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
Australian literature
Delicious descriptions: Dymphna Cusack’s Sydney
I said in my recent review of Dymphna Cusacks' debut novel Jungfrau that I'd share some of her descriptions of Sydney because her evocation of the colours, the light, the sounds and the scent of the city are just gorgeous. Sydney, as you probably know, is regarded as one of Australia's most beautiful cities with its harbour, … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Dymphna Cusack’s Sydney
Dymphna Cusack, Jungfrau (Review)
Are there some historical periods that particularly fascinate you? There are for me, and one of those is that between the two world wars. It was a complex time encompassing both economic hardship and great social change. A time when many of those Victorian era constraints were being lifted and women, in particular, were starting to enjoy … Continue reading Dymphna Cusack, Jungfrau (Review)
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
Jane Rawson, A wrong turn at the Office of Unmade Lists (Review)
The weirdest thing happened when I put down Jane Rawson's debut novel, A wrong turn at the Office of Unmade Lists: I started imagining things! This is weird because I'm not a particularly imaginative or fanciful person, so it must have been this book that did it. Let me explain ... First though, I need to say that I've … Continue reading Jane Rawson, A wrong turn at the Office of Unmade Lists (Review)
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
Carmel Bird launches Marion Halligan’s latest at Paperchain
Sometimes blogging brings you little thrills, and I had one a few days ago when Carmel Bird, one of Australia's literary luminaries, emailed me with the offer to post her launch speech for Marion Halligan's latest book. Was this out of order she asked? As if! So, I attended the delightful launch, and received the text from Carmel Bird's … Continue reading Carmel Bird launches Marion Halligan’s latest at Paperchain
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
Meeting Biff Ward
In her comment on my review of Biff Ward's beautiful memoir, In my mother's hands, in which I mentioned that Biff had been present at my reading group, Stefanie (So Many Books) asked if I planned to post specifically about Biff's presence. While I don't always do this when authors visit my group - Biff was our sixth author in our 27 years … Continue reading Meeting Biff Ward
