AustLit

'hrough the fiction of Tim Winton, there runs a poetics of resurrection, a linguistic apprehension of the sacred implicated in human desires to test limits. Winton’s novels, including That Eye, the Sky, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music, and Breath, are extraordinarily popular in Australia, set on school curricula, and often topping reader polls. Critically, however, Winton’s reputation is divided. Many critics are, arguably, uncomfortable with his publically expressed religious beliefs, slating home to them his perceived blindnesses: his masculinism; an overwhelmingly ‘white’ Australianness; and even misogyny. This article explores Winton’s strongly vernacular, culturally rich representations of the sacred entwined in an earthed, embodied, and material vision of the human.' (Abstract)