AustLit logo

AustLit

person or book cover
Photograph courtesy of the author
Sarah Attfield Sarah Attfield i(A30925 works by)
Born: Established: 1968 London,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe,
;
Gender: Female
Heritage: English
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 ‘I Did Not Dare Allow Myself to Be Vulnerable’ : Sandra Willson’s Memoir of Incarceration Is a Tale of Working-class Resilience Sarah Attfield , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 8 July 2022;

— Review of Between Me and Myself : A Memoir of Murder, Desire and the Struggle to Be Free Sandra Willson , Rebecca Jennings , 2021 single work autobiography

'Why do authors pen memoirs? What impact can memoirs have? Patti Miller, an expert on writing “true life”, says authors should ask why their memoir should be written.'

1 On Being a Working-Class Writer Sarah Attfield , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , December no. 24 2019;

'How does a working-class girl from the council estate become a poet? And what’s class got to with it anyway? What does it mean to be a working-class writer? Can I still be a working-class writer now that I work in a university? What do working-class writers write about? Answering these questions requires a story.' (Introduction)

1 Retail Therapy? i "She rolls her eyes when he isn’t looking", Sarah Attfield , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , December no. 24 2019;
1 High Rise i "Who owns the view?", Sarah Attfield , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , December no. 24 2019;
1 The Heights - At Last, a Credible Australian Working-class Soap Sarah Attfield , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 6 March 2019;

'When I heard about the new ABC TV soap The Heights (set in a fictional suburb of Perth), I was pretty excited. The promos suggested the show would include representation of working-class social housing residents. I tried to recall any Australian show (of any genre) that was set on a social housing estate and couldn’t think of one (happy to be proven wrong on this one).' (Introduction)

1 Where Are the Working-class Characters on Today’s Australian TV? Sarah Attfield , 2017 single work criticism essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 2 March 2017;
'What do the recent mini-series Hoges, about the life of Paul Hogan, and the Fair Work Commission ruling regarding reducing Sunday penalty rates for some workers have in common? Not much maybe on the surface, but both events made me think about how often Australian television audiences see working-class characters on screen.'
1 Cockatoo Island i "Ferry, packed with tourists", Sarah Attfield , 2013 single work poetry
— Appears in: World Literature Today , November - December vol. 87 no. 6 2013; (p. 37-38)
1 Australian Working-Class Writing Sarah Attfield , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: World Literature Today , November - December vol. 87 no. 6 2013; (p. 36-37)
'The article discusses Australian working class literature and poetry, particularly commenting on the diversity of experiences represented in the Australian working class. It addresses representations of Indigenous Australians in working class literature, the connection between rap and poetry among working class youth, and the lack of recognition for working class writings within mainstream literatures.' (Author's abstract)
1 Potts Point Redevelopment i "Only takes minutes for history to be bulldozed", Sarah Attfield , 2012 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Disappearing 2012;
1 y separately published work icon The Working Class Experience in Contemporary Australian Poetry Sarah Attfield , Sydney : 2007 Z1587909 2007 single work thesis The Working-Class Experience in Contemporary Australian Poetry Contemporary Australian poetry neglects its working-class voices. Literary journals rarely publish poetry that focuses on working-class life and there is little analysis of the poetics of class in contemporary Australian scholarship on poetry. It may well be argued that notions of class are outdated and no longer relevant in literary criticism; alternatively, working-class poetry might be seen to lack the kind of literary merit and linguistic innovation that invites scholarly review. It may even be the case that working-class poetry is seen as closer to propaganda than art. However, this thesis takes a different view. It argues that there is a strong and vibrant body of contemporary Australian working-class poetry that merits greater public attention and more incisive critical review. We need to know if and how this poetry builds on important Australian literary traditions; we need to evaluate whether working-class poets have earned a rightful place in the contemporary poetry field. We need a poetic for analysing the cultural discourse of the working class. Therefore, this thesis offers an analysis of the content and poetics of contemporary Australian working-class poetry and of the context in which it has been produced. It presents works that to date have been ignored or dismissed by the literary mainstream. It proposes that working-class poetry can be regarded as a distinctive genre of poetry, distinguished by its themes, use of language and authors' intentions. It argues that working-class poetry is not unsophisticated but rather a specific expressive form that provides important insights into the ways in which class relations continue to reproduce inequalities. This argument is developed by reference to literature from the discipline of working-class studies in Australia and overseas. It is supported by the literature on class relations in Australia and there is also a small body of scholarship on working-class writing that contributes to the discussion. The main body of the thesis presents the work of individual working-class poets and provides detailed readings of their works that highlight the ways in which the poems exemplify the proposed category of working-class poetry. In short, this thesis creates a poetic for approaching the academic analysis of working-class cultural discourse. The conclusions I have drawn from my analysis of poetry and lyrics are that working-class poetry displays significant literary and artistic merit, and functions not only as a way for working-class people to express themselves creatively, but also provides a valuable insight into the ways in which class affects Australians on a daily basis. It is an important cultural achievement to give full and meaningful voice to disadvantaged Australians at a time of political and cultural upheaval where class cleavages and notions of identity are in a state of flux. http://adt.caul.edu.au sighted 13/05/09
1 Redevelopment i "It came down", Sarah Attfield , 2006 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Fine Print: The Newsletter of the UTS Cultural Studies Area , Spring 2006; (p. 4)
1 Girls' Night Out i "Pernod, vermouth, blackcurrant", Sarah Attfield , 2006 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Fine Print: The Newsletter of the UTS Cultural Studies Area , Spring 2006; (p. 3)
1 Back Shop Boys i "Milk crates outside the back shop", Sarah Attfield , 2006 single work poetry
— Appears in: The Fine Print: The Newsletter of the UTS Cultural Studies Area , Spring 2006; (p. 2)
1 'Worth Our Salt' : Australian Working Class Women's Poetry Sarah Attfield , 2006 single work criticism
— Appears in: Hecate , vol. 32 no. 1 2006; (p. 36-48)
1 Oodles of Noodles - Poets on Wheels 2006 : Albury, Goulburn and Heading Home Sarah Attfield , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: Five Bells , Spring vol. 13 no. 4 2006; (p. 32)
1 y separately published work icon The Fine Print: The Newsletter of the UTS Writing and Cultural Studies Area Autumn Sarah Attfield (editor), Liam Gash (editor), Linda Godfrey (editor), Fiona Staton (editor), Pip Newling (editor), Kate O'Donnell (editor), Sarah Tilsley (editor), 2005 Z1580060 2005 periodical issue
1 Anarchy and Poetry Sarah Attfield , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Spring no. 180 2005; (p. 90-91)

— Review of Poems of Life and Death Jas Heriot Duke , 2004 selected work poetry
1 2 y separately published work icon Nine Tenths Below : UTS Writers' Anthology Sarah Attfield (editor), Liam Gash (editor), Linda Godfrey (editor), Pip Newling (editor), Kate O'Donnell (editor), Fiona Staton (editor), Sarah Tilsley (editor), Rushcutters Bay : Halstead Press , 2005 Z1200081 2005 anthology poetry short story prose essay
1 London Loves Her i "(Last train home and everything changes ...)", Sarah Attfield , 2005 single work poetry
— Appears in: Nine Tenths Below : UTS Writers' Anthology 2005; (p. 131-133)
1 y separately published work icon The Fine Print : The Newsletter of the UTS Writing and Cultural Studies Area Sarah Attfield (editor), Liam Gash (editor), Linda Godfrey (editor), Fiona Staton (editor), Pip Newling (editor), Kate O'Donnell (editor), Sarah Tilsley (editor), 2005 Ultimo : UTS Press , 2005-2006 21050430 2005 periodical (3 issues)
X