Last year was a bumper year of reading for me, and just look at how many Australian books are in my highlights list (nine out of 14, including four debuts). The short grabs in this post should tempt you to investigate the books further. Many of the grabs are also linked to longer A Bigger
A New England Affair by Steven Carroll Just before I left for the airport (back in late September), I closed the pages on this fabulous novel, which probes the long-term relationship that the poet TS Eliot had with Emily Hale. Hale was Tom Eliot’s friend, confidante and muse to his poetry—but their relationship foundered. Emily and Tom
Here’s a glimpse of some poetry I read and enjoyed in the last six months of 2017. Wine, trust, dark birds, cows and grief ‘curved’; words to dwell on (and in). See Part 1 here. July … ‘What Lies Broken’ by Rachael Mead Time into months, then minutes. / This sunset by winter clouds. /
Australian author Michael Giacometti’s debut short story collection My Life & Other Fictions is a penetrating and original book. Awash with intricate and beautiful sentences, bold and alluring voices, and a range of intriguing characters and settings, it’s a collection to savour. Its 20 stories sound the depths of human experience—and yield more treasure with each reading. Themes
I’m exploring the glistening fjords and cloud-kissed mountains of Norway this week. To immerse myself in this breathtaking place, I’ve gathered some Norwegian poetry to help me contemplate its landscape and cultural complexion. I hope you enjoy it too! 1. ‘Everyday’ (Drops in the East Wind, 1966) by Olav H. Hauge But it’s possible to
I’m walking in Wales this week so I’ve put together a literary tasting plate from the land of the leek and the lyre. I hope these morsels give you the flavour of what’s been written by some of this windswept country’s more lyrical inhabitants. 1. ‘Evans’ by R. S. Thomas It was not the dark
I’m a sucker for ‘How to write’ books so, when I heard that Colum McCann (Let the Great World Spin, Transatlantic and Thirteen Ways of Looking) had penned one, I was itching to read it. Letters to a Young Writer didn’t disappoint. It’s concise, candid and kind of beautiful. It’s also encouraging—and isn’t this exactly what
For the next few weeks you can read my prize-winning story ‘We’re All Travellers Here’ for FREE on TABLO. You’ll need to join TABLO to read and leave comments—but it’s pretty simple (I managed it so it must be). TABLO is an online publishing site. Spineless Wonders Short Australian Stories, who published my story (and runs
I read Fragments cover-to-cover soon after it was published last September. Not a week has gone by since that I haven’t dipped into it and enjoyed its elegance. Kefala’s first collection in 20 years contains alabaster-smooth poetry—sparsely beautiful. The work also feels spacious—leaving the reader room to breathe and stretch a bit. Such accessibility and
Here’s a glimpse of some poetry I’ve enjoyed reading in the first six months of 2017. Love, loss, looking, betrayal, Trump, mould … a few lines of each to whet your appetite. I’ll post Part 2 with six more in December, so stay tuned. January … ‘Jealousy’ by Ross Gillett Tell me about that rogue
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