Having recently posted on the fourth essay, "The prevention of literature", in my book of George Orwell essays, I've decided to plough on and try to finish it. The next essay is the short, cleverly titled, "My country right or left". It was first published in Autumn 1940 in Folios of new writing. It's a … Continue reading George Orwell, My country right or left (#Review)
Author: Whispering Gums
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading and publishing, pandemic-wise
In his 1946 essay, "The prevention of literature", George Orwell named "the unwillingness of the public to spend money on books" as one of the threats to literature. I commented in my post that I didn't know how that stood now in England, but that I thought Australians were currently buying books. The week's Monday … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading and publishing, pandemic-wise
Six degrees of separation, FROM The bass rock TO …
It's June downunder - well, I suppose it's June everywhere! - but here, downunder, June also means winter, so, wah! Oh well, the sooner it starts, the sooner it's over! And, while we are suffering it, we can aways enjoy fun blogging things like our Six Degrees of Separation meme. If you don't know how … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM The bass rock TO …
George Orwell, The prevention of literature (#Review)
One of the reasons a work becomes a classic is its timelessness, its continued relevance to each period in which it is read. This is certainly why many of George Orwell's works are seen as classics. Scarily, there is nothing more relevant now than his writing on the impact of totalitarianism - of which his … Continue reading George Orwell, The prevention of literature (#Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Memorable Australian fictional families
A bit of a fun post this week that I hope will engage you, regardless of where you live or what you read. This post is a sort of companion to one I wrote back in 2017 on Memorable Australian characters. I've had this post in mind ever since then, but have kept putting it … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Memorable Australian fictional families
Delia Owens, Where the crawdads sing (#BookReview)
Delia Owens' bestselling debut novel, Where the crawdads sing, is a problematical novel, as my reading group discovered - and yet, I couldn't help being emotionally engaged. It reminded me a little of a childhood favourite, Gene Stratton Porter's A girl of the Limberlost. My heart went out to Owen's protagonist, Kya, the maligned, ignored, … Continue reading Delia Owens, Where the crawdads sing (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Eco-literature
Over the weekend, I reviewed local Canberra author Irma Gold's debut novel, The breaking, and described it as belonging to the eco-literature "genre". I thought it might be interesting to explore this field a little more. Definitions I'll start with definitions, because, does it really exist? Wikipedia doesn't have an article for eco-literature, but it … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Eco-literature
Irma Gold in conversation with Sarah St Vincent Welch
Like many bookshops, Muse Canberra offers a wonderful program of book events. Unfortunately, I get to very few, but I did get to this weekend's conversation between local poet (among other things) Sarah St Vincent Welch and Irma Gold about Gold's debut novel The breaking (my review). Irma Gold, reading from her novel The breaking, … Continue reading Irma Gold in conversation with Sarah St Vincent Welch
Irma Gold, The breaking (#BookReview)
I have broken a golden rule! That is, I am reviewing Irma Gold's debut novel, The breaking, out of the order in which I received it for review, which is something I (almost) never do! But, I am attending an author event on this book this weekend, and I really wanted to have read it … Continue reading Irma Gold, The breaking (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Nancy Cato
Last year I posted on a book called Trailblazers: 100 inspiring South Australian women. I decided then that it could inspire some Monday Musings posts, because it includes writers among its inspiring women. The first writer to appear in this alphabetically-arranged book is Nancy Cato. She is described as "Writer and activist", which enhances her … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Nancy Cato
