AustLit

'Sometimes you need to repeat something a hundred times before a bell rings in the colony.'

From the bestselling author Bruce Pascoe comes a deeply personal story about the consequences and responsibility of disrupting Australia's history.

'When Dark Emu was adopted by Australia like a new anthem, Bruce found himself at the centre of a national debate that often focussed on the wrong part of the story. But through all the noise came Black Duck Foods, a blueprint for traditional food growing and land management processes based on very old practices.

'Bruce Pascoe and Lyn Harwood invite us to imagine a different future for Australia, one where we can honour our relationship with nature and improve agriculture and forestry. Where we can develop a uniquely Australian cuisine that will reduce carbon emissions, preserve scarce water resources and rebuild our soil. Bruce and Lyn show us that you don't just work Country, you look, listen and care. It's not Black Duck magic, it's the result of simply treating Australia like herself.

'From the aftermath of devastating bushfires and the impact of an elder's death to rebuilding a marriage and counting the personal cost of starting a movement, Black Duck is a remarkable glimpse into a year of finding strength in Country at Yumburra.' (Publication summary)

'A guide to the stars for everyone around the world.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A singer overwhelmed by his crowd. A dancer on ice above sea. A teenage girl, later to become a virtuoso conductor, jolted by the sound of a symphony.

'Two filmmakers exchange vows on their opera set. A photographer hears a Cistercian echo in the sails. And one night, after a Verdi curtain call, an audience member who looks a lot like Bob Dylan receives a private singing lesson in a theatre named after Australia’s greatest opera star.

'For fifty years, the Sydney Opera House has elevated the spirits of all who enter its orbit.

'Here, fifty artists – from Simone Young to Nick Cave, Sylvie Guillem to Briggs, Baz Luhrmann to Carlotta – share their most indelible memories from a building that embodies the Australian contemporary experience.' (Publication summary)

'A fascinating portrait of gay men and women throughout time whose lives have influenced society at large, as well as what we recognize as today's varied gay culture.

'This book gives a voice to more than eighty people from every major continent and from all walks of life.  It includes poets and philosophers, rulers and spies, activists and artists.  Alongside such celebrated figures as Michelangelo, Frederick the Great and Harvey Milk are lesser-known but no less surprising individuals:  Dong Xian and the Chinese emperor Ai, whose passion flourished in the 1st century BC; the unfortunate Robert De Péronne, first to be burned at the stake for sodomy; Katharine Philips, writing proto-lesbian poetry in seventeenth-century England; and 'Aimee' and 'Jaguar', whose love defied the death camps of wartime Germany.

'With many striking illustrations, Gay Life Stories will entertain, give pause for thought, and ultimately celebrate the diversity of human history.' (Publication summary)

'Nobody knows everything that happens inside a marriage, not even the people in it. The same can be said of families.

'What do you do when your partner's infidelity upends your life? When you have to face up to your own addictions? Mental illnesses rain down on those you love? Parents die, careers end, love is found in unexpected places.

'As a journalist, Kate Legge often sought answers to how people reckon with bad hands dealt or bad decisions. Then came her own search when faced with her husband's affair that unearthed a fault line of unfaithfulness running through four generations of his family.

'Is infidelity a predisposition or learned behaviour? Infidelity and Other Affairs starts with this puzzle then contemplates life's curveballs as Legge strives to understand how we become who we are.

'To her own surprise, she finds strength and peace where revenge and hate were imagined.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'An illustrated reference book featuring 280 animals that eat and play during the day.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Step into the gardens of celebrated artists from around the world in this enchanting seek-and-find picture book of rhyming verse.

'In an Artist’s Garden takes young readers on a magical journey over desert plains, along windswept coastlines and into the jungle, telling the stories of each artist and their garden. Visit Claude Monet’s famous waterlily ponds, David Hockney’s bright and colourful LA garden and Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Country, Alhalkere. There are seaside gardens, kitchen gardens and sculpture gardens to explore. With all manner of creatures and objects to find, discover the delights of each artist’s garden and the inspiration found in nature.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'It goes without saying that all children believe their parents to be strange.
Mine were unusual for a different reason…

'One boy’s parents travel from far-off lands to improve their son’s life. But what happens next is unexpected. What does it mean when your parents are different? What shape does love take? And what happens when your parents sacrifice a part of themselves for you?

'In this heartbreaking and heart-warming story, CBCA award-winner Zeno Sworder reflects on his own migrant parents’ sacrifices to create a universal story about what it means to give to those you love. Drawing from the sacrifices his Chinese mother made to raise her young family in a small country town, Sworder’s drawings are full of beautiful detail and fairytale settings that explore his own journey from child to parent.

'With humour and pathos, Sworder reflects on the strange nature of giving and receiving love and celebrates those parents who embrace a hard life for themselves in the hope of a better life from their children. Full of depth and generosity as well as insight and candour, Sworder brings this gorgeous fable to life.'  (Publication summary)

 (Publication summary)

'Winner of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' first four Archibald Prizes (1922 to 1925) - and several more thereafter - was Melbourne's William Beckwith McInnes. With the Archibald wins, and then in his early 30s, McInnes was already an acclaimed landscape artist and had exhibited works painted in the British Isles, Spain and Morocco. After his Archibald successes he became, arguably, the country's most sought-after portrait painter with official commissions to paint war heroes, prime ministers, lord mayors and other notables. In 1927 he was commissioned to paint the opening of Canberra's new Parliament House and 1933 saw him in London painting The Duke of York who was soon to take the throne. In 1904, at age 14, McInnes was enrolled at Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria Art School with the support of its occasionally controversial Director, L. Bernard Hall. McInnes's later success was founded on the academic training received at the School which, very much of its time, taught traditional skills of drawing and pictorial composition. After art school he became an active member of the arts community, participating in painting trips with well known fellow artists and keeping abreast of new galleries and arts associations at a time when some knowledge of European Modernism was beginning to infiltrate the local culture. In 1916 he was appointed master of the Gallery's Drawing School, replacing his former teacher Frederick McCubbin. Later he became Director of the Art School and acting-Director of the Gallery itself, thus faithfully maintaining his connection with the institution until his early death in 1939.While not averse to the contemporary developments emanating from overseas, McInnes was intent on maintaining the School's stellar reputation and equipping his students with the skills needed to succeed in a rapidly changing art world. It was a time of unavoidable unrest in the arts community, debates about Modernism escalated and controversies appeared in the press. McInnes was caught in a time of exponential change which could not be avoided and he handled it with care and equanimity as is attested by the wide range of artists and friends of that time whose views and opinions appear in the book. Margot Tasca's sympathetic, assiduously researched text, with numerous previously unpublished images, also traces the artist's personal and family life. Married to fellow artist Violet McInnes in 1915, they had six children and lived an idyllic life alongside other artists in Melbourne's Bohemian suburb of Alphington. With 'movie-star' looks and a kind and generous personality his story, which is not without tragedy, is now told in this important publication which hopefully sheds some new light on an occasionally misunderstood period of Australian art history.'  (Publication summary)

'When your daughter dies, how do you navigate living?

'One morning, Lucy Halligan lay on her bed with her cat and went to sleep. Soon after, her heart stopped. But her mother, writer Marion Halligan, forced hers to keep beating.

'More joy than sorrow, this profoundly moving memoir celebrates Lucy’s life, weaving together everyday details and treasured events.

'Words for Lucy sees Marion at the peak of her writing powers, telling the story of a mother surviving the aftershocks of death and finding the space to live.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Over the centuries the Gothic has been revived and rewritten to reflect the anxieties of each era. It encompasses the weird, the feared and the uncanny; haunted places and people; and monsters that act as mirrors to ourselves and society.

'In this lavishly illustrated volume, Roger Luckhurst explores how the Gothic began in the margins of history and has seeped into mainstream culture today. He delves into the Gothic settings all around the world, from the Alps to the Australian outback, the dark folkloric realm of the forest to the ruined post-industrial landscapes of abandoned hospitals and asylums, then beyond the planet to unknowable cosmic horror. We encounter the creatures that populate the Gothic imagination and the space between the living and the dead, from Frankenstein to the zombie of Haitian folklore. Drawing on a rich array of visual material, Luckhurst traces this history across all media from architecture to anime, from Victor Hugo to new horror classics such as Get Out, The Babadook and Raw, as the Gothic confronts race, gender and sexuality.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A voyage of discovery, seeking other worlds to answer one of life’s great questions: are we alone?

'Did life on Earth arrive on a meteorite from outer space? Are there living beings on planets beyond our solar system? If they are out there, what might these aliens look like? Would they be smart, curious, scared? Would they even want to meet us?

'Revealing the wonders of scientific inquiry, astrophysicist and best-selling author Lisa Harvey-Smith guides Earthlings young and old through our search for alien life. On the way, she considers where our best chances are to find any galactic neighbours; ponders whether they might already be living among us; and looks at what we might learn about aliens from life at Earth’s extremes.

'Asking all the important questions, answering some and explaining why others need further investigation, Aliens and Other Worlds explores the mystery of life beyond Earth. With illustrations by acclaimed artist Tracie Grimwood, this awe-inspiring journey will thrill anyone with eyes fixed on distant horizons.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'At once ad man and artist, designer and entrepreneur, Ken Done has achieved what few others have. His signature style has graced ad campaigns and cars, magazine covers and duvet covers, public spaces and landmark cultural events, but it is his unabated passion for painting that sustains him. For more than forty years, Done has chronicled the Australian way, documenting how it feels to be Australian with an exuberance that is immediately recognisable.

'Ken Done: Art Design Life documents Done’s expansive art and design practice over four decades and provides a fascinating insight into the artist and his oeuvre. The book features both early and lesser-known works, as well as the iconic paintings of Sydney Harbour, the Outback and the reef. It opens an extensive archive, providing readers in-depth access to the catalogue of fashion and homewares, and the designs that came to define an era.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Join the Tiny Explorers on a treasure hunt through the garden! Kat Macleod’s luscious mixed-media artwork explores the natural world up close. Seemingly ordinary elements – grass, leaves, bugs and blooms – become mighty and magical when seen from their vantage point. And hiding amid this nature wonderland is a series of special items for the explorers to collect and transform into a fun surprise at the end of the journey.

'Repetition and use of prepositions to map the landscape help young readers follow the story, which invites explorers big and small to discover the beauty and wonder of nature from a different perspective. Australian artist Kat Macleod was inspired by watching her children play in their home garden, discovering new flowers, unusual insects and an odd assortment of tiny ‘treasures’.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Born in Ballarat, Victoria, Hilda Rix Nicholas held her first solo exhibition in Paris in 1912. On sale were drawings made in Morocco earlier that year. The French state bought one of them, Grand Marché, Tanger, for display in the Musée National du Luxembourg. Hilda’s career was launched. She was twenty-eight years old.

'Hilda was making a name as an artist of France when the Great War broke out. She, her sister and her ailing mother fled to London on the last boat out of Boulogne, but sanctuary was fleeting. The war dealt her a series of blows: first her sister died, then her mother, then her beloved war-hero husband. Hilda bore these tragedies with dignity and resolve.

'In the 1920s, dividing her time between Australia and France, she held frequent exhibitions, selling her work to the major galleries of both nations. Working in bold colours and valuing, above all, the foundational skill of good drawing, her best works were grand-scale portraits of common people – French, Australian or Moroccan – all rendered with Hilda’s trademark generosity and honesty.

'One of Australia’s great artists, Hilda’s life and work illustrate a wonderful truth: out of adversity can come great beauty.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'In this generous account of life on the land and in the kitchen, trailblazing cook Annie Smithers chronicles her quest for a more sustainable existence, in harmony with the environment and the self. Part meditation, part memoir, the book offers practical advice and wisdom gleaned from a life dedicated to seasonal food and living lightly on the ground beneath her feet. Annie’s story spans thirty years of productive gardens and kitchens across country Victoria. Now settled on a plot of land in Lyonville, which she farms for her family and her restaurant, du Fermier, she shares her hard-won lessons and favourite recipes.

'Recipe for a Kinder Life offers a guiding hand for anyone, from the city to the regions, who yearns to live more gently. It is about caring for land and reaping the bounty. But at its heart, it reveals that the key to living a sustainable life is finding the best way to sustain yourself.'

Source : publisher's blurb