Surely it can't be a year since the last Meanjin Tournament of Books? But yes, it is. My first post on the 2012 tournament - themed Short Stories - was last November. Wah! This year's theme is the sea. With their tongue surely planted firmly in cheek they announced the theme few months ago: As … Continue reading Meanjin Tournament of Books: Goes to Sea in 2013
Bill McKibben, Oil and honey (Review)
It's coincidental, but nicely appropriate, that the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) published its Provisional Statement on the Status of the Climate in 2013 last week, just as I was finishing US environmental activist Bill McKibben's latest book, Oil and honey: The education of an unlikely activist. It's likewise coincidental that, three days before WMO's announcement, … Continue reading Bill McKibben, Oil and honey (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: MUBA 2013
Last year I reported on the inaugural MUBA - Most Under-rated Book Award. I hoped that it would continue, because it brings to our attention good books that somehow slide under the radar, mostly because their authors are less known and/or their publishers are small. In 2012, I had read one of the four short-listed … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: MUBA 2013
Griffyn Ensemble’s 2013 Elements of Canberra season
The Griffyns ended their 2013 season on a high … literally (in a performance of "Southern Sky") and figuratively (with beautiful playing under somewhat challenging circumstances … but more on that anon). Downstairs, CSIRO Discovery Centre (A bit dark for my digital compact!) You have to be hardy to be a Griffyn Ensemble follower. You … Continue reading Griffyn Ensemble’s 2013 Elements of Canberra season
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Lebkowicz and Moorhouse on 1950s Canberra
At the beginning of this year I reviewed Frank Moorhouse's Cold light (my review) which commences with the arrival of his protagonist, Edith Campbell Berry, in Canberra in 1950. The Petrovs, the subject of Lesley Lebkowicz's The Petrov poems (my review), arrived in Canberra in 1951. Lebkowicz's description of Canberra accords very much with Moorhouse's. The … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Lebkowicz and Moorhouse on 1950s Canberra
Lesley Lebkowicz, The Petrov poems (Review)
Canberra poet Lesley Lebkowicz has made a couple of brief appearances in my blog: first in my post on The invisible thread anthology, and then when she won this year's ACT Poetry Award. I was consequently more than happy to accept for review her latest book, The Petrov poems. It's intriguing that nearly 60 years … Continue reading Lesley Lebkowicz, The Petrov poems (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers’ archives
Having heard recently about the University of Melbourne's acquisition of Germaine Greer's archives and having written in last week's Monday Musings about the biographer Hazel Rowley who spent hours researching such archives, I thought it would be worth writing a little about writers' archives - their importance and challenges. First off, I am, as many of you … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers’ archives
Villainesses thriving in Canberra
Now I know many Australians see Canberra, their national capital, as a soulless, boring, sliced-white-bread sort of place but not so. There is life here. Art is happening - and it's fresh, vibrant and young. Not all our young people have left (yet!). Last night Mr Gums and I went to the opening of a … Continue reading Villainesses thriving in Canberra
Bianca Nogrady, The end: The human experience of death (Review)
Have you thought about your death? About how and where you want to die? These are the questions Australian science journalist Bianca Nogrady asks us to consider in her recent book, The end: the human experience of death. I'm not a morbid person, but when Nogrady contacted me to ask whether I'd consider reviewing her … Continue reading Bianca Nogrady, The end: The human experience of death (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Hazel Rowley Literary Fund
It seemed appropriate to talk about the Hazel Rowley Literary Fund this week given that several commenters on my review of Christina Stead's For love alone mentioned Rowley's well-regarded biography of Christina Stead. Quite coincidentally - amazing how often such coincidences occur isn't it - AustLit posted on their blog last week a piece titled … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Hazel Rowley Literary Fund
