If you like writers who unsettle, then MJ Hyland is a writer for you. Carry me down is my second Hyland. I read, loved and reviewed a later book of hers, This is how, nearly a year ago, and said then that I'd like to read more. I finally have, and am not disappointed. Carry … Continue reading MJ Hyland, Carry me down
Monday musings on Australian literature: Contemporary poetry and music
telegrams tremble like leaves from a wintering tree and the spider grief swings in his bitter geometry – they’re bringing them home, now, too late, too early. (from "Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe) Last night I was lucky enough to attend a private function at which a small, local, male a capella group, the Pocket Score … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Contemporary poetry and music
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Of wine and bushrangers
Now this is something literally delicious and I couldn't resist sharing it with you. It is the description of a wine from Houghton Winery in Western Australia. The wine is The Bandit Sauvignon Blanc Pinot Gris 2010, and here is the description* from the back label: The Bandit was Western Australian Moondyne Joe who earned notoriety … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Of wine and bushrangers
Monday musings on Australian literature: Indigenous Australian autobiographies
When I was a child my father told me to be proud I was of "aboriginal descent". Perhaps it was the silence surrounding his words that made them resonate as they did; I'd certainly heard no such thing anywhere else in my life, certainly not in my reading or schooling. There didn't seem much in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Indigenous Australian autobiographies
Whispering Gums on Deformed Pines
I am slowly but surely working my way through Isabella Bird's Unbeaten tracks in Japan. While we were still in Japan, and enjoying its wonderful gardens, I came across the following passage from early in Bird's travels: After running cheerily for several miles my men bowled me into a tea-house, where they ate and smoked … Continue reading Whispering Gums on Deformed Pines
Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers from our north
Queensland is the state of my birth, and that makes it special to me! It is a large state and one of our most geographically diverse, ranging from the tropical north to the arid west, from the subtropical south to the temperate inland southeast. It has one of Australia's most popular tourist destinations, the Great … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers from our north
Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Adrienne Eberhard on stones
Having just returned from Japan where stones are revered, I thought it might be apposite to share one of the poems from Adrienne Eberhard's section "The Magic of Stones" in her suite of poems about Jane, Lady Franklin. Blocky, grain-growing, cast in the stance of a thousand others Embedded, spore-emblazoned, lying in layers of limb-lost … Continue reading Delicious descriptions from Down Under: Adrienne Eberhard on stones
Kate Chopin, A morning walk
It's been some time since I read (and therefore reviewed) a Library of America offering, but when I saw another Kate Chopin offering pop up a few weeks ago, I couldn't resist it. And so, I printed it off, but have only just managed to read it. Well, what a surprise... I thought about starting … Continue reading Kate Chopin, A morning walk
Monday musings on Australian literature: Where are our women writers?
It might be just me, but it seems that women writers (I know the adjective should be female but it just doesn't feel right in this context where "women writers" is short-hand for "women who are writers" or "writers who are women") are somewhat thin on the ground in Australia at present, at least in … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Where are our women writers?
On the literary (and linguistic) road in Japan: 3, Matsue and beyond
This will be my last post on our Japanese adventures (unless something specific inspires me to write again - always leave yourself an out is my motto) and I'm going to share a few particular experiences, so here goes. Matsue and Lafcadio Hearn Our prime reason for going to Matsue was to visit the Adachi Museum … Continue reading On the literary (and linguistic) road in Japan: 3, Matsue and beyond
