Emma E. Butler, Polly’s hack ride (#Review)

Emma E. Butler's short story "Polly's hack ride" is the fifth in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers, which my American friend Carolyn sent me. Unlike the previous author, Paul Laurence Dunbar, is barely known. Emma E. Butler The biographical note at the end of the anthology comprises three sentences! The first two … Continue reading Emma E. Butler, Polly’s hack ride (#Review)

Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 16, Edna Davies

Of all the forgotten writers I’ve researched, Edna Davies proved by far the most difficult. Even AustLit had nothing on her besides a list of a few works, but she intrigued me so I soldiered on. This post, like most of my recent Forgotten Writers posts, a revision, with a little bit of added information, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 16, Edna Davies

Teffi, The examination (#Review, #1925 Club)

Mostly for the Year Clubs, I read an Australian short story, usually from one of my anthologies. However, for 1925, I couldn't find anything in my anthologies, so turned to other newspaper-based sources, including Trove, but I mainly found romances or works that were difficult to access. And then, out of the blue, I found … Continue reading Teffi, The examination (#Review, #1925 Club)

Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 15, Tarella Daskein

I first came across Tarella Daskein back in 2021 when Bill (The Australian Legend) wrote a post about her as the result of her coming up in discussions and reading about Katharine Susannah Prichard. She then slipped my mind until a couple of months ago when I was searching around for a subject for my … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 15, Tarella Daskein

Olga Tokarczuk, House of day, house of night (#BookReview)

About 30 pages into Olga Tokarczuk's novel, House of day, house of night, I turned to Mr Gums and said, I have no idea what I am reading, which is unusual for me. I certainly don't pretend to understand everything I read, but I can usually sense a book's direction. However, something about this one … Continue reading Olga Tokarczuk, House of day, house of night (#BookReview)

Paul Laurence Dunbar, The scapegoat (#Review)

Paul Laurence Dunbar's short story "The scapegoat" is the fourth in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers, which my American friend Carolyn sent me. Compared with the previous author, Gertrude H. Dorsey Browne, Dunbar is much better known. Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Dunbar c. 1890, from The African-American Experience in Ohio, 1850-1920, Public … Continue reading Paul Laurence Dunbar, The scapegoat (#Review)

Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 14, Gertrude Mack

Gertrude Mack is the third of the Mack literary sisters, and by far the least known, though at the time she was well-recognised, with her activities and thoughts frequently reported in the newspapers. Her "disappearance" from view is most likely because, unlike her sisters, all her writing was for newspapers and magazines. She did not … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 14, Gertrude Mack

Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 13, Amy Mack

In the first decades of the 20th century, a family of sisters made some splash on Australia's literary scene. I have already written about the eldest of them - Louise Mack - but there were also Amy (this post's subject) and Gertrude, all of whom appeared in newspapers of the time as writers of interest. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 13, Amy Mack

Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne), An equation (#Review)

Gertrude H. Dorsey's short story is the third in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers, which my American friend Carolyn sent me. It presented an unexpected challenge. Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne) The biographical note at the end of the anthology is one of the shortest provided by the editors. It goes: Who was … Continue reading Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne), An equation (#Review)