AustLit

'One of the questions posed by this conference is, 'Why has Australia received so little attention in US literary circles?' This paper aims to propose an answer to that question by identifying American editions of Australian novels and by widely surveying reviews of these novels in journals and newspapers throughout the twentieth century. This survey will rely on searches conducted via the online version of the Book Review Digest and will be informed by Richard Ohmann's Politics of Letters (1987). Drawing on several sociological studies and other empirical data, Ohmann argues that canonization in the USA has relied on a small group of professional readers and a similarly small number of newspapers and journals in which these books were discussed, most of which were based within New York City limits. While Australian novels might not have been considered for canonization, the established print culture networks through which they moved ultimately influenced their critical and commercial success. Examining the degree to which Australian novels were included in the 'book talk' of these print culture networks provides a suitable foundation for statements about the space provided for Australian novels in US print culture. Ultimately, the limited and irregular inclusion of Australia in the 'book talk' of a small number of New York intellectuals and periodicals goes a long way to explaining why Australia has received so little attention in US literary circles.' (Author's abstract)