I love thinking about place in literature, so I was intrigued when Chrystopher Spicer, cultural historian and adjunct senior research fellow at North Queensland's James Cook University, offered me his book Cyclone country: The language of place and disaster in Australian literature for review. Unfortunately, I've taken a while to get to it. Place can … Continue reading Chrystopher J. Spicer: Cyclone country: The language of place and disaster in Australian literature (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Birds in Australian fiction
This week in Australia, 18 to 24 October, is National Bird Week. According to BirdLife Australia, this week originated in the early 1900s when 28 October was designated by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union as the first Bird Day. Now Bird Week, it is organised and promoted by BirdLife Australia, which is the Union's successor. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Birds in Australian fiction
Elizabeth Jolley, Hilda’s wedding (#Review, #1976 Club )
One of Elizabeth Jolley's biggest fans is Helen Garner, as I have said before. Garner often mentions Jolley, and my current read, the second volume of her diaries, One day I'll remember this, is no exception. She writes: Elizabeth Jolley's new novel, My father's moon [my review]. She re-uses and reworks images from her earlier … Continue reading Elizabeth Jolley, Hilda’s wedding (#Review, #1976 Club )
Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers’ notebooks
If you've attended writers festivals, you are sure to have heard writers talk of using notebooks to jot down ideas on the run, to record conversations overheard on public transport, cafes, etc, to capture the thoughts of the writers they read, and so on. These notebooks are not works of art in themselves, but part … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Writers’ notebooks
George Orwell, How the poor die (#Review)
"It is a sound instinct that warns people to keep out of hospitals if possible, and especially out of the public wards." George Orwell may have written this in 1946, in his essay, "How the poor die", but I can't help thinking that it is still a sound instinct, something only too vividly confirmed by … Continue reading George Orwell, How the poor die (#Review)
Stella … 10 years
While the Stella Prize isn't quite 10 years old, next year will see the awarding of the 10th prize. With that landmark in its sights, the Stella people decided to tweak the prize criteria, and have added single-author poetry collections to the forms eligible for the prize. An excellent move. Around the same time, they … Continue reading Stella … 10 years
Monday musings on Australian literature: Novelistic re-imaginings
Years ago I read a Guardian article titled "Top 10 novels inspired by Shakespeare". Written by Sally O'Reilly, it started with "Shakespeare famously customised existing plots when writing his plays, and added to them an acute perception of human experience which gave them universal significance." I thought, then, that it might be fun to share … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Novelistic re-imaginings
Six degrees of separation, FROM The lottery TO …
Another month has gone, and we in Canberra, New South Wales and Victoria are still in lockdown. However, with vaccinations proceeding apace, the end is in sight, we hope. On the plus side, it is spring, and the blossoms are out - and daylight savings starts this weekend which I love. I know that for … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM The lottery TO …
Shirley Jackson, The lottery (#Review)
As a lover of short stories, I have wanted to read Shirley Jackson's "The lottery" for some time. With Kate selecting it as October's Six Degrees starting work, now seemed the perfect time! Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) pops up on blogosphere with some consistency, and is clearly well-regarded. Her career spanned two decades and, during that … Continue reading Shirley Jackson, The lottery (#Review)
Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet (#BookReview)
Not unusually, I'm late to this book that was all the talk in 2020 - and, I may not have read it at all if it hadn't been for my reading group. I'm talking, as you will have guessed from the post title, of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet. As most of you will know, Hamnet's plot … Continue reading Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet (#BookReview)
