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Jennifer Rogers: Jigsaws
Jigsaws was first performed at the Hole in the Wall theatre in Perth in 1988. It was published by Currency Press in the same year. A season at La Boite Theatre, Brisbane, followed in January-February 1990. See the plot outline and photo of performers at <archive.laboite.com.au/1990/jigsaws> . Jigsaws was revived at the Koorliny Arts Centre, Kwinana, […]
George Johnston’s My Brother Jack
These three lectures trace themes of war, soldiership, masculinity, femininity, and family relationships as they unfold sequentially through My Brother Jack. LECTURE ONE: BOYHOOD My Brother Jack was first published to critical acclaim in 1964. It follows the lives of David Meredith and his brother Jack from David’s childhood in 1914 (when he was three) […]
Gwen Harwood’s “Barn Owl” and Myron Lysenko’s “Pets & Death & Indoor Plants”
This lecture demonstrates simple techniques for analysing poetry through discussions of Gwen’s Harwood’s “Barn Owl” and Myron Lysenko’s “Pets & Death & Indoor Plants.”
Patrick White: Voss
This study guide addresses both the context and the content of Patrick White’s classic Australian novel Voss. Under “context” it summarises the novel’s reception,its place in the author’s life, and its inspiration in the expeditions of the lost explorer Ludwig Leichhardt. Under “content” the guide deals with five layers of meaning that are evident both in individual […]
Thea Astley and David Malouf: Australia in the World, A Twentieth-Century Retrospective
Thea Astley’s novel, It’s Raining in Mango, first published in 1987, and David Malouf’s novel, The Great World, first published in 1990, create retrospective views of Australia in the world by telling the stories of Australian families. Written by authors born in Queensland, both novels look back over major international events of the twentieth century, one […]