I have come to the conclusion that short stories are the best holiday reading for me. After a day's sightseeing followed by reading up on sights for the next day, I usually find I have little time left for my reading. Novels are hard to read under such circumstances, but short stories? Well, they are … Continue reading Gretchen Shirm, Having cried wolf
Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: Some Australian travel writing
At luggage carousels one can question travelling (Donald Horne, The intelligent tourist) Having just returned from our trip to Hong Kong, I thought this would be a good opportunity to post about some Australian travel writing. Hmm ... good idea, but where to start? The first problem is that while I usually enjoy travel literature … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Some Australian travel writing
Monday musings on Australian literature: My literary home, more or less
Once again Mr Gums and I have left daughter and dog at home in order to hit the road - well, in this case, the skies as by the time this is published we will be in Hong Kong. My posting and commenting will consequently somewhat sporadic for the next week...and so I decided to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: My literary home, more or less
Monday musings on Australian literature: Dear Sir, or The cult of ugliness
As I was researching Ruth Park for last week's Monday musings, I came across some "Letters to the editor" in The Sydney Morning Herald and thought they were worth sharing. (As you read them do note how some of the letter writers sign themselves.) I'll start with a couple of letters criticising Park's novels: Sir, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Dear Sir, or The cult of ugliness
Ruth Park, Missus
Missus was the last written in Ruth Park's Harp in the South trilogy, but is the first in terms of chronology. The first two novels, Harp in the South and Poor man's orange, were published in 1948 and 1949 respectively, while Missus was not published until 1985. These first novels, which met with some controversy on publication, … Continue reading Ruth Park, Missus
Monday musings on Australian literature: Ruth Park
For a New Zealander, Ruth Park is a very popular Australian! Not only did she write the much-loved (and studied) Harp in the south trilogy, but she also wrote the hugely popular (in its time) radio serial The muddle-headed wombat, was married to the Australian D'Arcy Niland (now deceased) who wrote The shiralee, and is mother … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Ruth Park
Monday musings on Australian literature: Elizabeth von Arnim
This week's Monday musings is a bit cheeky since Elizabeth von Arnim (or Mary Annette Beauchamp, her birth-name) was born in Sydney in 1866 but her parents left Australia in 1871 for Switzerland and then England. Von Arnim spent the rest of her life abroad. So, why am I writing about her? She didn't grow up … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Elizabeth von Arnim
Monday musings on Australian literature: The gum tree in the Australian imagination
In the next week (I hope), I'll be reviewing Anna Krien's Into the forest, her investigation into the longstanding conflict over logging native forests in our southernmost state, Tasmania. In the meantime, though, as I've been reading the book, I've been thinking again of the role eucalypts play in Australian life and culture - and, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The gum tree in the Australian imagination
Monday musings on Australian literature: In praise of the “taker-outers”
Today's Monday musings post is not solely about Australian literature but it was inspired by an Australian writer, Kate Jennings, about whom I've written a few times in the last month or so. In 2002 she wrote an essay titled "Bone and sinew", for our now defunct Bulletin magazine, in which she praises short novels … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: In praise of the “taker-outers”
Kate Jennings, Snake
In her "fragmented autobiography", Trouble, Kate Jennings used excerpts from her first novel, Snake, to convey her childhood experience of growing up on a farm in the Riverina region of New South Wales. She had, she wrote, an "unhappy mother, diffident father". Snake is the story of such a mother and father. While the novel … Continue reading Kate Jennings, Snake
Whispering Gums 