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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Notes
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Dedication: For my father and mother
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Farm Novel or Station Romance? The Geraldton Novels of Randolph Stow
2018
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 1 no. 18 2018;'Critical interpretations of Randolph Stow's works have been inclined to see them as studies of alienation. This essay addresses the material basis for the novels that Stow set in the Geraldton hinterland, namely A Haunted Land (1956), The Bystander (1957), and Merry-Go-Round in the Sea (1965). Against the metaphysical and postcolonial readings of Stow's work, this essay posits an alienation that stems from a change in agricultural mode from pastoral to farming.' (Publication abstract)
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Sound and Music in the Works of Randolph Stow
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 27 no. 2 2013; (p. 177-183) 'Music resonates through the works of Randolph Stow (1935-2010), with landscape, sounds, and words entwined across his elegant and lyrical output. Just as the author describes Shakespeare as having words for every emotion, so has Stow a song for every situation, with specific pieces of music used to locate fiction in time and place. Here, Richards talks about the sound and music in the works of Randolph Stow. Music in performance has a strong presence in his writings, from domestic gatherings to country music, Christian worship and indigenous rituals.' (Publication abstract) -
The Islands of Randolph Stow
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 72 no. 3 2012; (p. 103-118)'Randolph Stow (1935-2010) prefaced his novel To the Islands with this quotation [see epigraph below] drawn from the writings of his great great uncle. Coming from an island that is also a continent, where 'arguably, 'island-ness' was and still is at the core of the Australian worldview' (Davies and Neuenfeldt, 2004: 137), the notion of 'island', sometimes imaginary, sometimes having a geographical precision, is manifest in Stow's writings in many different ways. An aura of mystery pervades all of his novels, the sea is often present, and there are recurring themes of isolation and boundedness.' (Author's introduction)
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Toxic Flowers : Randolph Stow's Unfused Horizons
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , no. 10 2010; 'In the Preface to his 1982 revision of To The Islands (first published 1958), Randolph Stow describes himself as a 'fanatical realist'. Re-reading Stow's texts suggests that if Stow's realism is 'fanatical', it is so because his writing continually, if unobtrusively, foregrounds language as that which mediates reality. We read the reflexiveness of Stow's texts more readily when we are paying attention to their intertextuality, along with their use of devices such as mise en abyme and cinematic or theatrical tableau, and sign making. One prominent sign in the Stow oeuvre is that of flowers as offerings. Whether presented to God, self or another person, flowers are at best ambiguous gifts, nuanced with various kinds of toxicity. This article discusses two examples. In the first, verbal 'flowers', part of an ancient children's dancing game, are embraced as if they were real by the protagonist of Stow's first novel, A Haunted Land (1956). In the second, from Tourmaline (1963), flowers on the altar of a ruined church correlate with the mysticism of a saint-like Aboriginal woman, Gloria Day; but also with the estranging dominance of the white settler-invader culture. The remainder of the article discusses the 'toxic flowers' of Charles Baudelaire's poem-cycle Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil) as the informing intertext of Stow's To The Islands. The article reads intertexts as Gadamerian 'horizons', that are continually revised.' (Author's abstract) - y The Novels of Randolph Stow : A Critical Study Jaipur : Pointer Publishers , 1993 Z149809 1993 single work criticism
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[Review] A Voyage in Love [and] A Haunted Land
1956
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 1 December 1956; (p. 20)
— Review of A Voyage in Love : A Novel 1956 single work novel ; A Haunted Land 1956 single work novel -
A Bird in the Hand
1957
single work
review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 18 no. 1 1957; (p. 48-50)
— Review of A Voyage in Love : A Novel 1956 single work novel ; A Haunted Land 1956 single work novel -
[Review] A Haunted Land
1956
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 15 December 1956; (p. 18)
— Review of A Haunted Land 1956 single work novel -
[Review] A Haunted Land
1956
single work
review
— Appears in: The Spectator , 21 September 1956; (p. 396)
— Review of A Haunted Land 1956 single work novel -
[Review] A Haunted Land
1956
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 12 October 1956; (p. 606)
— Review of A Haunted Land 1956 single work novel -
Toxic Flowers : Randolph Stow's Unfused Horizons
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , no. 10 2010; 'In the Preface to his 1982 revision of To The Islands (first published 1958), Randolph Stow describes himself as a 'fanatical realist'. Re-reading Stow's texts suggests that if Stow's realism is 'fanatical', it is so because his writing continually, if unobtrusively, foregrounds language as that which mediates reality. We read the reflexiveness of Stow's texts more readily when we are paying attention to their intertextuality, along with their use of devices such as mise en abyme and cinematic or theatrical tableau, and sign making. One prominent sign in the Stow oeuvre is that of flowers as offerings. Whether presented to God, self or another person, flowers are at best ambiguous gifts, nuanced with various kinds of toxicity. This article discusses two examples. In the first, verbal 'flowers', part of an ancient children's dancing game, are embraced as if they were real by the protagonist of Stow's first novel, A Haunted Land (1956). In the second, from Tourmaline (1963), flowers on the altar of a ruined church correlate with the mysticism of a saint-like Aboriginal woman, Gloria Day; but also with the estranging dominance of the white settler-invader culture. The remainder of the article discusses the 'toxic flowers' of Charles Baudelaire's poem-cycle Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil) as the informing intertext of Stow's To The Islands. The article reads intertexts as Gadamerian 'horizons', that are continually revised.' (Author's abstract) -
University Produces Young Novelist
1955
single work
column
— Appears in: Pelican , 7 October 1955; (p. 4) - y The Novels of Randolph Stow : A Critical Study Jaipur : Pointer Publishers , 1993 Z149809 1993 single work criticism
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From Metastasis to Metamorphosis : The House of Self in the Novels of Randolph Stow
1990
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Kunapipi , vol. 12 no. 1 1990; (p. 32-47) -
Honour the Single Soul : Randolph Stow and His Novels
1979
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , December vol. 39 no. 4 1979; (p. 378-392)