'This paper looks at the construction of emptiness in the works of two artists: the Italian film composer Ennio Morricone and the Australian novelist Randolph Stow. The relevant texts are the music Morricone wrote for Sergio Leone's epic Once upon a Time in the West, and Stow's novels To the Islands and Tourmaline. Two different constructions of emptiness (including the Taoist one) are compared, the contradiction inherent in its apprehension is discussed, and there is speculation on how such a concept could gain entry into genres one of whose functions is to obliterate it.' (Author's abstract)