Husband and wife writers, Wendy and Allan Sharfe, first published A mouthful of petals, the story of their three years in the remote Indian village of Sokhodeora, in 1967. It is not, however, their only book. Wendy Scarfe has written poetry and several novels, two of which I've reviewed here, Hunger town and The day … Continue reading Wendy Scarfe and Allan Scarfe, A mouthful of petals: Three years in an Indian Village (#BookReview)
Women writers
Bill curates: M.L. Skinner’s The hand
Bill curates is an occasional series where I delve into Sue’s vast archive, stretching back to May 2009, and choose a post for us to revisit. During the latter part of January we will look at some of Sue’s older posts which have relevance to my Australian Women Writers Gen 3 Week, Part II,17-23 Jan, 2021. Mollie Skinner … Continue reading Bill curates: M.L. Skinner’s The hand
Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson, Cooee mittigar: A story on Darug songlines (#BookReview)
Recently, on a bit of a whim, I bought two books from the Indigenous Australian publishing company, Magabala Books. They were the younger readers-young adult novel, Black Cockatoo (my review), which had been shortlisted for a few awards, and this picture book, Cooee mittigar, which had just won the 2020 Prime Minister's Literary Award for … Continue reading Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson, Cooee mittigar: A story on Darug songlines (#BookReview)
Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler, Black cockatoo (#BookReview)
Black cockatoo is a young adult novel written by Indigenous Australian author, Carl Merrison, and his non-Indigenous collaborator, Hakea Hustler, and illustrated by Indigenous Australian illustrator, Dub Leffler. It is a beautiful, little (in size, not value) book that made quite a splash when it was published. It was shortlisted for several children's literature awards … Continue reading Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler, Black cockatoo (#BookReview)
Angela Savage, Mother of Pearl (#BookReview)
Having commented in my Reading Highlights post about how little self-directed reading I did last year, I decided to start the year with just that, before returning to the Review TBR pile. What to choose? Many books jostled for attention, but in the end I chose Angela Savage's novel Mother of Pearl because I felt … Continue reading Angela Savage, Mother of Pearl (#BookReview)
Sue Lovegrove and Adrienne Eberhard, The voice of water (#BookReview)
I had planned to post on this beautifully produced book, The voice of water, earlier in the year, but the events of the year threw me completely off track, and here I am at the end scrambling to finish off the posts I planned oh so many months ago. Created by Tasmanians, visual artist Sue … Continue reading Sue Lovegrove and Adrienne Eberhard, The voice of water (#BookReview)
Carolyn Collins and Roy Eccleston, Trailblazers: 100 inspiring South Australian women (#BookReview)
South Australia, say the authors of the beautiful coffee-table book Trailblazers, "was an early leader in women's rights, so it's no surprise that it has produced an army of trailblazing, inspirational women". However, they continue, their stories are not well enough told or known, hence this book! As with any endeavour like this, it was … Continue reading Carolyn Collins and Roy Eccleston, Trailblazers: 100 inspiring South Australian women (#BookReview)
Julie Janson, Benevolence (#BookReview)
In a rather curious synchronicity, the last three books I've read have all had single word, multiple-meaning, titles, all relating to the colonial settlement of Australia - Gay Lynch's historical fiction Unsettled (my review), John Kinsella's memoir Displaced (my review), and now Julie Janson's historical fiction Benevolence whose title drips with irony. Recently, I commented … Continue reading Julie Janson, Benevolence (#BookReview)
Yarra Valley Writers Festival 2020 (Online): New Release Sundays: Ramona Koval
Four weeks ago I posted on another session from the Yarra Valley Writers Festival's New Release Sundays, the one with Robert Dessaix talking about his book about growing older, The time of our lives. In that post, I mentioned that Dessaix had presented a couple of radio programs on ABC RN, including Books and writing. … Continue reading Yarra Valley Writers Festival 2020 (Online): New Release Sundays: Ramona Koval
Jane Austen, Juvenilia, Volume the first (#Review)
Jane Austen's Juvenilia, which range over three manuscript notebooks, contain twenty-seven items, which, says Austen scholar Brian Southam, she put together "as a record of her work and for the convenience of reading aloud to the family and friends." While only four of the pieces are specifically dated, Austen scholars have worked out an order … Continue reading Jane Austen, Juvenilia, Volume the first (#Review)
Whispering Gums 