A couple of weeks ago, I posted a guest post by Amanda for Maria Tumarkin's book of essays, Axiomatic. At the time that post was negotiated, I had no immediate plans to read the book myself, but that changed when Brother Gums and family gave me a copy for Christmas ... Now, if you are … Continue reading Maria Tumarkin, Axiomatic (#BookReview)
Review – Essays
Maria Tumarkin, Axiomatic (Guest post by Amanda) (#BookReview)
I am thrilled to host this post by Amanda who responded to my call on the Australian Women Writers Challenge for a review of Maria Tumarkin's Axiomatic, which won the Best Writing Award in this year's Melbourne Prize for Literature awards. However, Amanda does not have a place to post reviews on-line, so we agreed … Continue reading Maria Tumarkin, Axiomatic (Guest post by Amanda) (#BookReview)
Vance Palmer, Battle (#Review)
Vance Palmer's short piece "Battle" is the first piece in this special Meanjin anthology. Meanjin is one of Australia's longest lasting literary journals. It was founded by Clem Christesen in 1940. As publisher Melbourne University Press says, it has, since then, "documented both the changing concerns of Australians and the achievements of many of the … Continue reading Vance Palmer, Battle (#Review)
Carson McCullers, Home for Christmas (#Review)
As you will guess from the title of this Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week, I meant to post on it closer to Christmas Day than I have in fact achieved. I chose it for two reasons - firstly the obvious seasonal one, and secondly because my first Carson McCullers post was an unusual piece and … Continue reading Carson McCullers, Home for Christmas (#Review)
Bruce Beresford, The best film I never made (#BookReview)
Bruce Beresford, author of The best film I never made, is of special interest to me for a couple of reasons, besides the fact that I've enjoyed many of his films over the years. One is that after a few years of taking (or, perhaps, "dragging" is more accurate) our then young son to various classic … Continue reading Bruce Beresford, The best film I never made (#BookReview)
Helen Garner, Why she broke: The woman, her children and the lake (#Review)
Three years ago I reviewed Helen Garner's This house of grief about Robert Farquharson who drove his car into a dam in Victoria, resulting in the deaths of his three sons. It's a grim grim story, so you might wonder why I am now writing about her essay "Why she broke: The woman, her children and … Continue reading Helen Garner, Why she broke: The woman, her children and the lake (#Review)
Phil Day, A chink in a daisy-chain (#BookReview)
You've "met" Phil Day, author of A chink in a daisy-chain, here before. He illustrated co-publisher Julian Davies' Crow mellow (my review) and Hartmann Wallis' Who said what, exactly, which I reviewed very recently. This time, though, Day is author as well as illustrator. It's a fun, mind-bending book - with the fun starting on … Continue reading Phil Day, A chink in a daisy-chain (#BookReview)
William T Hornaday, The bird tragedy of Laysan Island (Review)
William Temple Hornaday (1854-1937), whose article "The bird tragedy of Laysan Island" was a recent Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week offering, is a tricky man to write about. Originally a taxidermist, he became one of the pioneers of the wildlife conservation movement in America after he realised, around the 1880s, the dire situation regarding the country's … Continue reading William T Hornaday, The bird tragedy of Laysan Island (Review)
Ellen N. La Motte, Alone (Review)
I decided to read Ellen N La Motte's story "Alone" from recent Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week offerings because it was a war story, but as I read LOA's notes I became more and more intrigued. I hadn't heard of La Motte (1873-1961) before, but she was an American nurse. Two years before the US formally joined the … Continue reading Ellen N. La Motte, Alone (Review)
Noah Webster, On the absurdity of a Bill of Rights (Review)
If you've read my last post you may have guessed from the title why I've chosen Noah Webster's "On the absurdity of a Bill of Rights" as my next Library of America (LOA) Story of the Week to discuss. For those of you who haven't read that post, or who, like me, have a memory like a sieve, I discussed the play adaptation … Continue reading Noah Webster, On the absurdity of a Bill of Rights (Review)
Whispering Gums 