Sleepers Publishing 9781742701851 October 2011 (paperback) This interview was first published in Bookseller+Publisher magazine. Life Kills is a slim novel but I imagine many hours went into its construction. Can you talk a bit about how it came together? For a number of years I’d been writing rants; stories told in single, unpunctuated paragraphs that … Continue reading The poetic & the profane: an interview with Miles Vertigan, on Life Kills
An Emotional Landscape: Laurie Steed reviews The World Swimmers by Patrick West
ICLL, August 2011 available at selected bookstores & through the author ($25, postage free, email: patrick.west@deakin.edu.au) review by Laurie Steed Australia’s literary landscape seems scarred by an increasingly commercial approach to what constitutes quality literature. Yes, publishers need to make a profit, but in chasing said profit, publishers close the door on any number of quality … Continue reading An Emotional Landscape: Laurie Steed reviews The World Swimmers by Patrick West
Why I am Gil in Midnight in Paris
Neuromantic I danced with Djuna Barnes checked out all the exits & was amused by Dali's rhinoceros moustache I wanted to hug Gertrude Stein Hopeful defeatist babbling poetic (writing a novel) Glad someone noticed my sad eyes
20 Classics #9: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
I’m reading 20 classic, modern-classic or cult books. I aimed to read them all in 2011, but that’s beginning to look unlikely. Read more about this project here. Why did I want to read it? I think I knew about the film before the book, but I’m yet to see it. The main reasons I wanted to read it … Continue reading 20 Classics #9: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Writing death: Walter Mason interviews Jeremy Fernando
Writing Death by Jeremy Fernando (available here) by Walter Mason Jeremy Fernando is a Singaporean poet, writer, philosopher and critic, and his latest book, Writing Death, is an almost-perfect combination of these vocations. Recently described in a Singaporean magazine as 'Asia’s Sexiest Philosopher', Fernando’s erudition and grasp of theory are balanced by a playful approach … Continue reading Writing death: Walter Mason interviews Jeremy Fernando
Short story ‘Ariel’ published in Seizure
Seizure is a fresh literary journal coming out of Sydney. Each issue imitates the style of a different type of magazine. The first issue looked like a glossy food magazine and all its pieces were linked to the subject. The second issue is 'Sci-fi', and it looks like a pulpy science fiction mag. I have … Continue reading Short story ‘Ariel’ published in Seizure
Aside: The Picture of Dorian Gray 1945
Watched the 1945 The Picture of Dorian Gray (dir. Albert Lewin) last night and experienced a kind of aesthetic angst when Dorian (Hurd Hatfield) first came on screen. I wanted him to take my breath away. 'I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best,' said Oscar Wilde. Well, I had simply imagined Dorian … Continue reading Aside: The Picture of Dorian Gray 1945
Review of Daniel Stein, Interpreter by Ludmila Ulitskaya in the Australian
I have a review in the Weekend Australian of the novel Daniel Stein, Interpreter by Russian author Ludmila Ulitskaya (translated into English by Arch Tait). The book is published in Australia by Scribe (paperback). The review begins: 'Oswald Rufeisen, known as Brother Daniel, was a Polish Jew who converted to Catholicism while hiding in a monastery during … Continue reading Review of Daniel Stein, Interpreter by Ludmila Ulitskaya in the Australian
The new-old blog
Welcome to LiteraryMinded's new platform, and the blog's third home. As you can probably see, a bunch has gone wrong with the import and it'll take me weeks to fix all those pictures, but I'll get there! I'm away a bit over the next few weeks, so be patient with me. Why has the blog moved? … Continue reading The new-old blog
And the winners are…
Thanks to everyone for your great entries in the #madnesscomp. If you want some suggestions on mad-lit, see the comments on the previous post. The winners of the two signed copies of Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test, chosen by a random number generator, are @liza_belle and @semiordinaryjoe. The random number generator chose two people who … Continue reading And the winners are…
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