The Forest of Hands and Teeth Carrie Ryan Gollancz 9780575090859 2009 (Aus, US) Mary's village is surrounded by tall fences to keep out the 'Unconsecrated'. It is the only world she has ever known, but she remembers her mother's stories of the world before the return - tales of tall buildings, and a vast expanse … Continue reading Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Month: June 2009
J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace
Disgrace JM Coetzee 9780099289524 Vintage (Aus, US) Disgrace is centred around David Lurie, a Romantic Poetry Professor at a Cape Town University, and an unapologetic lover of the firm, youthful, accommodating female form. He's been married twice, and in the story satisfies his hunger with a prostitute, and then a student, becoming enamored with both … Continue reading J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace
I wanted to marry Michael Jackson
<-- Little Ange with my first love on the wall. The first short story I ever wrote, and read aloud, was called 'Michael Jackson and the Magic Hat'. I was in Year 3. Besides the magic hat, there was mystery, romance and intrigue. My best friends in Year 3 - Genna and Rebecca - both messaged … Continue reading I wanted to marry Michael Jackson
My Extraordinary Life and Death by Doug Macleod: an extract
Doug Macleod says... When I was asked to do a blog for The Centre for Youth Literature at The State Library of Victoria, I realised that my life is depressingly undramatic. I have never done anything that might endanger my life, save for living in St Kilda. How could I make my life more interesting? I did what … Continue reading My Extraordinary Life and Death by Doug Macleod: an extract
Voiceworks: Budget
Voiceworks is an Australian journal publishing the work of writers under 25. Budget is the first issue under the editorial of Bel Monypenny does steer a less-showy ship, still understandably finding its path. The issue suits the theme design-wise - being lean, and mean (with a teeny-tiny font that didn't make my eyes too happy), but content-wise the issue is still wealthy. The … Continue reading Voiceworks: Budget
Thoughts on 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Breath, by Tim Winton
Breath, Tim Winton, Penguin, 9780143009580 (Aus, US) Breath is my first Tim Winton. Yes, I know. He's just not someone I had gotten to yet. And yes, I will read Cloudstreet, eventually. Last week, Breath was awarded our nation's most prestigious literary prize - the Miles Franklin Literary Award, which is for books that in … Continue reading Thoughts on 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Breath, by Tim Winton
Chilled-out Sunday round-up
It's another Tequila sunrise... (For Ken & Teela, the Dude, Brian Wilson bartender, and especially Owen... ) * Check this out. One-eighth Vulture is an online writing mag publishing, promoting and linking writers in two of the UNESCO cities of literature - Melbourne and Edinburgh (my two favourite cities!) The site is very new at the … Continue reading Chilled-out Sunday round-up
Tom Cho: a ‘responsive’ interview
Tom Cho's surprising, funny, sexy, postmodern short story collection Look Who's Morphing is out now with Giramondo, ISBN: 9781920882549. Prompts: LiteraryMinded Answers: Tom Cho Auntie Ling Of the many impulses that the act of reading evokes, there are two that are especially irresistible. These are: 1) equating a text's narrator with its author, and 2) equating … Continue reading Tom Cho: a ‘responsive’ interview
Happy Bloomsday! Celebrating James Joyce's Ulysses
Okay, I'm only up to page 310, but I'm going to celebrate gosh darnit! Why? Because it's rude and delicious and I'm enjoying it very much. So what is it all about? you may ask. This guy (who owns 15 copies of Ulysses) explains it better than I could right now, at this half-way through … Continue reading Happy Bloomsday! Celebrating James Joyce's Ulysses
The inability to relax (an experiment in the confessional)
It's not often that I feel calm. I have supernovas going off in my head, squirmy things in my muscles and fingertips. I'm sore all the time because I exercise so much. It's one of the only ways to expend the energy, wear me down, expend the effort effort effort. And I love the zing … Continue reading The inability to relax (an experiment in the confessional)
