AustLit

An introduction to plays by Indigenous writers that have been published since the 1970s.

An overview of short stories by Indigenous authors, with special focus on Unaipon's 'Confusion of Tongue'.

Michele Grossman argues that life writing 'has proved a particularly attractive genre for Indigenous Australians wishing to re-vision and re-write historical accounts of invasion, settlement and cross-cultural relationships from individual, family and community-based Indigenous Australian memories, perspectives and experiences'. Grossman draws particularly on Gladys Gilligan's writing of her time at the Moore River Settlement in Susan Maushart's Sort of a Place Like Home: The Moore River Native Settlement (1993).

Examines how Aboriginal women of the 'stolen generation' use white technologies, most notably written narratives, to make known their and their families' experiences. These writings also teach the broader community about traditional Aboriginal ways of life and culture, about Aboriginal history, about the role women played in Aboriginal societies, and about the impact of white policies and government actions on Indigenous people. 'Thus, by writing their stories and discussing it with their family, the larger Aboriginal community, and a white audience, Aboriginal women are reclaiming their past and establishing an identity of their own within white society' (241).

And overview of writings by Italian-Australian authors since the 1850s.

An overview of Chinese-Australian writing.

An overview of Greek-Australian poetry, fiction, drama and performance poetry, the essay traces the development of Greek-Australian writing post-WW II, focusing particularly on the past two decades.

The essay gives an overview of Jewish-Australian writing, and of the major themes and issues the writers have addressed, according to their and their families' experiences before and after moving to Australia.

An overview of Hungarian-Australian migrant writers and their works, and of the themes and topics they have engaged with in their writings.

An overview of Slovene-Australian writing and writers since the 1960s.

The essay gives an overview of writings by Vietnamese-Australian authors. It discusses films and novels of the category of 'return narratives', and the issues surrounding the Vietnamese diaspora in Australia.

The essay briefly outlines the European exploration of Australia and then discusses the significance and status of the explorers' journals in Europe and, later, in the Australian imagination. The last part focuses on the way in which the trope of exploration has been used in Australian fiction of the 19th and 20th centuries, often in search for national identity.

McCooey examines Australian autobiographical writing published during the years 1997-2006. Several authors and works are discussed.

The essay gives an overview of Australian war literature, its writers and major works. Unlike most European literatures which depicted the 'Great War' in rather bleak terms and saw the soldiers as victims rather than heroes, Australian war literature celebrated the 'Digger', the heroic prototype as 'the birth of a latter-day Achilles' and glorified the soldiers: 'Self-congratulation was the norm rather than the exception in Australian literature of the Great War' (342). Gerster argues that this trend continued through World War II and Vietnam literature, and even in recent times 'the cult of the Australian soldier has never had such widespread, unquestioning support' (345-346).

Discusses Australian colonial and postcolonial writers who have used the Gothic mode to highlight aspects of Australian history and culture.