I don't know about you, but I'm finding it hard to settle to read, let alone write thoughtful reviews right now. (I'm sitting on one at the moment that I really want to do justice to, but my brain is all over the place.) Consequently, I'm going to just write a COVID-19 Monday Musings - … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature (and the arts): COVID-19
Australian literature
World Poetry Day 2020
I have written two World Poetry Day posts before, in 2016 and 2018, so why not again in 2020, particularly given, more than any year, we are probably in need of hearing what poets have to say - of being soothed, inspired, entertained, or yes, even admonished by them. Awarnessdays.com says of World Poetry Day: … Continue reading World Poetry Day 2020
Monday musings on Australian literature: Autumn Book Binge 2020
A big thanks to Lisa (ANZLitLovers) whose post on the Autumn Book Binge brought it to my attention. I knew immediately that I had to post on it - albeit with a little change, as you will see. The Autumn Book Binge (love the wordplay on "bingo") is being run by the State Library of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Autumn Book Binge 2020
Monday musings on Australian literature: Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature
Hands up if you are familiar with the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and know who won its major categories this year? I may be out of touch, but it seems to me that these awards (about which I've written a couple of times before) are less well-known than some of their other state-based counterparts … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature
Stella Prize 2020 Shortlist announced
Well, lookee here, the Stella Prize shortlist was announced this morning while I was at Tai Chi so I am just getting to it now. And, I am rather pleased because, although I've only read one of the six, I am currently reading another, and have a third on my reading group schedule, so that's … Continue reading Stella Prize 2020 Shortlist announced
Monday musings on Australian literature: The Guardian Australia’s Unmissables
Although I'd seen it before, it was BookJotter Paula's latest Winding Up the Week (#110) post that reminded me of The Guardian Australia's Unmissables series. Initiated last March, Unmissables aims to highlight 12 new releases they deem "significant". Before I share the books highlighted to date, though, I'd like to talk about the project's funding because, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The Guardian Australia’s Unmissables
Author event: Heidi Sze on her book Nurturing your new life
A book primarily intended for postpartum mothers is not really the sort of book Whispering Gums' readers would expect to see here, but let me explain. Melbourne-based Heidi Sze started her food blog, Apples Under My Bed, the same year I started mine. However, that's not our link. Rather, it's that later that year, Daughter … Continue reading Author event: Heidi Sze on her book Nurturing your new life
Carmel Bird, Field of poppies (#BookReview)
There are some writers whose personalities shine through so strongly that I have taken to characterising them in just a word or two. Jane Austen, for example, I think of as wickedly witty, and Helen Garner as heartbreakingly honest. Carmel Bird is another of these. I describe her as seriously cheeky, by which I don't … Continue reading Carmel Bird, Field of poppies (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Recovering Australia’s Indigenous languages
In my recent Delicious Descriptions post on Madelaine Dickie's Red can origami, I referred to last year's UN International Year of Indigenous Languages. It occurred to me that while I've referred to Indigenous Australian languages several times in this blog, I've never specifically posted about them. Now seemed a good time, particularly given interest the year generated. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Recovering Australia’s Indigenous languages
Madelaine Dickie, Red can origami (#BookReview)
Some writers, I understand, suffer from a thing called "second novel syndrome", which describes the fear of writing a second novel after a successful first one. Well, it's clear that Madelaine Dickie, who won the TAG Hungerford with her first novel Troppo (my review), hasn't suffered from this particular disorder, because her second novel, Red … Continue reading Madelaine Dickie, Red can origami (#BookReview)
