Max Barry, author of Company, Jennifer Government and Syrup, agreed to satisfy my curiosity about his online novel Machine Man, and other writing projects... It's not like it's never been done before, but you may be one of the first Australian authors depositing installments of a novel into cyberspace day-by-day with Machine Man. What made you decide … Continue reading Machine Man… an interview with Max Barry
Interviews + Profiles
Interacting with other literary-minded folk…
Steven Amsterdam – a 'responsive' interview
Read the LiteraryMinded review of Steven Amsterdam's Things We Didn't See Coming, Sleepers Publishing, 9781740667012, 2009 (Aus, US) Prompts - LiteraryMinded. Responses - Steven Amsterdam. Beginnings I was inspired by a few loose pieces in the news, from life, the partisan splay of the 2004 election in the US, and my nervous mind, so I … Continue reading Steven Amsterdam – a 'responsive' interview
Eva Hornung on Dog Boy, writing and activism
In October 2006, I was sitting at the airport in Bali after the Ubud Writers' and Readers' Festival, and Eva Hornung (then Sallis) and her gorgeous little boy came and sat next to me. I had seen her speak during the festival, and read her book Fire, Fire, which I found quite confronting. We … Continue reading Eva Hornung on Dog Boy, writing and activism
‘Discomfort is sometimes what is most precious to me about great art’ – Christos Tsiolkas on The Slap
Note: This review/interview is uncensored and contains swearing. The Slap (Aus, US) is a novel that grabs you by your tender spots, squeezes, and doesn't let go. Set in contemporary Melbourne and its suburbs, a man slaps another person's child at a barbeque. From there, the narrative expands out to the lives of several characters of … Continue reading ‘Discomfort is sometimes what is most precious to me about great art’ – Christos Tsiolkas on The Slap
I'd Like to Introduce You to Two of My Favourite Poets
Sean M Whelan's and Nathan Curnow's poems are very different in both style and theme, but come from much the same place. Nathan captures the poignancy of childhood and the wonderment of parenthood, nostalgia and love in his chapbook No Other Life But This through tiny observations - an arm through a sleeve, a question, a coffee … Continue reading I'd Like to Introduce You to Two of My Favourite Poets
Josephine Rowe, a 'responsive' interview
LM ~ My first notes after I read East of Here, Close to Water - unedited: ‘You. He. She. All the characters so close to memories - sensitive to the way they press upon the present. Glimpses of a moment, rich - here and there. Empathy for a person - a man ‘howling on his doorstep', … Continue reading Josephine Rowe, a 'responsive' interview
Matilda's Australian Litblog Snapshots
Established Australian litblog Matilda is doing a series of snapshots on Australian literary bloggers. Number seven was little ol' me. Check out the interview. And be sure to scroll down the main blog page to check out the others. Perry Middlemiss has also just announced the death of Dorothy Porter, very sad news.
Walking The White Road with Tania Hershman – Salt Publishing virtual book tour
9781844714759, Salt Publishing, 2008 (Aus, US/Kindle) Tania Hershman takes you on a series of short imaginative adventures in The White Road. Some stories are casual, tough, or laid-back, many are poetic. There are backwards unravellings, fantastical flights, speculated inventions, surprises, cleverness, humour, and scorn. The snapshots vary in tone, and explore possibilities - scientific, technological, emotional. … Continue reading Walking The White Road with Tania Hershman – Salt Publishing virtual book tour
Nam Le – a 'responsive' interview
The Boat, Nam Le, 2008, Penguin - Hamish Hamilton (Aus, US), 9780241015414 Sentences - LiteraryMinded Responses - Nam Le * The terminal point, point of contemplation. The idea of terminus is critical to narrative: what (and where) is the point that occasions the narrative? What needs finishing in order for articulation to start? Because a narrative, … Continue reading Nam Le – a 'responsive' interview
'I Wanted to Talk About Being Completely Screwed Over by the Corporate Machine With a Smile on My Face' – William Kostakis on Loathing Lola
Loathing Lola, William Kostakis, Pan Macmillan, 2008, Australia, 9780330424165 You rewrote the whole book to be in first person (no mean feat!), in Courtney's point of view. How did you come to this decision? Okay, so originally, Loathing Lola was in the third person, with three leads, Courtney, Tim and Katie. Well, four leads, if you included … Continue reading 'I Wanted to Talk About Being Completely Screwed Over by the Corporate Machine With a Smile on My Face' – William Kostakis on Loathing Lola
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