9780143009573 Penguin (Aus, US/Kindle) In an active, atmospheric introduction, a woman and her two children arrive at the gate, and then the house, of the woman’s childhood. The woman, Olivia, explains to her mother she ‘had to come home’ and is accepted. Soon arrives Olivia’s grief-stricken brother and wife, with their baby’s body (who has … Continue reading Julia Leigh's Disquiet
Attending the 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
You already know the winners, but what was it like to be there? This was my first literary awards ceremony, and it was rowdier than I thought. My table was in front of some theatre folk, but they weren't the only ones in the room whooping and shouting when the names were called out. The night began seriously … Continue reading Attending the 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
MJ Hyland's This is How
Text Publishing July 2009 (Australia) (US) 9781921520532 At the beginning of This is How, Patrick Oxtoby arrives at a boarding house. The landlady wants to hang up his coat. He'd prefer to leave it on. When he finally takes it off and puts it on the rack, it falls off. Neither of them pick it … Continue reading MJ Hyland's This is How
Buy a book today on Indigenous Literacy Day
From the website: The Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) is a partnership between the Australian Book Industry and The Fred Hollows Foundation. Working closely with the Australian Booksellers Association and the Australian Publishers Association, The Fred Hollows Foundation purchases and supplies books and other culturally appropriate learning materials to remote communities where The Foundation works. Communities select and … Continue reading Buy a book today on Indigenous Literacy Day
Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part eight: why Australian literature?
Instead of doing this session by session (as the last two days are a blur) I'll just write it as it comes out. * First of all, Why Australian Literature? looked at our national literature and it's current 'crisis', that of globalisation and the possible 'swamping' of other voices and literatures. The panel featured Peter … Continue reading Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part eight: why Australian literature?
Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part seven: debuts, exquisite short fiction, the bleak outsider, and erotic celebration
Friday 28/8 Debut With Style was chaired by Mr McSweeney's, Eli Horowitz, and on the panel were Evie Wyld, Reif Larsen, Hitomi Kanehara (pictured below) and Lisa Unger. All had a different experience of 'debuting'. Larsen had a 'burning desire' to write The Collected Works of TS Spivetand the publication was almost a bonus. Unger wrote … Continue reading Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part seven: debuts, exquisite short fiction, the bleak outsider, and erotic celebration
Melbourne Writers Festival diary 2009 part six: like a mother to a son
'We were all feeling a bit shagged and fagged and fashed, it being a night of no small expenditure.' - Alex, A Clockwork Orange (film version). I slept in and I'm running late for things but I would never forget about ye, droogs. Wednesday night I hosted cocktails at Match Bar in the city. We … Continue reading Melbourne Writers Festival diary 2009 part six: like a mother to a son
Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part five: words like triangles (a further experiment in the confessional)
This post is a creative, experimental mash-up of personal experience plus one of the poems Bernhard Schlink read on Sunday 23 August in RMIT Capitol Theatre, in a session called 'Pleasure and Pain: Poetry and the Body' at Melbourne Writers Festival. The poem is called 'Ballad of the Outer Life' or 'Ballade des auBeren Lebens', and is by … Continue reading Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part five: words like triangles (a further experiment in the confessional)
Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part four: finding meaning in the media
...in which the audience gasps audibly at the mention of Twitter! Official festival blogger Estelle and I are aptly blogging this morning's session laptop by laptop, sandwich by sandwich, in a cafe overlooking one of the festival venues. Jeff Sparrow spoke to Margaret Simons about Finding Meaning in the Media. Simons is a fellow Crikey blogger, and … Continue reading Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part four: finding meaning in the media
Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part three: future cities, beautiful rhythms and a literal ending
'I just blogged' I said to my friends when I ran into them, flustered, between sessions. Chris Flynn looked at me and said 'that sounds dirty', like 'I just did a blog', 'I just dropped one' and other variations. And now, the word blog is RUINED for me. But I was enlightened by two things: … Continue reading Melbourne Writers Festival 2009 diary part three: future cities, beautiful rhythms and a literal ending
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