I've written about AustLit several times before, including their BlackWords and World War 1 in Australian Literary Culture projects. Today, I thought I'd highlight their AustLit Anthology of Criticism which was published online in 2010. AustLit, as I've mentioned before, is primarily a subscription service, but not all of the content is behind their paywall. Of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: AustLit Anthology of Criticism
Monday musings
Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers’ letters and diaries
I am currently reading a book of selected letters, First things first, by Australian poet Kate Llewellyn. I'm loving it, so I thought that as a precursor to my review (which is a way off yet as I've only read a third), I'd do a Monday Musings on the published letters and diaries of Australian writers. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers’ letters and diaries
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian flash fiction initiatives
It seemed sensible to follow up my review last week of Angela Meyer's collection of flash fiction, Captives, with a selective survey of some Australian initiatives for this sort of fiction. While flash fiction is not new, the internet does seem to be giving it renewed life. An online search will reveal many sites and blogs - … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian flash fiction initiatives
Monday musings on Australian literature: Dymphna Cusack
It's been nearly a year since I devoted a Monday Musings post to a specific author, my last one being Barbara Baynton last June. It seemed like time for another one, and Dymphna Cusack (1902-1981), I decided, could do with a little push. Best known for her collaborative novel, Come in spinner (1951, with Florence James), Cusack was, in fact, a prolific … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Dymphna Cusack
Monday musings on Australian literature: On labelling writers
Today's post was inspired by a tweet from Aminatta Forna which led me to an article she'd written titled "Don't judge a book by its author". The Guardian led the article with the following pull quote: I have never met a writer who wishes to be described as a female writer, gay writer, black writer, Asian writer … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: On labelling writers
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading Australian literature
Reading Australian Literature is a lecture series inaugurated at the University of Sydney last year by its School of Letters, Arts and Media. The idea is for writers to talk about a literary text that means something to them. Here is how the website describes it: Writers’ festivals and other popular forums invite writers to talk about … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: Social media reviewing
I've been a bit distracted lately by life and so missed an article which appeared a few days ago in the online journal, The Conversation. Luckily, there's Twitter, so I didn't miss it entirely! Isn't social media grand? Except, of course, when you botch it. And this is where this article I nearly missed comes in ... … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Social media reviewing
Monday musings on Australian literature: Short Stories, 1920s style
"A good short story is a work of art, and a joy of forever!" So wrote the author of The Sydney Stock and Station Journal's "Our Book Column", back in March 1920. I hadn't planned to write about this topic today, but the various discussions of short stories I found while researching Trove distracted me. You all … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Short Stories, 1920s style
Monday musings on Australian literature: First winners of The Bulletin Novel Prize
"Once again women have proved that they can triumph over men"! So starts a 1928 newspaper article announcing the winners of the first Bulletin Novel Prize. Hmmm ... fascinating to read this the week we heard that eight of the ten books longlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin Award are by women. I don't like to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: First winners of The Bulletin Novel Prize
Monday musings on Australian literature: Scattered thoughts on memoirs
I've titled this Monday Musings "scattered thoughts" because I don't want to raise expectations that I'm going to write a treatise on what is a fascinating but oh-so complex topic. I was inspired to write this post by author Annabel Smith's asking me to take part in her Friday Faves* post on favourite memoirs. For this post, Smith asked … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Scattered thoughts on memoirs
Whispering Gums 