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In August
2007 I started to write about Australian writers and their books.
Just under a year later I completed the twentieth of these essays
and decided they would be Book One of my thoughts on Australia’s
literature. I am currently (6/8/2008), in negotiations with a publisher
who wishes to bring out the essays as a conventional book, and as
the essays will continue to be available from this website, I have
no objection to this. It may be that some readers would prefer to
obtain the essays in book form rather than to download and then have
them printed and bound. If this happens, you’ll have a choice!
Now
to the essays themselves. As I wrote, I deliberately avoided any
controlling theme; if books are good enough to be written about,
I decided, they should be allowed to speak for themselves separately.
Nonetheless a theme of sorts did develop and the twentieth and last
essay, on Alexis Wright’s ‘Carpentaria’, brings
this theme of the interaction of white and black civilizations to
a convenient resting point. I am indebted to Barry Scott of transitlounge publishing for his suggestion to write about this book.
The first twenty of these Ozlit essays will be called The
Well in the Shadow, both here on this website and also if
published commercially. I hope to start work before long
on a second collection (no name as yet). Nothing’s
been written but the first three books to be discussed will be:
Capricornia by Xavier Herbert
The Pea Pickers by Eve Langley
The Tree of Man by Patrick White
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Introduction
Downloads
> PDF Cover Introduction
> PDF Text Introduction |
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1. Unfortunate
affairs
A discussion of Maurice Guest (Henry
Handel Richardson, 1908) and Monkey
Grip (Helen
Garner, 1977).
Downloads
> PDF Cover Unfortunate
affairs
> PDF Text Unfortunate
affairs |
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5. Most
theatrical when most personal
A consideration of Hal Porter’s three
volumes of autobiography: The
Watcher on the Cast-Iron Balcony (Faber & Faber,
London, 1963); The
Paper Chase (Angus & Robertson,
Sydney, 1966); and The
Extra (Nelson, West Melbourne, 1975).
Downloads
> PDF Cover Most
theatrical when most personal
> PDF Text Most
theatrical when most personal |
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Interlude
1: two
family sagas
Downloads
> PDF Cover two
family sagas
> PDF Text two
family sagas |
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Interlude
2: as
far apart as ever?
Downloads
> PDF Cover as
far apart as ever?
> PDF Text as
far apart as ever? |
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10. Sally
Morgan’s My
Place
An Indian discovers she’s aboriginal;
the long struggle to find a way back.
Downloads
> PDF Cover Sally
Morgan’s My
Place
> PDF Text Sally
Morgan’s My
Place |
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Interlude
4: something
of a divide
Downloads
> PDF Cover something
of a divide
> PDF Text something
of a divide |
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Interlude
5: some
reasons for writing
Downloads
> PDF Cover some
reasons for writing
> PDF Text some
reasons for writing |
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