My love affair with Patrick White, figuratively speaking, began in my last year of high school when I studied Voss. Always partial to Aussie literature, I was, at 17 or 18, bowled over by White's writing, passion and vision - and by his rather acerbic, though mostly compassionate, view of the way people submerge their … Continue reading Patrick White, Happy Valley (Review)
Australian writers
Fridays with Featherstone, Part 4: On writing and admired writers
Today, I bring you the final part of Susan Errington's Wet Ink interview with Nigel Featherstone. In this part Nigel talks primarily about some of the writers he admires or who have inspired him - and how they relate to his writing. I love the fact that many of the writers Nigel admires are also … Continue reading Fridays with Featherstone, Part 4: On writing and admired writers
Thea Astley, Hunting the wild pineapple (Review)
Thea Astley's "Hunting the wild pineapple" is both a short story and the title of a collection of connected short stories (that includes, of course, the title story). Today I am going to write on the short story as it's one of the 16 included in the current Meanjin Tournament of Books - and it … Continue reading Thea Astley, Hunting the wild pineapple (Review)
Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012, Matches 7-8
With this post, we finish the first round of this year's Tournament of Books, so here goes ... next post will look at Round 2. Match 7: Henry Lawson's "The drover's wife" defeated Cate Kennedy's "Static" Like most Australians I've read Lawson's "The drover's wife". It's probably one of Australia's most anthologised stories so it … Continue reading Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012, Matches 7-8
Tim Flannery, After the future: Australia’s extinction crisis (Review)
Tim Flannery is an Australian palaeontologist-cum-environmentalist who has been on the public stage for a couple of decades now. He has published several books on environmental issues, some best-sellers, including The future eaters and The weather makers. He was Australian of the Year in 2007, has starred in three television documentary series with comedian John … Continue reading Tim Flannery, After the future: Australia’s extinction crisis (Review)
Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012, Matches 3 to 6
As I promised in my first post on this year's tournament - whether you wanted it or not - I'm back with a progress report on the tournament. And, I must say, I'm rather thrilled with the results to date. I haven't read all the contenders so my reaction is more than a little subjective … Continue reading Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012, Matches 3 to 6
Nigel Featherstone, I’m ready now (Review)
Way back in my youth when I started studying literature, I thought I had to get the "right" interpretation. It made reading a little scary, I must say. However, as I gained confidence, I discovered that there are as many responses to a novel as there are readers, something I was reminded of when I … Continue reading Nigel Featherstone, I’m ready now (Review)
Barbara Baynton, The chosen vessel (Review)
I'm blaming author and blogger Karen Lee Thompson again for this post, because she wrote a wonderful comment on my post on Barbara Baynton's short story "Squeaker's mate", and I'm going to quote it pretty much in full (I hope that's ok from a copyright point of view - tell me if it isn't Karen … Continue reading Barbara Baynton, The chosen vessel (Review)
Barbara Baynton, Squeaker’s mate (Review)
My last post was about this year's Meanjin Tournament of Books which is pitting short stories against each other. One of the short stories is Barbara Baynton's "Squeaker's mate", which I've read before but a long time ago. I decided, though, to read it again, since I have easy access to a copy, on my … Continue reading Barbara Baynton, Squeaker’s mate (Review)
Kate Grenville, The lieutenant (Review)
I first came across William Dawes, the inspiration for Kate Grenville's The lieutenant, in Inga Clendinnen's award-winning history, Dancing with strangers (2003). But this is not the only book that Grenville's novel brought to mind, as it also reminded me of Kim Scott's That deadman dance. (Intriguing that both these books use a dance motif, … Continue reading Kate Grenville, The lieutenant (Review)
Whispering Gums 