Last week, one of our grand old men of Australian letters, David Malouf, died. He has been such a presence in our literary landscape since the mid-1970s, that, despite all that has been written and said over the last few days, it would feel disrespectful to let the occasion of his death pass. And, anyhow, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Vale David Malouf (1934-2026)
David Malouf
Monday musings on Australian literature: Spotlight on David Malouf
A couple of weeks ago I published the first of a number of posts which I'm planning to write using Annette Marfording's Celebrating Australian Writing: Conversations with Australian Authors as starting point. That post was on the first interview in the book, Robert Dessaix. I decided that my second post would be on one of my favourite Aussie writers - you could call … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Spotlight on David Malouf
Monday musings on Australian literature: ABR’s first laureate
While I was gallivanting in the northern hemisphere in April, ABR (the Australian Book Review) announced its first ever laureate. I missed it at the time, but heard of it soon after my return, and am now sharing it with you. For most Aussie readers, though, it's probably a bit old hat! ABR's concept of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: ABR’s first laureate
David Malouf turns 80
I'm not in the habit of celebrating authors' special birthdays, but David Malouf is a very special Aussie author - and he turns 80 today. Some have suggested over the years that he would be a worthy Nobel Laureate - and I'd agree. He is quite the Renaissance man in the breadth of his interests … Continue reading David Malouf turns 80
Monday musings on Australian literature: Five fascinating fictional fathers
This week's Monday musings has a personal, sentimental, genesis. Last Friday, my 91-year-old father underwent his third major abdominal surgery in 6 years. It's a big ask for an older body but he's hanging in there. My parents, not surprisingly I suppose, were instrumental in my becoming a reader. My mother introduced me to Jane … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Five fascinating fictional fathers
David Malouf, Ransom
Words are powerful. They too can be the agents of what is new, of what is conceivable and can be thought and let loose on the world. (p. 61) Is risk-taking only the province of the young? Do desperate times call for desperate measures? Or, more to the point, can the impossible be made possible? … Continue reading David Malouf, Ransom
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
Whispering Gums 