It's been a year since I wrote my post on Capital women novelists, the third in my series on Canberra's writers. (The other two were Capital women and Capital men poets.) Today I am finally getting to the male novelists. I'll start in a round-about way with a local controversy. Last year, the ACT government changed the … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Capital men novelists
On understanding the arts
Earlier this year I wrote a post about reading difficult literature. I said that I like to be challenged by literature, and discussed the features that define "difficulty" for me. Since then I've come across various statements, some contradictory, about the role of "difficulty" in the arts - and I thought I'd share them with … Continue reading On understanding the arts
John Clanchy, Six: New tales (Review)
John Clanchy, like Julian Davies whose Crow mellow I recently reviewed, is another Australian writer I'd heard of but not read until his piece in the Canberra centenary anthology, The invisible thread. What a treasure trove that has turned out to be! Anyhow, titled "The gunmen", Clanchy's contribution was an excerpt from his first novel, The life … Continue reading John Clanchy, Six: New tales (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
Pulse: First 2014 (Review)
Now here's the thing. I'm a librarian by training, so I have certain expectations of how publications are titled, and Pulse, I must say, confused me. However, we librarians also know that publishers and writers don't care about our rules; they just do what appeals to them! Fair enough. They're the creators after all. Still, when I see … Continue reading Pulse: First 2014 (Review)
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and punishment (Review, hmm)
Part way through my reading of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and punishment I wrote in my book - because, yes, I am a marginalia writer - "Who does Dostoevsky agree with?" It's a somewhat naive question, I know, because the author doesn't have to agree with anyone - and very often doesn't. You just have to look at Humbert … Continue reading Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and punishment (Review, hmm)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Nettie Palmer on “Our Own Writers”
Today, I'm going to return to writing about early twentieth century Australian literature. Last year I wrote several Monday Musings on the topic, including two (Part 1 and Part 2) based on an article written by Nettie Palmer in 1927. Today's post draws from an article Palmer wrote in 1935. It covers some similar ground, but from … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Nettie Palmer on “Our Own Writers”
Delicious descriptions: Julian Davies on reading
A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Julian Davies' Crow mellow. It's an enjoyable and at times provocative read. I'd love to share many descriptions and scenes from it but, since this is a reader's blog, I've decided to share some thoughts relevant to my focus made by the main character, poet Phil Day. Much … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Julian Davies on reading
Favourite quotes: from Thea Astley’s Coda
I've decided to start a new, occasional series - a bit like The Conversation does! I have two reasons for this. One is that I'm reading pretty slowly at the moment, partly because my current read is a big one, and partly because life is busy. The other is that during my current decluttering project I've come across … Continue reading Favourite quotes: from Thea Astley’s Coda
Monday musings on Australian literature: Story and Poetry Readings
I've written several posts in the past about festivals and awards - national and regional - but I haven't written about ongoing lower-key literary events, sometimes called Readings, sometimes Salons, so today I'm going to highlight this aspect of Australia's literary culture. I first planned this post a year ago when I read about the Whispers … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Story and Poetry Readings
Whispering Gums 