As Australians would know, this week - July 7-14 - is NAIDOC week. NAIDOC originally stood for an organisation - ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’ - but the acronym has now become the name of the week itself. Fascinating how acronyms can take on lives of their own, isn't it? Anyhow, the theme … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Indigenous Australian memoirs
Author: Whispering Gums
Willa Cather, Peter (Review)
Surely a whole year can't have passed since I last wrote about a Library of America short story? But yes, it has. My last one was Robert Frost's "The question of a feather" in July last year. Many times I've chosen one to read, and many times I've let other things get in the way … Continue reading Willa Cather, Peter (Review)
Rachel Hennessy, The heaven I swallowed (Review)
It feels strange to be reviewing a Vogel Literary Award runner up, which Rachel Hennessy's The heaven I swallowed was in 2008, in a year when the judges decided not to award the prize because they didn't find ‘that special quality that a winning entry has’. C'est la vie I suppose, but what a shame … Continue reading Rachel Hennessy, The heaven I swallowed (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: AustLit FREE TRIAL
When I first discovered AustLit (Australian Literature Resource) in the early 2000s I was thrilled. What fan of Aussie literature wouldn't be excited by a database for Australian writers and writing? Created in 2000 by Australia's university sector and led by the University of Queensland, AustLit "aims to be the definitive virtual research environment and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: AustLit FREE TRIAL
Satellite Boy (Movie review)
It's disappointing to say the least that the new Australian film, Satellite Boy, is in very limited distribution. It was released 10 days ago, and in my city, with 6 cinema complexes, it is screening in only one. Why? It's rather an indictment of Australian audiences that such a film is not receiving wider distribution. … Continue reading Satellite Boy (Movie review)
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell on books
There are many delicious descriptions to choose from Hilary Mantel's Bring up the bodies, which I reviewed earlier this week, and some have already been posted by bloggers in other posts (such as John at Musings of a Literary Dilettante, Lisa at ANZ LitLovers, and Alex in Leeds). Their excerpts relate more to thematic issues, … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell on books
Hilary Mantel, Bring up the bodies (Review)
In her author's note at the end of her second Thomas Cromwell novel, Bring up the bodies, Hilary Mantel writes that: In this book I try to show how a few crucial weeks might have looked from Thomas Cromwell's point of view. I am not claiming authority for my version; I am making the reader … Continue reading Hilary Mantel, Bring up the bodies (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: ASA’s Authors Unlimited eBook portal
In her comment on my recent Monday musings about e-Publishing, Australian author Dorothy Johnston, whose novel The house at number 10 I reviewed recently, mentioned Authors Unlimited. I responded that I'd look into it and perhaps post on it. I did and now I am. Never let it be said that Whispering Gums is not … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: ASA’s Authors Unlimited eBook portal
Vale Jeffrey Smart
There is a logic for writing a brief post on the death of an artist on my litblog ... For those of you who haven't heard, the Australian artist Jeffrey Smart died today in Italy (20 June in the Northern Hemisphere), at the age of 91. He painted in a style described as Precisionism - … Continue reading Vale Jeffrey Smart
Australian Women Writers 2013 Challenge completed – and Miles Franklin Award Winner 2013
As regular readers here know by now, last year I broke my non-challenge rule to take part in the Australian Women Writer's Challenge. It was so satisfying, I decided to do it again this year. After all, it's really the challenge I'd do when I'm not doing a challenge. Like last year, I signed up … Continue reading Australian Women Writers 2013 Challenge completed – and Miles Franklin Award Winner 2013
Whispering Gums 