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Robert Dessaix Robert Dessaix i(A30396 works by) (a.k.a. Robert Jones)
Born: Established: 1944 Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 Thanks, but No Thanks Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Frankly, My Dear Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Did You Have a Good Time Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Venice and Vivaldi Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Ooty Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Dancing in Ladakh Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 What's in a Name Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Kali's Whisper Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Kissing, Hugging and Saying I Love You Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Beauty Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Douleurs de L'ame, Douieurs Du Corps Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Hunger and Joy Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Too Late Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Letter to My Collins Robert French Dictionary Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Where Babies Come From Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Writing Home : Thea Astley Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work prose
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 How Enid Blyton Changed My Life How Enid Blyton Changed My Life (with a Few Words about Nikoli Gogol Who Didn't) Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work essay
— Appears in: Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... 2022;
1 Agony and Ecstasy Robert Dessaix , 2022 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23 July 2022; (p. 18)
1 2 y separately published work icon Abracadabra : I've Said It Before and I'll Say It Again ... Robert Dessaix , Sydney : Brio Books , 2022 24457275 2022 selected work prose autobiography

'A celebration of insights from a luminairie of Australian letters.

'The first time around these pieces were not widely heard or read. A roomful of festival-goers in Sydney or Penang or Ballarat could well have heard me hold forth on the subject of Enid Blyton, say, or kissing, it’s true, and a few of my newspaper articles – my feuilletons, as I’m calling them – may have caught the eye of some readers of the Byron Shire Echo some years ago. It’s not that these audiences were unappreciative, but they were limited. Nowadays a podcast can attract an audience of tens of thousands  around the globe, while I performed for the most part in more intimate spaces – these were entertainments, so to speak, for un-known friends.'

'No festival organiser, newspaper editor or publisher who has worked with Robert Dessaix is likely to have escaped a request for copies of his wonderful, fleeting talks and short works, or feuilletons.

'These ephemeral pieces — including an overlooked short story ('not my usual genre, but [it] is also a performance, after all, a turn, a numéro, about love’) — are the work of a conjurer whose words dazzle, then seem to vanish almost as soon as they arrive. They are collected, and often annotated, for the very first time in Abracadabra.

'From the wonder of learning foreign languages, to ‘the words I wished I’d said’, Abracadabra is brimming with the thoughtful, witty and humorous observations for which Dessaix is known, and proves, once again, that his way with words is equally magical on the stage as it is on the page.

'Part memoir and personal record, Abracadabra is a work many years in the making, an engrossing collection of observations and ideas which remind us why we read: for pleasure, after all.' (Publication summary)

1 6 y separately published work icon The Time of Our Lives Robert Dessaix , Sydney : Brio Books , 2020 18794928 2020 multi chapter work prose

'What’s the key to the art of growing older well? Is it an art that anyone can cultivate? How should we confront dying and death in a secular age? What about sex when we’re older? What about loneliness? (And, for that matter, what about facelifts?)

'At the height of his powers in this remarkable (and often witty) book, Robert Dessaix addresses these increasingly urgent questions in inimitable prose and comes up with some surprising answers. From Java to Hobart via Berlin, Dessaix invites us to eavesdrop on his intimate, no-nonsense conversations about ageing with friends and chance acquaintances.

'Reflecting on time, religion, painting, dancing and even grandchildren, Dessaix takes us on an enlivening journey across the landscape of growing older. Riffing on writers and thinkers from Plato to Eva Hoffman, he homes in on the crucial importance of a rich inner life.

'The Time of Our Lives is a wise and timely exploration of not just the challenges but also the many possibilities of old age.' (Publication summary)

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