My first Delicious descriptions post was from Barbara Hanrahan on the sun in Adelaide, so I thought we might travel to Sydney for this one. As it's still in summer in our neck of the woods, here is Marjorie Barnard in The persimmon tree and other stories (1943), also on the sun - and its enervating effect: In … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Marjorie Barnard on the sun and heat
Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: The lost child motif
In his rather notorious review (1955) of Patrick White's The tree of man, Australian poet, A.D. Hope, at his caustic best, described the requisite features of the Great Australian novel (GAN). One of these was that it must include a child lost in the bush, a reference to the prevalence of this motif in Australian literature. The tree of man … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The lost child motif
Madeleine St John, The women in black
One thing mystified me as I started reading Madeleine St John's The women in black and that is why she would write a book in 1993 about 1950s? It seemed an odd choice. And then, as I read further, it started to become clear. The time period represents one of those cultural watersheds that nations … Continue reading Madeleine St John, The women in black
Monday musings on Australian literature: The beach
Not only do the majority of Australians live in urban areas but, given that much of Australia is dry, the majority of these urban areas are on the coast. You can guess what's coming next - yes, the majority of Australians live near the sea. And, if they don't, they gravitate to it in their … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The beach
Monday musings on Australian literature: Outback continent, urban culture?
I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall, And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all (From "Clancy of the Overflow", by Banjo Paterson) In "Clancy of the Overflow", Banjo … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Outback continent, urban culture?
Monday musings on Australian literature: the Great Australian Novel, or?
First, a confession. I am not one who believes we need to define such a beast as "The Great [name your country] Novel". However, just to be perverse, I thought that for this week's Monday musings it would be interesting to look at what might qualify for such a label - and, in doing so, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: the Great Australian Novel, or?
Monday musings on Australian literature: A dry or not so dry continent?
It's rather ironic that in the last week or two when I've written a couple of posts about Australia's image* as a "sunburned land" (Barbara Hanrahan) or "sunburnt country" (Dorothea Mackellar), the image the world has been seeing is somewhat opposite - a raindrenched land. Then again, Dorothea Mackellar did also write that this is … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: A dry or not so dry continent?
Matt McClelland, Best river and alpine walks around Mt Kosciuszko
For many years now, Mr Gums and I have been going to Thredbo in Kosciuszko National Park for a few days in early January. In other words, instead of heading east to the coast, like many of our city's residents, we head south to the mountains for a bit of R&R involving bushwalking, dining and reading. … Continue reading Matt McClelland, Best river and alpine walks around Mt Kosciuszko
Monday musings on Australian literature: Mountain murmurings
Mountain? Because this week's Monday musings was inspired by my recent sojourn in the mountains. Murmurings? Because it will be more pictorial than textual. And what does all this to have with Australian literature? Two things, primarily: My definition of "Australian literature" for this blog series is a broad one - it is intended to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Mountain murmurings
Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
Writer-artist Barbara Hanrahan was born half a generation before I was and in the city of Adelaide not a country town in Queensland, but the childhood she depicts in her first novel, The scent of eucalyptus, could almost have been mine. Almost, but not quite, as I was brought up in a standard nuclear family … Continue reading Barbara Hanrahan, The scent of eucalyptus
