Having heard recently about the University of Melbourne's acquisition of Germaine Greer's archives and having written in last week's Monday Musings about the biographer Hazel Rowley who spent hours researching such archives, I thought it would be worth writing a little about writers' archives - their importance and challenges. First off, I am, as many of you … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers’ archives
Author: Whispering Gums
Villainesses thriving in Canberra
Now I know many Australians see Canberra, their national capital, as a soulless, boring, sliced-white-bread sort of place but not so. There is life here. Art is happening - and it's fresh, vibrant and young. Not all our young people have left (yet!). Last night Mr Gums and I went to the opening of a … Continue reading Villainesses thriving in Canberra
Bianca Nogrady, The end: The human experience of death (Review)
Have you thought about your death? About how and where you want to die? These are the questions Australian science journalist Bianca Nogrady asks us to consider in her recent book, The end: the human experience of death. I'm not a morbid person, but when Nogrady contacted me to ask whether I'd consider reviewing her … Continue reading Bianca Nogrady, The end: The human experience of death (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Hazel Rowley Literary Fund
It seemed appropriate to talk about the Hazel Rowley Literary Fund this week given that several commenters on my review of Christina Stead's For love alone mentioned Rowley's well-regarded biography of Christina Stead. Quite coincidentally - amazing how often such coincidences occur isn't it - AustLit posted on their blog last week a piece titled … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Hazel Rowley Literary Fund
Thoughts on Christina Stead’s writing in For love alone
I can't resist writing another post on Christina Stead's For love alone, which I reviewed recently. Usually in my reviews I make some comments about the writing, but that review was getting so long that I decided to leave that discussion for another day. I'm embarrassed to admit that For love alone is my first … Continue reading Thoughts on Christina Stead’s writing in For love alone
Christina Stead, For love alone (Review)
In a recent communication with local author Nigel Featherstone about reviewing, he reminded me of Peter Rose's advice for new reviewers for the ABR. One of the points Rose makes is: with major books, ones that have been reviewed extensively in the newspapers, submit reviews that add to our understanding of the book, not just repetitious … Continue reading Christina Stead, For love alone (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: The Conversation launches its Arts + Culture Section
I think I've mentioned The Conversation before. It's a blog produced by a consortium of Australian academic institutions. The posts are written by writers who are academics, and each post has a disclosure statement regarding whether the writer has affiliations with/receives funding from organisations that could "benefit" from their article. It's a good source of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The Conversation launches its Arts + Culture Section
Murray Bail, Portrait of electricity (Review)
A couple of weeks ago I quoted Murray Bail on compser-house-museums from his latest novel, The voyage. But this isn't the first time Bail has expressed his attitudes towards turning the home of a famous person into a museum. It was the topic of a short story, "Portrait of electricity" which, as far as I can … Continue reading Murray Bail, Portrait of electricity (Review)
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Jane Austen on politics
I was going to label this post "Jane Austen and plus ça change" but then decided to be provocative, because Austen is regularly criticised for not discussing politics, what was happening in her time, in her novels. Of course, I disagree that novelists have to specifically write about the political background to their stories. Those … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Jane Austen on politics
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading Australia
You know how when you go to a conference you pick up all sorts of pamphlets and brochures advertising this and that? Well, at the Writing the Australian landscape conference I attended back in August, just before I went overseas, I picked up an interesting leaflet from Australia's Copyright Agency. The leaflet is titled: Reading … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading Australia
