AustLit

'Reading other people’s mail is one of the pleasures of being a biographer, the toil of deciphering illegible handwriting in archives rewarded by glimpses into the private worlds of the writers. The correspondence may be inspiring or prosaic; it may simply provide a scrap of biographical information. My bookshelves bulge with another form of archive, too: collections of letters by writers who have turned correspondence into an art, usually edited by academics and most often featuring writers who are no longer with us.' (Introduction)          

'“My Country” shadowed the career of poet Dorothea Mackellar'

'Half a century after Katharine Susannah Prichard’s death, it is more than timely that the first biography of the woman once hailed as a leading Australian writer is published. Her fame was at its peak in the 1930s; later, her novels were regularly set on school syllabuses. Today, however, her work is largely forgotten. To some, she is remembered for the hardline communism she maintained until her death, earning the notoriety in Western Australia that is reflected in this book’s title.' (Introduction) 

'Suffrage dramatists were united against inequality for women. In A Splendid Adventure, the author argues that the contributions of Australian suffrage theatre were unique because, unlike their British and American counterparts, the dramatists were enfranchised women. They were able to look beyond the narrow question of the vote to consider democracy in the contemporary world and yet their work has been underestimated and overlooked in feminist theatre histories. Smith seeks to redress the balance by examining the works of Australian women writing for the theatre during the suffrage period timeframe of 1890–1920, concentrating principally on three dramatists: Katharine Susannah Prichard, Miles Franklin and Inez Bensusan. The full text of one play by each is reproduced, two of which have not previously been published.'  (Introduction) 

'In the age of COVID-19, ‘working from home’ and ‘home schooling’ have become part of the Australian lexicon in a way that has never happened before. Working parents often have to juggle both of these activities during lockdowns, undertaking the paid work they would normally do outside the home (if they have jobs that make that possible) as well as supervising the lessons provided remotely by their children’s teachers. The domestic duties necessary to keep a home running need to be maintained and, as ever, research shows it is women who disproportionately bear the greater burden.'  (Introduction)

'Remembered in Australia mainly for her relationship with Vida Goldstein, Cecilia John’s story took a different course after the first world war' 

'Miles Franklin used to delight in relating an anecdote about a librarian friend who, when asked why a less competent colleague was paid more, replied succinctly: ‘He has the genital organs of the male; they’re not used in library work, but men are paid more for having them.’' (Introduction)

''Late afternoon. An isolated lagoon, water glassy, teeming with birdlife-black swans, ducks, a pelican. Sunset begins to tint the sky. I point the camera at the water to catch the clouds reflected there just as a solitary duck swims into view. Everything in the photograph is familiar yet the effect is entirely strange. The duck is swimming across the sky...'

'The reflections in Sky Swimming can be read as meditations on the enigmas of love, family, ageing, memory, home and belonging. At its heart is a mudbrick house built by two women on an ancient lava flow in the Warrumbungle Mountains, circling back to a childhood filled with music in Melbourne and an early career in the theatre. It fans out across the world to a family mystery in The Netherlands of the 1950s and a friendship in Montreal in the 1990s. Reflections on the process of writing feminist biography are included and the women from Martin's biographies thread their way through the narrative alongside the people who have helped shape her life, often in unexpected directions.' (Publication summary)

'The discovery of a remarkable piece of writing by Aileen Palmer adds poignancy to her later life'

'In different countries at different times, two prisoners used poetry to communicate their experiences'

'Australian suffragettes played a sometimes flamboyant role in the fight for the vote, at home and in Britain' 

'Amber is sometimes called the memory stone and is reputed to bring good luck to the wearer. It is also said to clear the mind and ease stress. When I am giving book talks I like to wear the amber necklace I inherited from my mother as an 'aide memoire' and lucky charm. Occasionally, these warm, cherry-coloured stones strung in perfectly-graduated ellipses draw comments when I am signing books or chatting with audience members, particularly from older women of Eastern European background who ask me if the amber is from the Baltic coast. While much of the world's amber is found there - fossilised resin from an immense forest that once grew in the region that is now the Baltic Sea - it also washes up on other coastlines, including the so-called amber coast between Felixstowe and Southwold in Suffolk. And that is where my necklace comes from, a legacy of our long family connection with the small fishing town of Aldeburgh.' (Publication abstract)