellin' Penguin blog read ML Skinner's short story "The hand" for a challenge she was doing, and, when I expressed interest in it, very kindly sent me a copy. "The hand" is a mysterious little story - and by little, I mean, little in that it takes up less than 7 pages of the anthology, … Continue reading M.L. (Mollie) Skinner, The hand (#Review)
Author: Whispering Gums
Sofie Laguna, The choke (#BookReview)
There are many reasons why I wanted to read Sofie Laguna's latest book The choke. Firstly, I was inspired by a very engaging author conversation I attended late last year. Secondly, she won the Miles Franklin with her previous book The eye of the sheep (which I still haven't read). Thirdly, its setting, the Murray River, is … Continue reading Sofie Laguna, The choke (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Contemporary Australian literary translators
Today's Monday Musings was inspired by the shortlisting for the 2018 Stella Prize of Iranian-born Australian-based writer Shokoofeh Azar's The enlightenment of the greengage tree. I first came across this book when Lisa (ANZLitLovers) reviewed it last August, commenting in her opening paragraph that the novel "is an exciting development in Australian publishing" because it was written in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Contemporary Australian literary translators
John Lang, The forger’s wife (#BookReview)
When new publisher Grattan Street Press offered me a review copy of John Lang's The forger's wife last November, I couldn't resist, even though it is from their Colonial Australian Popular Fiction series. I say "even though" because, had it been written now, it would probably not have come under my radar. It's very much … Continue reading John Lang, The forger’s wife (#BookReview)
Festival Muse 2018: Turn me on
Woo hoo, Muse, which is one of my favourite places in Canberra, is running its second Muse Festival this long weekend in Canberra. As last year, Mr Gums and I went to the opening event, Turn me on, last night -and it was different but also good. Different because last year's opener, Women of the … Continue reading Festival Muse 2018: Turn me on
Stella Prize 2018 Shortlist announced
As you probably know, the Stella Prize is the award I particularly like to follow, though I don't always post on the Longlist and the Shortlist as I am this year. The Longlist was announced on 8 February (my post), and the shortlist was announced, yesterday, International Women's Day, as has, appropriately, become tradition. Here … Continue reading Stella Prize 2018 Shortlist announced
A lovely night out … at the theatre
You know the year has really started when the concerts and shows start up again - and for us they've started with a bang. We had three events in four days: A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer (Playhouse) on Saturday night, The Weight of Light (Street Theatre) late Sunday afternoon, and the first … Continue reading A lovely night out … at the theatre
Monday musings on Australian literature: Young Writers Awards
Yesterday's post on young writer Ben Smith Noble's prize-winning short story, "The sands of time" inspired today's post. I've written about several prizes over the years - the big ones, and the more targeted ones - but not prizes for Young Writers. It's a tricky topic to write about. There's the definition of "young" and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Young Writers Awards
Ben Smith Noble, The sands of time (#Review)
Ben Smith Noble is the second young writer I have reviewed here, the first being Leah A with her 10 silly poems by a ten year old (my review) which came to my attention via Son Gums. Ben Smith Noble's short story "The sands of time", on the other hand, came to me from Mother Gums … Continue reading Ben Smith Noble, The sands of time (#Review)
Six degrees of separation, FROM The beauty myth TO …
Wah, it's now the start of autumn here down under. I love, love, love autumn (and not just because my birthday occurs during it) but it does mean that winter's next and I hate, hate, hate that! We do, however, have fun things to entertain us when things get glum like, for example, The Six … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM The beauty myth TO …
Whispering Gums 