Leipzig! It's funny isn't it how some person, place, idea (or whatever) that you hadn't come across in who knows how long suddenly makes its presence felt more than once in a short amount of time. This is what happened to me this week when I attended, on Sunday, a conversation at the National Library … Continue reading What do Anna Funder and Amarcord have in common?
Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2012
Last year I attended and reported on the post-announcement panel for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, held at the National Library of Australia. I attended again this year and, since it occurred today, Monday, I've decide to devote this week's Monday musings to it. First, the winners: Fiction: Gillian Mears' Foal's bread (My review) Poetry: Luke … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2012
Jane Austen, Love and freindship (Review)
If you are a Jane Austen fan, you don't just read her six novels. You read her letters, her unfinished works and her juvenilia. And you read them more than once. So it is that I have just - for my local Jane Austen group - reread Love and freindship (sic), the short epistolary novel … Continue reading Jane Austen, Love and freindship (Review)
Robert Frost, The question of a feather (Review)
Well I never! Never knew, that is, that Robert Frost wrote prose as well as poetry. I suppose I didn't know that he didn't do it, either, but now I know that he did! And how do I know? Through the Library of America of course! This week's story is "The question of a feather" … Continue reading Robert Frost, The question of a feather (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: The sheep’s back
As a baby-boomer, I grew up knowing that Australia "rode on the sheep's back", that our economy, in other words, was based on the wool trade. It's not quite so now - though wool is still an important product - but I was reminded of the saying last weekend as we were introducing a young … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The sheep’s back
My most unforgettable books, to date!
I was going to title this post "Life-changing reads" but decided that that wasn't quite right. I'm not sure that any book has quite changed my life though many have opened my eyes to other ways of seeing and being in the world. May marked my third year of blogging and I started this post … Continue reading My most unforgettable books, to date!
Monday musings on Australian literature: Who is Colin Roderick?
Regular readers here will know that a couple of recent Monday musings were based on two books written in the late 1940s surveying Australian literature. At the time of writing those posts, I'd never heard of the man behind those books, one Colin Roderick. I soon learnt, though, that he was a somewhat significant figure in 20th … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Who is Colin Roderick?
Djuna Barnes, Come into the roof garden, Maud (Review)
Okay, I'll admit it, I've never heard of Djuna Barnes (1892-1982). However, I was intrigued when I saw her pop up in the Library of America's (LOA) Story of the Week program last month, and so decided to investigate. I discovered that, while I didn't know her, many did, such as, oh, ee cummings, TS Eliot, … Continue reading Djuna Barnes, Come into the roof garden, Maud (Review)
Australian Women Writers 2012 Challenge completed
I am not a blogger who takes part in challenges, until, that is, this year when Elizabeth Lhuede set up her Australian Women Writers 2012 Challenge. It didn't take me long to break my non-challenge rule, because this challenge focuses on my two main reading passions: Australian Literature and Women Writers. This was the challenge … Continue reading Australian Women Writers 2012 Challenge completed
Jeanine Leane, Purple threads (Review for Indigenous Literature Week)
Bookcover via University of Queensland Press* What I especially like about Jeanine Leane's book, Purple threads, is how well she draws the universal out of the particular. That she does this is not unusual in itself. After all, this is what our favourite books tend to do. The interesting thing about Purple threads, though, is … Continue reading Jeanine Leane, Purple threads (Review for Indigenous Literature Week)
Whispering Gums 