I have Lisa (ANZLitLovers) to thank for this Monday Musings because, commenting on my recent Margaret Barbalet post, she mentioned this Untapped project, which, embarrassingly, was unknown to me. Then, seeing our discussion, novelist Dorothy Johnston joined in, and offered to send me some information, which she did. So, I now have a copy of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Untapped (The Australian Literary Heritage Project)
Commentary
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reflections of a 1970s feminist
I can't remember a time when I wasn't a feminist, but Bill suggested that, for his AWW Gen 4 week, I "could 'review' The female eunuch by discussing your experience of Women's Lib at uni". I replied that I could probably do “Reflections of a 1970s feminist” but that it wouldn't be exactly what he … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reflections of a 1970s feminist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Greek-Australian literature
In a Sydney Writers Festival conversation with Michelle de Kretser, Andrew Pippos, winner of the 2021 Readings Prize for his debut novel, Lucky's, said "the fact that we can talk about a Greek-Australian literary tradition is a sign that Australian literature is developing". It made me think about Greek-Australian literature and what I know about … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Greek-Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: Diversity and memoir
Hands up if you've read memoirs by First Nations writers, Immigrant writers, Gay writers, Transgender writers, Writers with a disability, and so on? I sure have, and have reviewed several on this blog - including ones by Archie Roach, Marie Munkara, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Alice Pung, Maxine Beneba Clarke, and Jessica White. Black Inc has … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Diversity and memoir
Monday musings on Australian literature: The stories we want or, is it, need?
Back in 2019, I wrote a Monday Musings on the Stella judges' call for more "narratives from outside Australia". I teased out a little what that might mean, but, a couple of years down the track, I think it worth further exploring the questions it opens up. Commenting on that post, Lisa (ANZLitLovers) wrote: What … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The stories we want or, is it, need?
Monday musings on Australian literature: Novelistic re-imaginings
Years ago I read a Guardian article titled "Top 10 novels inspired by Shakespeare". Written by Sally O'Reilly, it started with "Shakespeare famously customised existing plots when writing his plays, and added to them an acute perception of human experience which gave them universal significance." I thought, then, that it might be fun to share … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Novelistic re-imaginings
Living under COVID-19 (5): Holds on happiness
It's nearly a year since I wrote a COVID-19 post. I nearly wrote one a few months ago when things were going COVID-normal smoothly, by which I mean our lives were minimally restricted, with daily life being as free as we could hope given the world-wide situation. We (I mean we Ken Behrens) were visiting … Continue reading Living under COVID-19 (5): Holds on happiness
Monday musings on Australian literature: the Australian 9/11 novel
With the 20th anniversary of 9/11 having been commemorated on the weekend, I thought I might explore how 9/11 affected - if at all - Australian fiction. Before I start, though, I have two provisos: one is that my focus will be fiction, not literature, or culture more widely; and two is that, like many … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: the Australian 9/11 novel
Poetry Month 2021: Your favourite poems
Earlier this month, I wrote a Monday Musings on Poetry Month, at the end of which I asked readers to name their favourite poem. Poetry Month finished yesterday, 31 August, so I thought I'd close out the month by listing the nominated poems, alphabetically by poet. I should add that some commenters cheekily named more … Continue reading Poetry Month 2021: Your favourite poems
Monday musings on Australian literature: a “grim continent”?
These are grim times, so you might have assumed that our current predicament is today's topic, but no, we are going back to 1929. My, if there was a grim time, 1929 heralded such a one. However, it's not the Depression I'm going to either. In fact, the article I found in Trove, which inspired … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: a “grim continent”?
Whispering Gums 