Among the responses to my first Monday Musings post was one from Ingrid of The Blue Bookcase suggesting I post my 5 favourite Australian novels. I had planned something else for this second post but that can wait, as this seems like a great idea. However, rather than post my 5 favourite novels, I've decided … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: 5 to get you started
Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: Making a start
Whispering Gums is now 15 months old and I'm still playing with what I am doing here - but one thing I haven't played with is my desire to help promote Australian literature. And so I've decided to formalise this a bit through a weekly post titled "Monday musings on Australian literature". This is somewhat … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Making a start
Helen Garner, Cosmo cosmolino
When I returned to seriously reading Australian writers back in the 1980s, there were four women writers who caught my attention, and I have loved them ever since. They were Elizabeth Jolley (1923-2007), Thea Astley (1925-2004), Olga Masters (1919-1986) and Helen Garner (b. 1942). Garner, the youngest by a couple of decades, is the only … Continue reading Helen Garner, Cosmo cosmolino
ALS Gold Medal, 2009 (announced 2010)
Since many book bloggers are posting the Booker longlist, I don't think I need to do so here. I don't expect to read many of them, not so much due to a lack of interest as to the fact that I've a pretty full reading schedule in front of me without adding these to it! … Continue reading ALS Gold Medal, 2009 (announced 2010)
Indigenous Australian stories – and digital technologies
In my recent on the literary road post, I referred briefly to Indigenous Australian stories. Rather coincidentally, I have just spent three days at a conference titled Information Technology and Indigenous Communities, hosted, primarily, by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) with the aim of exploring "the ever-increasing use of … Continue reading Indigenous Australian stories – and digital technologies
Hilary McPhee on Australian writing
I was going to write my next post on why I like short stories - as a prelude to my next review - when I heard on the radio today that Hilary McPhee has just edited a book of Australian short fiction. To most Australians, Hilary McPhee is - and if she's not she should … Continue reading Hilary McPhee on Australian writing
On the literary (cultural) road, in the Top End
Last month, Mr Gums and I holidayed in the Top End (of Downunder). I'm not quite sure where the Top End ends as it is a loose description for the northern part of Australia's Northern Territory, but I believe it encompasses all the areas we visited. For ten days, we explored Katherine and Nitmiluk National Park … Continue reading On the literary (cultural) road, in the Top End
Eva Hornung, Dog boy
I first read Eva Hornung when she was writing as Eva Sallis. It was her second novel The city of sealions, which is a pretty passionate and evocatively written exploration of cultural alienation and dislocation brought about primarily by migration. In some ways Dog boy explores similar concerns, but its alienation is played out in a … Continue reading Eva Hornung, Dog boy
Peter Temple’s Miles Franklin win, Ruckus
Peter Temple's winning this year's Miles Franklin award* with his crime novel Truth has caused a bit of a ruckus - and, consequently, there's been some interesting discussion about it on various blogs. The discussion mainly concerns the implications of a so-called genre novel winning this traditionally "literary fiction" award, but there is also some discussion … Continue reading Peter Temple’s Miles Franklin win, Ruckus
Peter Temple’s Truth wins the 2010 Miles Franklin
So, the waiting is over and Peter Temple has won the 2010 Miles Franklin Award. I'm kicking myself that I haven't read it yet. I am not much of a crime-fiction reader - in fact I could probably count on one hand the crime novels I've read - but I did like his The broken … Continue reading Peter Temple’s Truth wins the 2010 Miles Franklin
Whispering Gums 