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Notes
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Dedication: For William and Laura Power, my father and mother.
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Epigraph: There is a certain point in the mind where life and death, the real and the imaginary, the past and the future, the communicable and the incommunicable, the high and the low cease to be perceived as contraditions. André Breton
Proceed from the dream outward. Jung
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Contains thirteen of the twenty-four stories that appear in Woodpecker Point and Other Stories (1988).
Contents
- The Woodpecker Toy Fact, single work short story (p. 3-11)
- A Taste of Earth, single work short story (p. 12-17)
- I Was as Dumb as Dorothy McGuire, single work short story (p. 18-20)
- The Quince Tree, single work short story (p. 21-23)
- Higher Animals, single work short story (p. 24-27)
- Kay Petman's Coloured Pencils, single work short story (p. 31-37)
- Dark Stranger, single work short story (p. 38-42)
- The Right Stuff, single work short story (p. 43-48)
- Buttercup and Wendy, single work short story (p. 49-55)
- Seeking its Level, single work short story (p. 56-60)
- Introducing Your Friends, single work short story (p. 61-65)
- The Best Thing to Do, single work short story (p. 66-70)
- Buff Orpington and the Disasters of Middle Life Buff Orphington and the Disasters of Middle Life, single work short story (p. 71-78)
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The Enlargement of Bethany,
single work
short story
Harry Stone runs an optometrist's in Woodpecker Point, where he knows nearly every one of the residents. He is smitten with Bethany Grey, the owner of the Orchid Frock shop across the street, but she has never come in for an appointment.
As Harry's receptionist, Lisa, gets married, he tries to connect with Bethany Grey, but loses his courage. He plans on gifting an enlarged photograph of her at the wedding to her. When he looks at the photo, he sees skulls in her eyes.
Harry gives a smaller version of the photo instead, one without the skulls visible. Bethany thanks him and mentions she's been meaning to make an appointment.
- Cherries Jubilee, or, Whichever Way You Look at It, single work short story (p. 89-91)
- Woodpecker Point, single work short story (p. 95-143)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
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The Stranger's Eye
1988
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Phoenix Review , Spring/Summer no. 3 1988; (p. 65-68) -
Untitled
1987-1988
single work
review
— Appears in: The Book Magazine , December-January vol. 1 no. 3 1987-1988; (p. 27-28)
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story -
Love of Tasmania Shines Through
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: The Mercury , 20 June 1987;
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story -
Untitled
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 18 July 1987;
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story -
Of Maggers and Mermaids - and Aesthetic Schizophrenia
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 93 1987; (p. 23-24)
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story
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Local Short Fiction Getting Warmer
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 20 June 1987; (p. 16)
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story ; Australian Short Stories no. 17 1987 periodical issue ; Stories from the Warm Zone and Sydney Stories 1987 selected work short story autobiography -
In a Child's Eyes, then Disease, Death
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 4 July 1987; (p. 3)
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story ; Stories from the Warm Zone and Sydney Stories 1987 selected work short story autobiography -
Better a Magger with a Scone
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4 July 1987; (p. 47)
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story ; The Penguin Best Stories of D'Arcy Niland 1987 selected work short story biography -
Of Maggers and Mermaids - and Aesthetic Schizophrenia
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 93 1987; (p. 23-24)
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story -
Untitled
1987
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 18 July 1987;
— Review of The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories 1987 selected work short story -
The Stranger's Eye
1988
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Phoenix Review , Spring/Summer no. 3 1988; (p. 65-68)