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Works about this Work
-
The Scary Tale Looks for a Family : Gary Crew's 'Gothic Hospital' and Sonya Hartnett's 'The Devil's Latch'
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Gothic in Children's Literature : Haunting the Borders 2008; (p. 131-143) -
Editor's Introduction: Always Facing the Issues - Preoccupations in Australian Children's Literature
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Lion and the Unicorn , April vol. 27 no. 2 2003; (p. v-xvii) -
Inventing Anthony West
Bernard McKenna
,
Sharyn Pearce
,
1999
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Strange Journeys : The Works of Gary Crew 1999; (p. 161-181) -
Writing on the Edge: Gary Crew's Fiction
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 8 no. 3 1998; (p. 25-35) Mills gives an overview of Australian author Gary Crew's work, which she describes as 'characterized by doubt' and offering endings which remain unresolved rather than the formulaic 'happy endings' which permeate conventional children's stories (25). Crew has won many literary awards for his children's fiction, however his stories are decidely ambiguous and post-modern in their 'celebration of doubt' (34), which attracts criticism on the grounds that the texts are too 'difficult and demanding for young children' (25). Mills offers a succinct and insightful discussion which explores how Crew's narratives of child-adolescent maturation play with the conventions of the gothic-horror genre by refusing 'the guarantee of a revelation to come' (34). Mills says 'At his strongest, he brings to the reader's notice the human need to make sense of the world. The power of his fiction derives not from him meeting such needs but from playing upon them' (25). -
Metafictional Play in Children's Fiction
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 8 no. 3 1998; (p. 5-15)Grieve examines the role of metafiction in children's literature and its reliance on reader participation and interaction, by looking at textual strategies that construct the 'game' as text or fiction. These strategies include structuring the narrative around the rules of an actual game, constructing either the physical book or the text as a game, and/or representing characters as 'players in a game' (5). The discussion is a response to critics who question the value of child-focused metafictional texts and of narrative techniques that demystify fictional illusions (such as multiple narrative endings, unreliable narrators and characters, linguistic play, and the reworking of established literary codes and conventions through parody and intertextuality).
Grieve explores a number of texts based on the 'interrogative or metafictional play' and self-reflexivity the narratives offer, which, she argues, 'makes the reader aware of the interplay between reality and illusion' (6). As well as novels from the UK and the USA, Grieves discusses a number of Australian texts: Power and Glory (Emily Rodda and Geoff Kelly), Beyond the Labyrinth (Gillian Rubinstein), Inventing Anthony West (Gary Crew), and The Water Tower (Gary Crew and Steven Woolman).
Metafiction challenges the dominant humanist literary tradition, which posits 'stable, knowable texts' (5), by 'problematizing mimetic illusion' and questioning the 'nature and existence of reality, the creation of literary universes and the nature of human artefacts' (13). This is the value of metafictive narratives for children that Grieve elucidates and ultimately supports.
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Untitled
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: Fiction Focus : New Titles for Teenagers , vol. 8 no. 2 1994; (p. 10-11)
— Review of Inventing Anthony West 1994 single work novel -
Insights to Share
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser Magazine , 20 August 1994; (p. 10,12)
— Review of First Light 1993 single work picture book ; The Girl with No Name 1994 single work novel ; Gracey 1994 single work novel ; Inventing Anthony West 1994 single work novel ; The White Guinea-Pig 1994 single work novel -
How Shall I Sing?
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 164 1994; (p. 68-69)
— Review of Inventing Anthony West 1994 single work novel -
Untitled
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 2 no. 4 1994; (p. 34)
— Review of Inventing Anthony West 1994 single work novel -
Untitled
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 2 no. 4 1994; (p. 34-35)
— Review of Inventing Anthony West 1994 single work novel -
Editor's Introduction: Always Facing the Issues - Preoccupations in Australian Children's Literature
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Lion and the Unicorn , April vol. 27 no. 2 2003; (p. v-xvii) -
The Scary Tale Looks for a Family : Gary Crew's 'Gothic Hospital' and Sonya Hartnett's 'The Devil's Latch'
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Gothic in Children's Literature : Haunting the Borders 2008; (p. 131-143) -
Inventing Anthony West
Bernard McKenna
,
Sharyn Pearce
,
1999
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Strange Journeys : The Works of Gary Crew 1999; (p. 161-181) -
Post-Colonialism, Justice and Good Stories: An Interview with Gary Crew
Bernard McKenna
,
Philip Neilsen
,
1994
single work
interview
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , July vol. 6 no. 2 1994; (p. 14-30) -
Metafictional Play in Children's Fiction
1998
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Papers : Explorations into Children's Literature , December vol. 8 no. 3 1998; (p. 5-15)Grieve examines the role of metafiction in children's literature and its reliance on reader participation and interaction, by looking at textual strategies that construct the 'game' as text or fiction. These strategies include structuring the narrative around the rules of an actual game, constructing either the physical book or the text as a game, and/or representing characters as 'players in a game' (5). The discussion is a response to critics who question the value of child-focused metafictional texts and of narrative techniques that demystify fictional illusions (such as multiple narrative endings, unreliable narrators and characters, linguistic play, and the reworking of established literary codes and conventions through parody and intertextuality).
Grieve explores a number of texts based on the 'interrogative or metafictional play' and self-reflexivity the narratives offer, which, she argues, 'makes the reader aware of the interplay between reality and illusion' (6). As well as novels from the UK and the USA, Grieves discusses a number of Australian texts: Power and Glory (Emily Rodda and Geoff Kelly), Beyond the Labyrinth (Gillian Rubinstein), Inventing Anthony West (Gary Crew), and The Water Tower (Gary Crew and Steven Woolman).
Metafiction challenges the dominant humanist literary tradition, which posits 'stable, knowable texts' (5), by 'problematizing mimetic illusion' and questioning the 'nature and existence of reality, the creation of literary universes and the nature of human artefacts' (13). This is the value of metafictive narratives for children that Grieve elucidates and ultimately supports.