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Cover image courtesy of Penguin.
y separately published work icon Here Come the Dogs single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2014... 2014 Here Come the Dogs
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In small-town suburban Australia, three young men from three different ethnic backgrounds--one Samoan, one Macedonian, one not sure--are ready to make their mark. Solomon is all charisma, authority, and charm, a failed basketball player down for the moment but surely not out. His half-brother, Jimmy, bounces along in his wake, underestimated, waiting for his chance to announce himself. Aleks, their childhood friend, loves his mates, his family, and his homeland and would do anything for them. The question is, does he know where to draw the line? Solomon, Jimmy, and Aleks are way out on the fringe of Australia, looking for a way in. Hip hop, basketball, and graffiti give them a voice. Booze, women, and violence pass the time while they wait for their chance. Under the oppressive summer sun, their town has turned tinder-dry. All it'll take is a spark. As the surrounding hills roar with flames, the change storms in. But it's not what they were waiting for. It never is.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (New Press edition).

Reading Australia

Reading Australia

This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.

Unit Suitable For AC: Senior Secondary English (Unit 3)

Duration Four to six weeks

Curriculum Summary

Find a summary table for Australian Curriculum: Literature content descriptions and NSW Syllabus outcomes for this unit.

Themes

acceptance, escapism, identity, loneliness, masculinity, migrant experience, racism, violence

General Capabilities

Ethical understanding, Intercultural understanding, Literacy, Personal and social

Cross-curriculum Priorities

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Sustainability

Notes

  • A novel in verse form.
  • Dedication: For my mother, Helen
  • Epigraph:

    The true subject of poetry is the loss of the beloved - Faiz Ahmed Faiz

    Face the fire –Jimblah

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Docklands, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin Books , 2014 .
      image of person or book cover 1650045242845928957.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of Penguin.
      Extent: 352p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 23 July 2014
      ISBN: 9781742536927
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      The New Press ,
      2016 .
      image of person or book cover 7324486434774826119.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 330p.p.
      ISBN: 9781620971178, 1620971178

Works about this Work

Australian Poetry Now Bronwyn Lea , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Poetry , May 2016; (p. 185-191)
'Once asked what poets can do for Australia, A.D. Hope replied: “They can justify its existence.” Such has been the charge of Australian poets, from Hope himself to Kenneth Slessor, Judith Wright to Les Murray, Anthony Lawrence to Judith Beveridge: to articulate the Australian experience so that it might live in the imagination of its people. While the presence and potency of the Australian landscape remains an abiding interest, a great deal of Australian poetry has been innovative and experimental, with poets such as Robert Adamson, Michael Dransfield, Vicki Viidikas, John Forbes, Gig Ryan,   J.S. Harry, and Jennifer Maiden leading the way. The richness, strength, and vitality of Australian poetry is marked by a prodigious diversity that makes it as exhilarating to survey as it is challenging to encapsulate.' (Introduction)
Australia in Three Books Katherine Brabon , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 75 no. 3 2016; (p. 21-23)
Weirding English : The New Scripture of the Suburbs in Omar Musa's 'Here Come the Dogs' Ruth McHugh-Dillon , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings , October no. 23 2015; (p. 167-181)

— Review of Here Come the Dogs Omar Musa , 2014 single work novel
The New Australian Literary Frontier : Writing Western Sydney Matt McGuire , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 February 2015;
Young Novelists Speak with Original Voices Linda Morris , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23-24 May 2015; (p. 17) The Canberra Times , 23 May 2015; (p. 13)
Omar Musa's Debut Novel is So Hot Even Scottish Author Irvine Welsh Endorses It... Chris Kennedy , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 12 July 2014; (p. 6)

— Review of Here Come the Dogs Omar Musa , 2014 single work novel
To a Hip-Hop Beat, the Beauty of the Streets Mark Mordue , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 19-20 July 2014; (p. 18)

— Review of Here Come the Dogs Omar Musa , 2014 single work novel
'Australian-Malaysian rapper, poet and now novelist Omar Musa resists the limitations of genre and ethnicity as he tells Mark Mordue.'
Street Poetry Committed to the Page Nicole Lee , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 23 July 2014;

— Review of Here Come the Dogs Omar Musa , 2014 single work novel
Talking at You, but Nust Who's Listening Sunil Badami , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 August 2014; (p. 21)

— Review of Here Come the Dogs Omar Musa , 2014 single work novel
Hybrid Life on the Margins Owen Richardson , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6-7 September 2014; (p. 32-33)

— Review of Here Come the Dogs Omar Musa , 2014 single work novel
Interview : Omar Musa Caroline Baum , 2014 single work interview
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16 August 2014; (p. 26-27) The Age , 16 August 2014; (p. 30)
Young Novelists Speak with Original Voices Linda Morris , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23-24 May 2015; (p. 17) The Canberra Times , 23 May 2015; (p. 13)
The New Australian Literary Frontier : Writing Western Sydney Matt McGuire , 2015 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 17 February 2015;
Australian Poetry Now Bronwyn Lea , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Poetry , May 2016; (p. 185-191)
'Once asked what poets can do for Australia, A.D. Hope replied: “They can justify its existence.” Such has been the charge of Australian poets, from Hope himself to Kenneth Slessor, Judith Wright to Les Murray, Anthony Lawrence to Judith Beveridge: to articulate the Australian experience so that it might live in the imagination of its people. While the presence and potency of the Australian landscape remains an abiding interest, a great deal of Australian poetry has been innovative and experimental, with poets such as Robert Adamson, Michael Dransfield, Vicki Viidikas, John Forbes, Gig Ryan,   J.S. Harry, and Jennifer Maiden leading the way. The richness, strength, and vitality of Australian poetry is marked by a prodigious diversity that makes it as exhilarating to survey as it is challenging to encapsulate.' (Introduction)
Australia in Three Books Katherine Brabon , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 75 no. 3 2016; (p. 21-23)
Last amended 18 Aug 2020 13:30:41
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