I've been feeling rather guilty about a book sent to me in late 2013 by Black Inc. I'm usually very conscientious about reading and reviewing books that I've accepted for review - not so much for those sent to me "on spec" - but I slipped up with Black Inc's The best 100 poems of Dorothy Porter. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Black Inc’s Best 100 Poems
20th century literature
Virgil Thomson, Taste in music (Review)
There are several reasons why now seemed an opportune time to write my first Library of America (LOA) post for 2015. The first reason is obvious. It's June and I haven't featured one yet. The second is because my last post was on music, so writing about an article by American composer Virgil Thomson seemed apposite. The … Continue reading Virgil Thomson, Taste in music (Review)
Dymphna Cusack, Jungfrau (Review)
Are there some historical periods that particularly fascinate you? There are for me, and one of those is that between the two world wars. It was a complex time encompassing both economic hardship and great social change. A time when many of those Victorian era constraints were being lifted and women, in particular, were starting to enjoy … Continue reading Dymphna Cusack, Jungfrau (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Debating Australian literature in 1908
Browsing digitised papers via National Library's Trove yet again, I came across an intriguing 1908 article by Page Twenty-Seven columnist Norman Lilley. I gather that Lilley had made some pronouncements on Australian literature which had garnered some strong opinions. I haven't searched hard for the original statements but we don't necessarily need them to enjoy Lilley's report of the ensuing … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Debating Australian literature in 1908
Thea Astley, Drylands (Review, of sorts)
I read Thea Astley's Drylands many, many years ago now, so what I'm going to share here - inspired by my post earlier this year on confronting Australian novels - are the notes I made when I read it. They are not particularly well-formed, because I wasn't planning a review at the time, though I must admit … Continue reading Thea Astley, Drylands (Review, of sorts)
More on Simone de Beauvoir’s Memoirs of a dutiful daughter
My recent review of Simone de Beauvoir's Memoirs of a beautiful daughter was a little dry, focusing on some specific ideas or issues that interested me, rather than on her writing. It's a pretty dense book, containing detailed description of her life and thoughts, but her fearless and often evocative writing carries it. I'd like to share a few … Continue reading More on Simone de Beauvoir’s Memoirs of a dutiful daughter
Simone de Beauvoir, Memoirs of a dutiful daughter (Review)
I have only read one other work by Simone de Beauvoir - and I'm ashamed to say that it wasn't The second sex (which still sits in my long-in-the-tooth TBR pile). It was, instead, one of her autobiographical novels, She came to stay. I enjoyed it as I recollect, but that was a long time ago. … Continue reading Simone de Beauvoir, Memoirs of a dutiful daughter (Review)
Toshio Mori, Japanese Hamlet (Review)
What I love about the Library of America is the variety of works it features in its Story of the Week program. Because of my interest in Japan and Japanese writers, I was particularly attracted to Toshio Mori's story, "Japanese Hamlet", that they published a couple of weeks ago. Toshio Mori was one of the first Japanese-American … Continue reading Toshio Mori, Japanese Hamlet (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian women writers, 1930s
In July I wrote two posts based on Nettie Palmer's 1920s assessment of great Australian novels. In 1935, another Australian novelist, Zora Cross, wrote an article about Australian women novelists and poets. I enjoy reading these contemporary perspectives, and I think some of you are interested too ... do let me know if you aren't. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian women writers, 1930s
Monday musings on Australian literature: The novel in Australia, 1927-style, Part 2
Today's Monday Musings is Part 2 of my two post series discussing Nettie Palmer's article, "The novel in Australia", that was published in The Brisbane Courier, 15 October 1927. As I did in last week's post, I'll use her headings to share her view on Australia's great novels. A novelist abroad Here she discusses Australian writers who wrote … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The novel in Australia, 1927-style, Part 2
