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y separately published work icon Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories selected work   short story  
Issue Details: First known date: 1975... 1975 Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories
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Contents

* Contents derived from the St Lucia, Indooroopilly - St Lucia area, Brisbane - North West, Brisbane, Queensland,:University of Queensland Press , 1975 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Heubler, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 3-39)
Life of the Party, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 43-52)
The Drover's Wife, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 55-61)
Zoellner's Definition, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 65-74)
Portrait of Electricity, Murray Bail , single work short story humour (p. 77-93)
The Silence, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 97-103)
The Dog Show, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 107-112)
Paradise, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 115-122)
Ore, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 125-134)
Cul-de-Sac (uncompleted), Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 137-156)
The Partitions, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 159-170)
A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z, Murray Bail , single work short story (p. 173-183)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: The Drover's Wife and Other Stories

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

Morality at Bay : The Lesson of the Americas in Murray Bail's Homesickness Michael Ackland , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 28 no. 2 2014; (p. 275-288, 535.)
'For four decades Murray Bail's writing has been at the forefront of inventive and intellectual challenging Australian fiction, yet his preoccupations remain elusive, his works enigmatic. His first book, Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories, signalled the arrival of a major talent, an expectation matched by subsequent award-winning novels, such as Homesickness and Eucalyptus. His work, however, has been often accused of inventiveness for its own sake. Here, Ackland discusses Bail's Homesickness.' (Publication summary)
The Longing for Nostalgia : Reimagining Post-War Childhood in Murray Bail’s Short Stories Bronwyn Lacken , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Studies , vol. 5 no. 2014;

'Australian author Murray Bail is best known for his experimental short stories from the 1970s; however, throughout his writing career he has published many other stories that have not always received the same degree of critical attention. This article focuses on three short stories by Bail published in 1969, 1979 and 1995 respectively and explores the links between them. All set in post-war Australia, the stories focus on the lives of young male protagonists struggling with the transition between childhood and adulthood. Bail often focuses on seemingly minor events in the characters’ lives that change in meaning throughout the course of the story, so that each protagonist takes a journey from innocence to experience. New adult understandings of everyday activities inevitably begin to invade the protagonists’ consciousnesses, leading to feelings of loss and nostalgia for a past that can never be recovered.' (Publication abstract)

Politics, Clichés and the 'Lucky Country' : Murray Bail's Critique of National Mythologies in 'Holden's Performance' Michael Ackland , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Zeitschrift fur Australienstudien , no. 25 2011; (p. 27-41)
'Matisse Is Jammed with Confidence' : Painting and Creative Inspiration in the Early Writings of Murray Bail Michael Ackland , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 56 no. 1 2011; (p. 198-215)
Argues that the early writings of Murray Bail marked a radical break with the Australian realist tradition.
The Long Hand of Murray Bail : Travel and Writing Paul Sharrad , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journeying and Journalling : Creative and Critical Meditations on Travel Writing 2010; (p. 25-36)
'In this paper Paul Sharrad suggests that Murray Bail 'could not have produced most of his work without journeying abroad, and that his book of travel observations, Longhand, offers insights into one particular kind of 'journeying' as well as his reliance on material picked up along his journeying out from and back to Australia. While he began serious writing around the age of 19 in his native South Australia, and composed some other stories during his years in Melbourne working in advertising, Bail did not really get going as a published writer until he had been overseas for several years, first in India and then England and Europe. His jottings in Longhand: a Writer's Notebook, show on the one hand, how his sense of being a writer affects his recording of the travel experience, and secondly, how much his travels have had an impact on his fiction.'' (25-26)
Second Look Peter Craven , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 29 August 2004; (p. 23)

— Review of Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories Murray Bail , 1975 selected work short story
Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories 1976 single work review
— Appears in: Semper Floreat , February vol. 46 no. 1 1976; (p. 48)

— Review of Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories Murray Bail , 1975 selected work short story
Make or Fake? Some Current Fiction Fay Zwicky , 1976 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 63 1976; (p. 52-56)

— Review of The First Journey : Two Short Novels Antigone Kefala , 1975 selected work novel ; The Boarding House Antigone Kefala , 1975 single work novel ; The First Journey Antigone Kefala , 1975 single work novel ; The West Midland Underground : Stories Michael Wilding , 1975 selected work short story ; A Kindness Cup Thea Astley , 1974 single work novel ; Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories Murray Bail , 1975 selected work short story
On the Occasion of Reading Seven Australian Book Length Pieces of Fiction (at least) Garrie Hutchinson , 1975 single work review
— Appears in: Makar , December vol. 11 no. 3 1975; (p. 42-51)

— Review of Johnno : A Novel David Malouf , 1975 single work novel ; A Place Among People Rodney Hall , 1975 single work novel ; The Short Story Embassy : A Novel Michael Wilding , 1975 single work novel ; The West Midland Underground : Stories Michael Wilding , 1975 selected work short story ; Tamarisk Row Gerald Murnane , 1974 single work novel ; A Collapsible Man Laurie Clancy , 1975 single work novel ; Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories Murray Bail , 1975 selected work short story
Untitled William Green , 1975 single work review
— Appears in: Westerly , December no. 4 1975; (p. 73-76)

— Review of Contemporary Portraits and Other Stories Murray Bail , 1975 selected work short story ; The Fat Man in History : Short Stories Peter Carey , 1974 selected work short story
'Matisse Is Jammed with Confidence' : Painting and Creative Inspiration in the Early Writings of Murray Bail Michael Ackland , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 56 no. 1 2011; (p. 198-215)
Argues that the early writings of Murray Bail marked a radical break with the Australian realist tradition.
"Stories That Take Root Become Like Things, Misshapen Things." Murray Bail's Eucalyptus : Contesting Traditional Narratives about the Land and Women in Australia? "Stories That Take Root Become Like Things, Misshapen Things." Murray Bail's Eucalyptus: cuestionando narrativas tradicionais sobre a terra e a muller en Australia? Cristina Fernandez Mendez , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australia and Galicia : Defeating the Tyranny of Distance 2008; (p. 291-307)
The Long Hand of Murray Bail : Travel and Writing Paul Sharrad , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journeying and Journalling : Creative and Critical Meditations on Travel Writing 2010; (p. 25-36)
'In this paper Paul Sharrad suggests that Murray Bail 'could not have produced most of his work without journeying abroad, and that his book of travel observations, Longhand, offers insights into one particular kind of 'journeying' as well as his reliance on material picked up along his journeying out from and back to Australia. While he began serious writing around the age of 19 in his native South Australia, and composed some other stories during his years in Melbourne working in advertising, Bail did not really get going as a published writer until he had been overseas for several years, first in India and then England and Europe. His jottings in Longhand: a Writer's Notebook, show on the one hand, how his sense of being a writer affects his recording of the travel experience, and secondly, how much his travels have had an impact on his fiction.'' (25-26)
Politics, Clichés and the 'Lucky Country' : Murray Bail's Critique of National Mythologies in 'Holden's Performance' Michael Ackland , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Zeitschrift fur Australienstudien , no. 25 2011; (p. 27-41)
Interview : Murray Bail Jim Davidson (interviewer), 1982 single work interview
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 41 no. 2 1982; (p. 264-276) Sideways from the Page : The Meanjin Interviews 1983; (p. 373-390)
Last amended 11 Nov 2020 12:21:27
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