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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'This extraordinary book has its genesis in a series of concerts first staged in 2004. Over four nights Paul Kelly performed, in alphabetical order, one hundred of his songs from the previous three decades. In between songs he told stories about them, and from those little tales grew How to Make Gravy, a memoir like no other. Each of its hundred chapters, also in alphabetical order by song title, consists of lyrics followed by a story, the nature of the latter taking its cue from the former. Some pieces are confessional, some tell Kelly's personal and family history, some take you on a road tour with the band, some form an idiosyncratic history of popular music, some are like small essays, some stand as a kind of how-to of the songwriter's art – from the point of inspiration to writing, honing, collaborating, performing, recording and reworking.' Source: www.penguin.com.au/ (Sighted 20/09/2010).
Notes
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Epigraph:
- A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end...but not necessarily in that order.
-Jean-Luc Godard - I have read many books but I don't believe them. When it hurts we return to the banks of certain rivers.
-Czeslaw Milosz
- A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end...but not necessarily in that order.
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Contains many of Kelly's song lyrics as well as the poetry and lyrics of other Australian poets and musicians.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Paul Kelly Song How to Make Gravy to Be Adapted into a Christmas Film
2022
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 May 2022;'International film rights to the beloved ballad have been acquired by Warner Bros Australia and Megan Washington’s Speech and Drama Picture'
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Leaps and Bounds
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Monthly , April no. 88 2013; (p. 34-39) -
Joining the Dots : Paul Kelly Sings About Place
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Telling Stories : Australian Life and Literature 1935–2012 2013; (p. 425-430) -
Man About Town
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28 June 2013; (p. 2) -
Journey Man
2012
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 6-7 0ctober 2012; (p. 12-16)
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The True History of Paul Kelly
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18-19 September 2010; (p. 10-11)
— Review of How to Make Gravy 2010 single work autobiography -
A Troubadour's Treats
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 2 October 2010; (p. 27)
— Review of How to Make Gravy 2010 single work autobiography -
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Monthly , October vol. 61 no. 2010; (p. 72)
— Review of How to Make Gravy 2010 single work autobiography -
How to Make Music
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 9 - 10 October 2010; (p. 4-5)
— Review of How to Make Gravy 2010 single work autobiography -
Songs from Little Things
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 16 October 2010; (p. 19)
— Review of How to Make Gravy 2010 single work autobiography -
Moody Blues
Sarah Saunders
(interviewer),
2010
single work
interview
— Appears in: 50 Something , October - November 2010; (p. 18-20) -
Looking between the Lines
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 14 May 2011; (p. 24-25) -
Bookmarks
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 June 2011; (p. 31) A column canvassing current literary news including a note about the departure of Chrissey Sharp and first appointed director, Caro Llewellyn from The Wheeler Centre, Anson Cameron at the 2011 Perth Writers Festival and Paul Kelly's How to Make Gravy (2010) being shortlisted for 2011 Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Non-Fiction, together with his cousin, Richard McGregor for his book The Party (2010). -
Before Too Long, Kelly Wins Peer Praise
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 22 June 2011; (p. 3) In 2011 he received The Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music. -
Prime Minister v Muso
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 22 April 2012; (p. 19)
Awards
- 2012 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
- 2012 finalist Melbourne Prize — Best Writing Award
- 2012 shortlisted National Biography Award
- 2011 shortlisted Australian Booksellers Association Awards — BookPeople Book of the Year
- 2011 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Book of the Year
Last amended 1 Dec 2022 14:56:38
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