A few months ago I wrote a post on Horace Walpole's The castle of Otranto which is regarded as a pioneer in the Gothic novel tradition. I thought then that it would be good to explore how the Gothic translated to Australia where we have no castles in which the supernatural can rattle and clang. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian Gothic (19th century)
Monday musings
Monday musings on Australian literature: Women of letters
Letter-writing has a long literary tradition - both fictional and non-fictional. Epistolary novels, according to Wikipedia, go back to the 1400s, and I'm sure if you're a reader you've read at least a few. My favourite Australian example is a gut-wrenching young adult novel Letters from the inside by John Marsden. But these are not my … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Women of letters
Monday musings on Australian Literature: Guest post from Louise of A Strong Belief in Wicker
This week's Monday Musings is my second Guest Post in the series. It comes from the lovely Louise of A Strong Belief in Wicker. I first "met" Louise through an online bookgroup and we quickly discovered that we lived within a few hours' drive of each other. Consequently, we have also "actually" met several times … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian Literature: Guest post from Louise of A Strong Belief in Wicker
Monday Musings on Australian Literature: Pondering Meanjin’s Tournament
My recent post on the semifinals of Meanjin's Tournament of Books engendered some comments on the value or validity of the tournament itself - so I thought, having dedicated myself to reporting on the tournament, I should comment on what I think about it as an event. I'll start by saying that I don't take literary competitions … Continue reading Monday Musings on Australian Literature: Pondering Meanjin’s Tournament
Monday musings on Australian literature: the AWGIES (for film)
Last week I finally saw the (excellent) film adaptation of Patrick White's The eye of the storm (which I may - or may not - separately blog about). I was intrigued to notice that the scriptwriter was one-time actor, Judy Morris, and this reminded me of the AWGIE awards. The AWGIES are annual awards organised … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: the AWGIES (for film)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Asian Australian writers
Australia is an immigrant country, with the first immigrants, the original Aboriginal Australians, believed to have arrived 40-60,000 (there are arguments about this!) years ago via the Indonesian archipelago. They established what is now regarded as one of the longest surviving cultures on earth. Today, though, I'm going to write on some of our more recent … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Asian Australian writers
Monday musings on Australian literature: Christina Stead
I have mentioned Christina Stead several times on this blog - and yet she remains the guilty gap in my reading. I thought 2011 would be Stead year, but things have conspired to restrain the rate of my reading this year. Maybe 2012! I have also written several posts inspired by articles in The ABC Weekly, and I'm returning to this paper … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Christina Stead
Monday musings on Australian literature: Meanjin’s Tournament of Books
Many Monday musings ago I wrote about the reduced visibility of women writers in Australia. I wasn't the only one concerned and things have been afoot to up the ante for women writers. For example, a new award targeting women writers, the Stella Prize, was announced earlier this year. And now Meanjin, a longstanding literary … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Meanjin’s Tournament of Books
Monday musings on Australian literature: Ada Cambridge
It's time, methinks, for another Monday Musings post highlighting a specific writer - and this time I've chosen Ada Cambridge. I discovered Cambridge back in the late 1980s when there was a resurgence (in Australia anyhow) in recognition of women writers. What was great about this resurgence was that it not only saw increased publication of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Ada Cambridge
Monday musings on Australian literature: Are short stories on the rise?
Today I'll dip my toes into the muddy waters that comprise short stories. Regular readers of this blog know that I'm rather partial to short stories. Why, I wonder, are they still pretty much the second class citizen of the literary world? Marion Halligan said, on the release of her latest collection, Shooting the fox, that her … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Are short stories on the rise?
