Australian literature

Monday musings on Australian literature: Nancy Cato

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Last year I posted on a book called Trailblazers: 100 inspiring South Australian women. I decided then that it could inspire some Monday Musings posts, because it includes writers among its inspiring women. The first writer to appear in this alphabetically-arranged book is Nancy Cato. She is described as "Writer and activist", which enhances her … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Nancy Cato

Monday musings on Australian literature: Best Young Australian Novelists (3)

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I've posted twice on The Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists, last year, and back in 2013. Bill, in fact, chose that 2013 post in his Bill Curates series on this blog. The award was established in 1997 by the newspaper's then literary editor, Susan Wyndham, making this year its 25th year. An emerging … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Best Young Australian Novelists (3)

Erik Jensen, On Kate Jennings (Writers on writers) (#BookReview)

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It took Kate Jennings' death for me to finally pick up one of Black Inc's Writers on writers books, Erik Jensen's On Kate Jennings. The series, says Black Inc, involves leading authors reflecting "on an Australian writer who has inspired and influenced them". It continues, "Provocative and crisp, these books start a fresh conversation between … Continue reading Erik Jensen, On Kate Jennings (Writers on writers) (#BookReview)

Marian Matta, Life, bound (#BookReview)

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In August 2020, small independent publisher MidnightSun sent me two short story collections, Margaret Hickey's Rural dreams (reviewed last month), and Marian Matta's Life, bound. I enjoyed Rural dreams, as some of you may remember, for its exploration of rural lives from multiple angles and points of view. Life, bound is a very different collection. … Continue reading Marian Matta, Life, bound (#BookReview)

Monday musings on Australian literature: Kate Jennings (1948-2021)

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Strangely, Australian writer and intellectual, Kate Jennings, has been in the air lately, even though she has lived in New York since 1979. She's been in blogosphere because blogger Kim Forrester reviewed her novella, Moral hazard, just last month, but she's been more broadly visible too because she features in the documentary Brazen hussies which … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Kate Jennings (1948-2021)

Sara Phillips (ed), The best Australian science writing 2020 (#BookReview)

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In 2016, my reading group discussed the 2015 edition of The best Australian science writing. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to do it again, and so this month we read the 2020 (tenth anniversary) edition. Our discussion was as engaged as before (and the overall reasons I enjoyed this volume are the … Continue reading Sara Phillips (ed), The best Australian science writing 2020 (#BookReview)

Monday musings on Australian literature: Writing about the war between the wars (2)

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Last week's post focused on attitudes to writing about the war during the interwar period, particularly in relation to the realism of books like Erich Maria Remarque's All quiet on the western front. This post continues the discussion, but will share some specific war writing from the article that inspired this series. But first, a … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writing about the war between the wars (2)