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  • Author:agent John Kinsella http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/kinsella-john
Issue Details: First known date: 2012... 2012 In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In the Shade of the Shady Tree is a collection of stories set in the Western Australian wheatbelt, a vast grain-growing area that ranges across the southwestern end of the immense Australian interior. Kinsella's stories offer glimpses into the lives of the people who call this area home.

Cast against a backdrop of indigenous dispossession, settler migration, and the destructive impact of land-clearing and monocultural farming methods, the stories offer moments of connection with the inhabitants, ranging from the matter-of-fact to the bizarre and inexplicable. Something about the nature of the place wrestles with all human interactions and affects their outcomes. The land itself is a dominant character, with dust, gnarled scrubland, and the need for rain underpinning human endeavour.

Inflected with both contemporary ideas of short fiction and the "everyman" tradition of Australian storytelling, this collection will introduce many readers to a new landscape and unforgettable characters' (Publisher's blurb).

Notes

  • Dedication: for Tracy, as always
  • Author's note:
    A journey through the West
    Australian wheatbelt and adjacent
    southern areas: from north to south.

    The author wishes to acknowledge
    the traditional owners and
    custodians of the land he writes: the
    Yamatji and Nyungar peoples.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Athens, Ohio,
c
United States of America (USA),
c
Americas,
:
Swallow Press ,Ohio University Press , 2012 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Rain, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 1-5)
Purchase, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 6-14)
The Fireball, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 15-19)
Carcass, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 20-25)
Mange, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 26-31)
The Cartesian Diver, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 32-35)
Memorial, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 36-43)
A Load of Bricks, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 44-50)
The Pact, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 51-56)
The Porch, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 57-60)
Embarrassed, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 61-68)
Baby, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 69-74)
The Garden, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 75-79)
The Vacant Block, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 80-86)
The House Near the Cemetery, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 87-94)
The Appointment, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 95-99)
The Fable of the Gravel Pit, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 100-103)
The Donation, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 104-108)
Dozer, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 109-113)
The Graduation, John Kinsella , single work short story (p. 114-119)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

The Scrub of Vicissitude : The Experimental Fiction of John Kinsella Nicholas Birns , 2021 single work criticism
— Appears in: Angelaki , vol. 26 no. 2 2021; (p. 124-134)

'John Kinsella’s achievement as a poet has overshadowed his fiction. But his narrative accomplishment is a considerable one. Whereas his poetry is usually classified as either experimental or “dark pastoral,” the fiction evades these kinds of categorizations. This essay delineates Kinsella’s fictional oeuvre, from the estrangements of his short stories to his recent series of short novels, novellas, and full-length novels, all of which feature a protagonist who is a version of himself, a Kinsella manqué, deployed against various speculative futuristic, or conjectural backdrops. This technique enables both a searing social interrogation and a questioning of the privileged self in light of racism, sexism, and white settler arrogance. Kinsella’s fiction often rewrites anterior texts or received genres. But, unlike so much other Australian fiction, it does not simply write into the global market or attempt to temporarily reanimate received paradigms. Kinsella’s fictions, such as Hollow EarthDjango & Jezebel, and Basket Z, are not conventional novels. But they provide a satisfying narrative through-line even as they prod the reader to think about their own place in the text and in the world.' (Publication abstract)

Bully-Proof Simon Patton , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , February 2014;

— Review of In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story ; Tide John Kinsella , 2013 selected work short story ; Armour John Kinsella , 2011 selected work poetry ; The Vision of Error : A Sextet of Activist Poems John Kinsella , 2013 selected work poetry
Review : In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia Steven R. Luebke , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 27 no. 1 2013; (p. 112)

— Review of In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
Fables of Damage and Fear Philip Mead , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6-7 October 2012; (p. 22)

— Review of In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
Crossing Over Lachlan Mackinnon , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 27 July no. 5704 2012; (p. 23)

— Review of Armour John Kinsella , 2011 selected work poetry ; The Jaguar's Dream : Translations, Adaptations, Versions, Extrapolations, Interpolations, Afters, Takes and Departures John Kinsella , 2012 selected work poetry ; In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
Rich Diversity Out West Ian McFarlane , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 23 June 2012; (p. 22)

— Review of Kimberley Stories 2012 anthology prose autobiography poetry ; In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
Crossing Over Lachlan Mackinnon , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 27 July no. 5704 2012; (p. 23)

— Review of Armour John Kinsella , 2011 selected work poetry ; The Jaguar's Dream : Translations, Adaptations, Versions, Extrapolations, Interpolations, Afters, Takes and Departures John Kinsella , 2012 selected work poetry ; In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
Fables of Damage and Fear Philip Mead , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6-7 October 2012; (p. 22)

— Review of In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
[Untitled] 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 72 no. 3 2012; (p. 220-223)

— Review of In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
Review : In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia Steven R. Luebke , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 27 no. 1 2013; (p. 112)

— Review of In the Shade of the Shady Tree : Stories of Wheatbelt Australia John Kinsella , 2012 selected work short story
The Scrub of Vicissitude : The Experimental Fiction of John Kinsella Nicholas Birns , 2021 single work criticism
— Appears in: Angelaki , vol. 26 no. 2 2021; (p. 124-134)

'John Kinsella’s achievement as a poet has overshadowed his fiction. But his narrative accomplishment is a considerable one. Whereas his poetry is usually classified as either experimental or “dark pastoral,” the fiction evades these kinds of categorizations. This essay delineates Kinsella’s fictional oeuvre, from the estrangements of his short stories to his recent series of short novels, novellas, and full-length novels, all of which feature a protagonist who is a version of himself, a Kinsella manqué, deployed against various speculative futuristic, or conjectural backdrops. This technique enables both a searing social interrogation and a questioning of the privileged self in light of racism, sexism, and white settler arrogance. Kinsella’s fiction often rewrites anterior texts or received genres. But, unlike so much other Australian fiction, it does not simply write into the global market or attempt to temporarily reanimate received paradigms. Kinsella’s fictions, such as Hollow EarthDjango & Jezebel, and Basket Z, are not conventional novels. But they provide a satisfying narrative through-line even as they prod the reader to think about their own place in the text and in the world.' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 23 Jun 2015 16:41:54
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