Just as some contemporary publishers, like Text, have decided to publish Australian Classics, so did publishers in the past attempt such projects. One such publisher was Lansdowne Press which, according to N.B. in the Canberra Times in 1963, began "a series of reprints from Australiana" which they called Heritage Books. N.B. discusses two books in the … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian Literature: Lansdowne Press’s Heritage Books
Monday musings
Monday musings on Australian literature: Who is publishing THE interesting books?
I had another post planned for today, but it can wait, because this morning writer-artist-feminist and out-of-the-box-thinker Sara Dowse made a provocative comment on my review of Australian love stories, which was edited by Cate Kennedy and published by the well-known Inkerman & Blunt. Oops, did I say well-known? Perhaps that was overstating the case. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Who is publishing THE interesting books?
Monday musings on Australian literature: Poetry awards
Over recent months, I've devoted several Monday Musings to exploring various Australian literary festivals and awards. I was inspired to write this one on poetry awards by two things. The first is that during my recent exploration of Australian literature in the first few decades of the 20th century, and particularly of the 1927 plebiscite conducted … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Poetry awards
Monday musings on Australian literature: Whither Australian literature in 1927?
Last week's Monday Musings focused on a plebiscite conducted in 1927 on Australian and New Zealand authors and poets. It was conducted in August as a lead up to September's Australasian Authors' Week. I found several articles about this week. Some were primarily descriptive, but a few took the opportunity to comment on the state of Australian literature. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Whither Australian literature in 1927?
Monday musings on Australian literature: Plebiscite on Australian poets and novelists, 1927
Pottering around old Australian newspapers on Trove, I came across reports of a "plebiscite" on Australian poets and authors. Suggested by the Australian Literature Society, it asked readers of Melbourne's The Argus newspaper to send in the names "of those whom they regard as the six leading poets and the six foremost writers of fiction of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Plebiscite on Australian poets and novelists, 1927
Monday musings on Australian literature: Nature Writing Prize
You know what they say, too much of a good thing is bad for you, so, to save you dear readers from bad things, I thought we'd take a break this week from my historical survey of Australian literature. And, since I received this morning an email containing a call for submissions for Nature Conservancy Australia's … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Nature Writing Prize
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers in England, 1911
I've devoted a few Monday Musings recently to Australian writers in the first few decades of the twentieth century. I expect to do a few more in coming months, as I'm enjoying the research. Today, I'm drawing from a report of a talk given by Barbara Baynton in Sydney in 1911 to the Writers and Artists Union. The article, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian writers in England, 1911
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian women writers, 1930s
In July I wrote two posts based on Nettie Palmer's 1920s assessment of great Australian novels. In 1935, another Australian novelist, Zora Cross, wrote an article about Australian women novelists and poets. I enjoy reading these contemporary perspectives, and I think some of you are interested too ... do let me know if you aren't. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian women writers, 1930s
Monday musings on Australian literature: National Biography Award
I have mentioned the National Biography Award before, but have never dedicated a post to it. Since this Monday musings coincides with the announcement of the 2014 award, I thought it would be a good time to write a little about this award. The National Biography Award was initially endowed by Geoffrey Cains, with support … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: National Biography Award
Monday musings on Australian literature: The novel in Australia, 1927-style, Part 2
Today's Monday Musings is Part 2 of my two post series discussing Nettie Palmer's article, "The novel in Australia", that was published in The Brisbane Courier, 15 October 1927. As I did in last week's post, I'll use her headings to share her view on Australia's great novels. A novelist abroad Here she discusses Australian writers who wrote … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The novel in Australia, 1927-style, Part 2
