Over the years I've read many books written by white Australian writers on indigenous Australians*, including Mrs Aeneas Gunn's We of the Never Never, Nene Gare's The fringe dwellers, Thomas Keneally's The chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Kate Grenville's The secret river, Peter Temple's The broken shore, and several books by Thea Astley. Later this week I'll be reviewing another, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: White writers on Indigenous Australians
Australian literature
Stella Prize 2014 longlist
I'm not going to write a long post on the Stella Prize longlist because Paula Grunseit has written a good rundown of the books on the Australian Women Writers' challenge website. Do check it out if you are interested to know more about the books (which I'll list below). The Stella Prize, regular readers here … Continue reading Stella Prize 2014 longlist
Poetry at the Gods … with Les Murray
What can I say but that it was wonderful to be in the presence of the man who is arguably Australia's greatest living poet, Les Murray. Poetry at the Gods is a monthly event which has been run for many years by local poet Geoff Page*. (The Gods is a cafe-bar attached to the Australian … Continue reading Poetry at the Gods … with Les Murray
Monday musings on Australian literature: Bread and Cheese Club and Indigenous Australians
Since last week's Monday Musings post on Melbourne's curious, but now defunct, Bread and Cheese Club, I've been doing further research into its various activities, and have found it to be an amazingly vibrant organisation. The club's motto was "Mateship, Art and Letters" and a major focus seemed to have been Australian writers. Certainly its … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Bread and Cheese Club and Indigenous Australians
Evie Wyld, All the birds, singing (Review)
Quite by coincidence, I read Evie Wyld's second novel All the birds, singing straight after Eleanor Catton's The luminaries. I was intrigued by some similarities - both have a mystery at their core, and both use a complex narrative structure - but enjoyed their differences. Wyld's book is tightly focused on one main character while Catton's sprawls (albeit in … Continue reading Evie Wyld, All the birds, singing (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: The Bread and Cheese Club
I bet that title has you wondering! It was certainly new to me when I came across a book in my late mother-in-law's collection titled Fellows all: The chronicles of the Bread and Cheese Club. Published in 1943, and written by HW Malloch, this book is a history of the early years of the club … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The Bread and Cheese Club
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australia’s difficult novels
A week or so ago I wrote a post about reading difficult novels. As I researched that post, I came across many lists of difficult novels, including the one I included at the end of the post. The interesting thing is that none of the lists I saw included any Australian novels, and yet they … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australia’s difficult novels
Margaret Rose Stringer, And then like my dreams (Review)
I was, I have to admit, predisposed to like Margaret Rose Stringer's memoir, And then like my dreams, before I opened the cover. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed, but not, as it turned out, for the reason I expected. Here's why. Margaret Rose Stringer once worked as a continuity girl in the Australian film industry and … Continue reading Margaret Rose Stringer, And then like my dreams (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Here come the men!
Women really have dominated the literary awards season in Australia over the last two years. In 2012, the majority of the awards were won by Anna Funder with All that I am and Gillian Mears with Foal's bread. Last year it was mostly Michelle de Kretser with Questions of travel and Carrie Tiffany with Mateship … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Here come the men!
Monday musings on Australian literature: Top Aussie book sales in 2013
This is, I suppose, another end of year round-up post - but one about bookselling in Australia, which is something I don't usually write much about. However, since many of us love lists, I thought I'd share with you Australia's top selling books for 2103: Jeff Kinney: Hard luck: Diary of a wimpy kid (UK, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Top Aussie book sales in 2013
Whispering Gums 