I've almost finished my Monday musings round-up of writers from the different states and territories of Australia, but have been putting off doing New South Wales because it's a bit scary to confront. New South Wales is Australia's most populous state. It is also, in terms of white settlement in Australia, our oldest state. And, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers from New South Wales
Elia Kazan, Audience tomorrow: Preview in New Guinea (Review)
In my previous life I worked in a film library and film archive, so I was drawn to this week's Library of America offering, "Audience tomorrow: Preview in New Guinea" by film director Elia Kazan*. My interest was strengthened by two more facts. Firstly, the title mentions New Guinea, which I visited twice in the late 1970s. Secondly, … Continue reading Elia Kazan, Audience tomorrow: Preview in New Guinea (Review)
Wish You Were Here (Movie Review)
Regular readers here know how I love a novella. It occurred to me that feature films that are shorter than 90 mins could be seen as the cinematic equivalent of novellas. At 89 minutes, the recent Australian movie, Wish You Were Here, reminds me a little of a novella. The story is focused, with no … Continue reading Wish You Were Here (Movie Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: The other David Campbell and the sin of misattribution
Much to my chagrin, the "other" poet named David Campbell drew to my attention recently to the fact that I had twice, in my blog, (mis)attributed a poem he'd written to the wrong David Campbell. The poem is "The Last Red Gum" and I first wrote about it in my post on The magnificent River … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The other David Campbell and the sin of misattribution
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Willa Cather’s landscape
In my review earlier this week I mentioned that Willa Cather's description of pioneer life in My Ántonia could apply pretty closely to Australia, but I didn't say that her description of the landscape could too. Again, the details are different, but the sense is the same. The expansive blue skies and the preponderance of yellows … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Willa Cather’s landscape
Willa Cather, My Antonia (Review of eNotated edition)
I am a Willa Cather fan, and have read some of her novels and short stories, so was intrigued when eNotated Classics offered me an eNotated version of Cather's My Ántonia for review. eNotated? That sounded like something worth exploring so, although I've read the novel before, I decided to read it again. I wasn't sorry. … Continue reading Willa Cather, My Antonia (Review of eNotated edition)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Noongar/Nyungar, and the importance of place
Conceptions of home and understanding of place are the central issues in Noongar author Kim Scott's Miles Franklin award winning novel, That deadman dance, which I reviewed last year. From the opening pages of the novel Scott explores notions of home, as the white settlers confront the indigenous inhabitants of the land they are trying to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Noongar/Nyungar, and the importance of place
Delicious descriptions from Down under: Julian Barnes on ageing and memory
This is the second Delicious Description I have written about ageing. It probably won't be the last because, being a woman of a certain age, I am starting to connect with authors who explore the impact of ageing. I loved Barnes' description of failing memory in his The sense of an ending (which I recently reviewed): … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down under: Julian Barnes on ageing and memory
Julian Barnes, The sense of an ending (Review)
I should have known I wouldn't be the first to think of it, but during my reading Julian Barnes' Booker Prize winning novel, The sense of an ending, I was suddenly reminded of TS Eliot's The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock. It was the melancholic tone, the sense of life having passed one by, … Continue reading Julian Barnes, The sense of an ending (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: World Book and Copyright Day, Australian-style
World Book Day 2012 was more than half over before I realised it existed. That could be my fault of course. I may have had my head so deep in my last blog post and my current book that I missed all the publicity ... Are you aware of World Book Day? April 23 was … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: World Book and Copyright Day, Australian-style
Whispering Gums 