[WARNING: SPOILERS, PROBABLY] Well, I haven't read the 1982 book by American novelist Newton Thornburg - in fact I hadn't heard of it - but Rachel Ward has managed to produce out of it a stylish and engrossing film, aided by an excellent cast and gorgeous, often eerie, cinematography. It helps too that the film … Continue reading Beautiful Kate?
Advice to would-be women journalists, 1930s style
While I was researching something completely different today, I came across a wonderful - you'll see why soon - article titled "Not much fun in being a woman journalist - or is there?" in the second issue of The ABC Weekly published on 9 December 1939 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. The article was written by … Continue reading Advice to would-be women journalists, 1930s style
Kath Walker aka Oodgeroo Noonuccal
I fell in love with Kath Walker, as she was known then, in my teens and bought her book of poems, My people. I loved her passion for her people and the intensity but accessibility of her poems. Every now and then I look at them again. Today, however, my mum gave me a dear … Continue reading Kath Walker aka Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Breakfast with David, Malouf that is
"Exploring in the dark" is how David Malouf frames the process of writing. In other words, writing, he says, brings out what is within the writer but is not fully understood until the writing starts. Furthering this notion, he quoted Herman Hesse as saying that a writer needs to be "a sleepwalker with the absolute … Continue reading Breakfast with David, Malouf that is
You know you are hooked
...on blogging when you start writing your blog in your head while you are out and about enjoying something. This is what happened to me last night (and it's not the first time) when I was at a Kate Ceberano concert (sorry Kate - but I did pull myself up quickly and start concentrating again). … Continue reading You know you are hooked
What do I mean by spare?
If you asked my kids what my favourite mantras are, they would probably include "less is more" as one of them. This is not to say that I don't enjoy flamboyance and "over-the-topness", because I most certainly do, but it is true that I am more often drawn to what I would call "the spare". … Continue reading What do I mean by spare?
Some Australian literary classics
Lisa at ANZ LitLovers referred yesterday to ABC Radio National's The Book Show program on Patrick White's The solid mandala. This is in fact part of weeklong series they are doing on Australian classics. They have chosen an intriguing - but not unappealing - list of works to discuss: Marcus Clarke's His natural life (which … Continue reading Some Australian literary classics
Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards Shortlist
And so, as reported by Perry Middlemiss on his Matilda blog, it's pretty much the usual 2009 suspects that have been shortlisted for the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction. They are: The pages by Murray Bail (Text) Dog boy by Eva Hornung (Text) The boat by Nam Le (Penguin) The slap by Christos Tsiolkas (Allen … Continue reading Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards Shortlist
Peter Godwin, When a crocodile eats the sun
[WARNING: SOME SPOILERS] We know it happens - is happening - but it is shocking to come face to face with it, that is, with the experience of living in a situation which was once ordered and safe but which, almost overnight, becomes chaotic and downright dangerous. This is the story Peter Godwin chronicles in … Continue reading Peter Godwin, When a crocodile eats the sun
Jim Crace, Being dead
The old "so many books, so little time" mantra means that I very rarely read a book more than once (other than my Jane Austens of course), but I have read Jim Crace's Being dead twice. I love this book. I know some find the subject matter unappealing but I find it not only fascinating … Continue reading Jim Crace, Being dead
Whispering Gums 