During 1925, two sets of articles appeared which discussed the issue of fostering "Australian sentiment". Australian literature and labour John Mckellar, 1929Herald (Melbourne), 27 November 1929, p 16 During the year, John McKellar (1881-1966) gave lectures on topics relating to literature and labour or the working class. On February 12, a newspaper titled Labor Call … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1925: 2, fostering Australian sentiment
Century ago
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1925: 1, Literary societies
As I've done in recent years, I decided to start a little Monday Musings sub-series drawing on researching Trove to get a picture of Australian literature a century ago, that is, in 1925. One of the things that popped up as I started this year's Trove trawl was the existence of an active community of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1925: 1, Literary societies
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1924: 2, New novels
Then as now, newspapers regularly announced new Australian novels as they are published. In these year-based series, I've not done a post specifically on the new releases, so have decided to do it for this year. This is not complete but contains books by authors who had some career longevity. New novel releases I've listed … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1924: 2, New novels
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1924: 1, Bookstall, again
During 2022 and 2023, I wrote a series of posts on Australian literature as it was read, and thought about, a century earlier, in 1922 and 1923. Last year, I researched 1924, with a view to doing the same, and in fact heralded the upcoming 1924 series, but didn't end up writing any posts. This … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1924: 1, Bookstall, again
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 7, Humour
With 1923 nearly over, I'm running out of time to share more of the thoughts and ideas I found regarding Australian literature in 1923 from Trove. This post, I thought to share some of the ideas expressed about humour in Australian literature. Humour wasn't always specifically mentioned in 1923 as being a feature of Australian … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 7, Humour
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 6, A postal controversy
Who would have thought that the cost of postage would generate controversy in the book world? And the sorts of issues that would be raised as a result? (Courtesy OCAL, via clker.com) In my research of Trove for book-related issues in 1923, I came across a letter to the editor opposing some proposed changes in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 6, A postal controversy
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 5, Novels and their subjects
On the basis that what novelists write about provides some sort of insight into their times, I've done a little survey of the books published by Australian writers in 1923 to see what their subject matter might tell us about Australian life and literature 100 years ago. First, here are the books I found, mostly … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 5, Novels and their subjects
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 4, Austra-Zealand’s best books and Canada (2)
Last week I wrote about Canadian librarian, George Locke, commissioning Australian critic and journalist AG Stephens to compile the "best 100 imaginative Australian and New Zealand books" to be sent for exhibition in Toronto's public library". I ended on the commission having been completed, but I did not include his list because, not only had … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 4, Austra-Zealand’s best books and Canada (2)
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 3, Austra-Zealand’s best books and Canada (1)
For my third post in my Monday Musings 1923 series, I'm moving away from publisher initiatives, like the NSW Bookstall Co and the Platypus Series, to something a bit different. It's an intriguing story about what one paper called "inter-Imperial amity". It goes like this ... Mr. George H. Locke (1870-1937) - as the newspapers … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 3, Austra-Zealand’s best books and Canada (1)
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 2, The Platypus Series
My first post in my Monday Musings 1923 series featured an update on the 1880-established NSW Bookstall Company, which, you may remember, focused on supporting Australia's writers and readers by publishing Australian books and selling them for just one shilling each. In 1923, another publishing initiative appeared on the scene, Angus and Robertson's Platypus Series. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1923: 2, The Platypus Series
Whispering Gums 