Vale Andrew McGahan (1966-2019)
My reading group was only talking about Andrew McGahan (1966-2019) this week. We knew he was terminally ill, but little did we know that his end was so near. How very sad, then, to hear today that he...
View ArticleNSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2019 Winners; and Vale Les Murray AO (1939-2019)
I decided to replace today’s Monday Musings with an awards announcement, because the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards were being announced tonight, and they comprise a swag of prizes, many being of...
View ArticleVale Kerry Reed-Gilbert
Note: It is traditional in most indigenous Australian communities to avoid using the name of a deceased person, for some time after their death. And so, as is my wont regarding writing about indigenous...
View ArticleVale my magnificent Mum (1929-2020)
Some of you already know, but most of you may be wondering about my recent silence. I am really too heartsore to write much now, but I feel all you lovely followers deserve to know whyfor this silence....
View ArticleVale my dear old Dad (1920-2021)
If it was my Mum who introduced me to Jane Austen and the classics of English literature, together with a love of language (and thus Scrabble and cryptic crosswords), it was my Dad who introduced me...
View ArticleMonday musings on Australian literature: Kate Jennings (1948-2021)
Strangely, Australian writer and intellectual, Kate Jennings, has been in the air lately, even though she has lived in New York since 1979. She’s been in blogosphere because blogger Kim Forrester...
View ArticleMonday musings on Australian literature: Frank Moorhouse (1938-2022)
Frank Moorhouse was one of the grand old men of Australian literature, so when I learned that he’d died yesterday, I knew I had to change my plan for this week’s Monday Musings to feature him....
View ArticleMy literary week (17), musicals, movies and more
Spring is springing It’s been over two years since my last literary week, which is weird given I enjoy writing these posts that explore the literary content or implications of other parts of my life....
View ArticleMonday musings on Australian literature: Elizabeth Webby (1941-2023)
This might be a first for me, an obituary-style post for an academic/literary scholar rather than for an author. However, this post seemed appropriate as, Elizabeth Webby, who died last month, is...
View ArticleVale Marion Halligan (1940-2024)
Such sad news. I have just heard that Marion Halligan, one of Australia’s literary treasures, died yesterday. She has been frail for some time, but the last time I saw, and spoke briefly to, her was...
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