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
Australian literature
Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2011, Round 2
For those interested in the continuing story of Meanjin's Tournament of Books, which I introduced in late October, Round 2 has now been played. Here are the results ... with a little additional commentary by me. Match 1, Joan London's Gilgamesh defeated Helen Garner's The children's Bach Oh, such a hard one. I feel for judge Michaela McGuire, a self-0uted Helen … Continue reading Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2011, Round 2
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
Nettie Palmer on short stories
In a recent Monday Musings I mentioned Nettie Palmer who was part of one of Australia's famous literary couples. Her husband, Vance Palmer, wrote, in the late 1930s to early 1940s, a regular column for the ABC Weekly published by the then Australian Broadcasting Commission. Nettie Palmer also contributed to this paper, albeit less regularly. One of these contributions is a discussion, in … Continue reading Nettie Palmer on short stories
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
Nora Krouk, Warming the core of things
life wrapped in bundles of painful joy (from "Skies will be luminous") The reason I like to read poetry is the obvious one - the way poets can capture a feeling or idea in just a few carefully chosen words that are presented through a controlled rhythm. Nora Krouk fills this bill nicely! I hadn't … Continue reading Nora Krouk, Warming the core of things
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Ada Cambridge on the “bare necessities”
In her novel Sisters, Ada Cambridge describes the plight of one sister who is suddenly left penniless (more or less) and has to move out of her home. The scene is set ... the character is packing to move, with the house and her life in disarray: Deb sat amid the ruins of her home. … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Ada Cambridge on the “bare necessities”
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?
What do Di Gribble and Steve Jobs have in common?
You probably think it's strange to put these two luminaries together - one a lesser-known Australian publisher and entrepreneur and the other an international icon in personal computing. But the thing is, you see, that besides the fact that they both died this week - from cancer - Gribble and Jobs both entered my life … Continue reading What do Di Gribble and Steve Jobs have in common?
Whispering Gums 