Back in May, I attended several sessions of the Yarra Valley Writers Festival (YVWF), a COVID-19 bonus, as most of you know. The Festival also runs two regular events, a weekly New Release Sundays and a monthly Bookclub. I haven't managed to attend any, until today, which involved Festival Ambassador Michael Veitch speaking with Australian … Continue reading Yarra Valley Writers Festival 2020 (Online): New Release Sundays: Robert Dessaix
Australian literature
Julia Baird, Phosphorescence (#BookReview)
Much as I love watching Julia Baird on The Drum, and much as Mr Gums and I worried about her multiple cancer diagnoses and her extended journey to recovery over recent years, I'm not sure I would have read her book, Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark, … Continue reading Julia Baird, Phosphorescence (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Supporting genres, 2: Short stories
When I started this little sub-series, I wondered how to describe it - genres or forms or genres and forms? In the end, I chose "genres" on the assumption that we could define it very loosely to include forms. I hope this works. After all, the content is more important than the name! I decided … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Supporting genres, 2: Short stories
Book (Re)Launch: Sara Dowse’s West Block
Way back when, I read Sara Dowse's debut 1983-published novel West Block. It ticked all the boxes - it was by a woman, by a feminist, was set in Canberra (a rare thing), and was about the Public Service within which I also worked. I enjoyed it immensely and have often wanted to re-read it. … Continue reading Book (Re)Launch: Sara Dowse’s West Block
Delicious descriptions: Gay Lynch on place, in colonial South Australia
In my recent post on Gay Lynch's historical fiction novel, Unsettled, I spent so much time writing about it, that I didn't share any quotes as I usually do, so I'm using a Delicious Descriptions post to share just a couple of descriptions of the setting, which is around Gambierton/Mt Gambier in South Australia. In … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Gay Lynch on place, in colonial South Australia
Monday musings on Australian literature: Modern sensibilities and Historical fiction
Following last week's Monday Musings, and my recent review of Gay Lynch's historical novel, Unsettled, I thought it might be worth teasing out the fraught issue of "modern sensibilities" in this genre. By teasing out, I mean that this will not be a thorough analysis of the topic so much as my sharing a few … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Modern sensibilities and Historical fiction
Gay Lynch, Unsettled (#BookReview)
Coincidentally, my first review after this week's Monday Musings on historical fiction happens to be a work of historical fiction, Gay Lynch's cleverly titled Unsettled. Consequently, I'm going to start there, that is, talking about the form. Well, more or less, because I should at least give you a sense of its subject. It is … Continue reading Gay Lynch, Unsettled (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Supporting genres, 1: Historical fiction
While my prime focus here is literary and classic fiction, I do also delve into other forms (like biography, autobiography/memoirs, poetry, history), and other genres (like crime, dystopian fiction, and historical fiction). So, I've decided to start a little MM subseries on other genres and forms, starting with historical fiction. My aim is less to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Supporting genres, 1: Historical fiction
Bill curates: Monday musings on Indigenous Australian writers
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue's vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. The feature of Whispering Gums that we all most look forward to is Monday Musings. But when did they start? It took me a while to locate - WordPress … Continue reading Bill curates: Monday musings on Indigenous Australian writers
Monday musings on Australian literature: Alison Lester
Saturday, as I noted in my Six Degrees of Separation post, was National Bookshop or Love Your Bookshop Day in Australia (and in Great Britain too, it seems). For last year's day, I wrote a post on author-owned/managed bookshops, most of which were located in places other than Australia. The exception was Australian children's author … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Alison Lester
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