When I read a memoir, particularly one by an unknown person like Jill Sanguinetti's School days of a Methodist lady, my first question is why was this memoir written? Sally Morgan's My place, for example, explores how she discovered her indigenous origins and why her family had kept this hidden, while Frank McCourt's Angela's ashes chronicles the … Continue reading Jill Sanguinetti, School days of a Methodist lady: A journey through girlhood (Review)
What do you say when you order food at a restaurant?
This post is not quite on my usual topic. It's about a little linguistic issue that's been bothering me of late - though it's been around for a little while now. It's this ... When you order food at a restaurant or cafe, what do you say? "May I have a long black please" or … Continue reading What do you say when you order food at a restaurant?
Delicious descriptions: Clare Wright’s sources on the Australian landscape
While the focus of Clare Wright's The forgotten rebels of Eureka, which I recently reviewed, is the role of women in the Eureka Stockade, the book offers a wealth of wonderful insight into the times. As regular readers know, I have a specific interest in descriptions of landscape so I greatly enjoyed contemporary descriptions of the environment that … Continue reading Delicious descriptions: Clare Wright’s sources on the Australian landscape
Monday musings on Australian literature: Guest post by Dorothy Johnston, writer and Barbara Jefferis Award judge
Literary awards, their role and import, have come under frequent discussion here at Whispering Gums. So, when writer Dorothy Johnston, whose The house at number 10 and Eight pieces on prostitution I've reviewed and, more relevantly, who was one of the judges for this year's Barbara Jefferis Award, suggested a guest post on the Award, I was … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Guest post by Dorothy Johnston, writer and Barbara Jefferis Award judge
Clare Wright, The forgotten rebels of Eureka (Review)
Wah! Once again I delayed reading a much heralded book until my reading group did it*, and so it is only now that I've read Clare Wright's Stella Prize winning history, The forgotten rebels of Eureka. The trouble with coming late to a high-profile book is how to review it freshly. All I can do, … Continue reading Clare Wright, The forgotten rebels of Eureka (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Gap-filling and Wish-lists
Are you a book collector? If so, it probably means you have a wish list of books you want, like Pam at Travellin' Penguin who lives in Tasmania and collects vintage Penguins or Lisa at ANZLitLovers who collects first edition Miles Franklin Award Winners. Pam lists what she has and what she's looking for on … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Gap-filling and Wish-lists
Philip Butterss, An unsentimental bloke: The life and work of C. J. Dennis (Review)
If you are an Australian, particularly one of a certain age, chances are you studied some C.J. Dennis at school, most likely "The play" from his best-known book The songs of a sentimental bloke. I did, and then, not having read him for decades, I reviewed for this blog his second major book, The moods of … Continue reading Philip Butterss, An unsentimental bloke: The life and work of C. J. Dennis (Review)
Not the Usual Monday Musings
Just for a change - and because I couldn't resist it - I'm sharing an ad from ABE Books for a first edition 3-volume set of Jane Austen's Sense and sensibility, which was first published in 1811. In case you are interested, the inventory number for the book is #ABE-11685473745. I'm going to quote the … Continue reading Not the Usual Monday Musings
On the literary road … in Melbourne and thereabouts
Once again we are visiting our first-born in Melbourne and taking the opportunity to visit places we haven't yet explored in this city and state. I've managed on this trip to tick off a few more "bucket list" items. Captain Cook's cottage in Fitzroy Gardens. I first learnt of this cottage in my childhood when my … Continue reading On the literary road … in Melbourne and thereabouts
Monday musings on Australian literature: Literary awards back then
A comment by blog-reader Ian Darling on a recent Monday Musings post that he supposed literary prizes existed back in 1927, followed by the tardy announcement a couple of days ago of the shortlist for this year's Prime Minister's Literary Awards (see Lisa ANZLitLovers' post), got me thinking about the history of literary awards. I've long … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Literary awards back then
