Pages from old site (3)
Quotables
Tony Birch
‘Blood has a freshness of tone and determined vigour that are frequently lacking in the work of many male Australian writers.’
Chris Flynn reviewed Blood (University of Queensland Press) in December 2011–January 2012.
Steven Carroll
‘Carroll has established himself as one of Australia’s finest contemporary novelists. Despite accolades and awards, his oeuvre remains less revered than it deserves to be. Perhaps his most mesmerising skill is his capacity to depict the worlds within his characters’ heads.’
Patrick Allington reviewed Spirit of Progress (Fourth Estate) in September 2011.
Bruce Dawe
‘Descriptions of Dawe’s work that focus on his mastery of Australian speech registers and his sympathy with suburban folk often, unconsciously, sell him short. He can be a very sophisticated poet.’
Martin Duwell reviewed Slo-mo Tsunami and Other Poems (Puncher & Wattmann) in December 2011–January 2012.
Anna Funder
‘Funder’s observations of the gradual assertion of the Nazis’ grip on Germany ring uncannily true ...’
Jo Case reviewed All That I Am (Hamish Hamilton) in October 2011.
Bill Gammage
‘This bold book, with its lucid prose and vivid illustrations, will be discussed for years to come. It is not original in the narrow sense of the word, but it takes an important idea to new heights because of the author’s persistence and skill.’
Geoffrey Blainey reviewed The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia (Allen & Unwin) in November 2011.
Kate Grenville
‘... this act of re-entering the past is an important one. Grenville’s extraordinary trilogy is a major achievement in Australian literature.’
Sophie Cunningham reviewed Sarah Thornhill (Text Publishing) in October 2011.
Henry Kissinger
‘Still, even with its northern myopia, this is a book with a wise core, written by someone who has learned that the responsibility of power brings both constraint and motivation and that reaching out to the other side has human, as well as strategic, benefits.’
Bruce Grant reviewed On China (Allen Lane) in September 2011.
Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray
Australian Poetry since 1788 is a compelling book and a quite exemplary anthology. Australians have been kept – or have kept themselves – to themselves for too long.’
Michael Hofmann reviewed Australian Poetry since 1788 (UNSW Press) in December 2011–January 2012.
Mark McKenna
‘Despite its formidable length, this is a real page-turner. McKenna compels admiration not just for the depth of his research and the unassuming grace of his prose, but also the skill with which he constructs his narrative.’
Norman Etherington reviewed An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark (Miegunyah Press) in December 2011–January 2012.
Wayne Macauley
‘The Cook is made of the world, made of menus and daydreams and lust. From this material, so commonplace and so frequently given the most everyday treatment imaginable, Wayne Macauley has written a great book.’
Adam Rivett reviewed The Cook (Text Publishing) in October 2011.
Robert Manne
‘It is the vengeful thread that hides behind the notion of “crusading” that Manne reveals in his Quarterly Essay, and I hope that the paper takes account of the criticisms he makes.’
Robert Phiddian reviewed Bad News: Rupert Murdoch’s Australian and the Shaping of the Nation (Black Inc.) in November 2011.
Gillian Mears
‘Foal’s Bread is a grand, bittersweet romantic saga, at once laconic and mystical, tragic and optimistic ... How marvellous to hear her unique voice again.’
Gillian Dooley reviewed Foal’s Bread (Allen & Unwin) in November 2011.
Alex Miller
‘All of Alex Miller’s wisdom and experience – of art, of women and what drives them, of writing, of men and their ambitions – and every mirage and undulation of the Australian landscape are here, transmuted into rare and radiant fiction. An indispensable novel.’
Morag Fraser reviewed Autumn Laing (Allen & Unwin) in October 2011.
Frank Moorhouse
‘In the imagination of Australian readers, Edith Campbell Berry may come to stand for her country and her century in the same way that Richard Mahony did.’
Kerryn Goldsworthy reviewed Cold Light (Vintage) – the last volume in the ‘Edith Trilogy’ – in November 2011.
Christine Nixon
‘Nixon was an important agent of change in policing methods, and hopes that her actions on Black Saturday will not overshadow the achievements of the rest of her career. She adds, “Perhaps this is a vain hope.”’
Elisabeth Holdsworth reviewed Fair Cop (Victory Books) in September 2011.
Gig Ryan
‘It is difficult to think of another poet who has more consistently and resolutely fashioned beauty from flat, broken English ... Ryan’s astonishing body of work, now newly and selectively gathered in a single volume, is both tonic and rebuke.’
James Harms reviewed New and Selected Poems (Giramondo) in December 2011–January 2012.
Arnold Zable
‘At its best, Zable’s writing reminds me of W.G. Sebald’s – enigmatic, self-aware, exploratory. In his hands, storytelling paradoxically becomes a salve for the unhealable wounds it describes, memory brings home the shock of loss – but is also the only way of reaching the dead – and music is a trace that both recalls exile and undoes it.’
José Borghino reviewed Violin Lessons (Text Publishing) in September 2011.
Fiftieth anniversary prints
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W.H. Chong
In the Library (David Malouf)
2011 Melbourne
hand-coloured linocut 20.0 x 25.0 cm
edition of 20
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W.H. Chong
Kate Grenville
2011 Melbourne
two-colour linocut 20.0 x 25.0 cm
edition of 15
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W.H. Chong
‘The Most Dangerous Man in the World’
(Julian Assange, WikiLeaks)
2011 Melbourne
linocut on Arches paper
25.0 x 20.0 cm (image), 38. 0 x 28.0 cm
(sheet)
edition of 25
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W.H. Chong
A fringe of leaves, Patrick White
2011 Melbourne
linocut on Arches paper, hand-coloured
25.0 x 20.0 cm (image), 38. 0 x 28.0 cm
(sheet)
edition of 30
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W.H. Chong
Dorothy (Dorothy Hewett)
2011 Melbourne
copper plate etching
20.0 cm x 25.0 cm (plate)
edition of 20
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Purchase one of Chong’s cover portraits and support ABR
Australian Book Review – to celebrate its fiftieth year – is offering a series of portrait prints of distinguished writers and cultural figures by the noted Australian artist-designer W.H. Chong. Throughout 2011, several ABR covers featured a superb original print – the perfect adornment for a personal library, and a fine gift for an admirer of the individual subjects. The series began in February, with Paul Kelly (now SOLD OUT), and continued with Dorothy Hewett, Patrick White, Julian Assange, and Kate Grenville, and David Malouf.
Each portrait is available exclusively from ABR. The unframed prints – presented in a limited edition – are signed, numbered and individually hand-coloured by Chong.
Each print is priced at $150 for ABR subscribers – $195 for non-subscribers. Postage and handling is an additional $15.
Place your order soon – these editions will sell out fast! Orders can also be placed for the complete set. To order, call (03) 9699 8822, or complete the order form (see link below).
CLICK TO PURCHASE PRINTS ONLINE
(Credit Card/PayPal)
JULIAN ASSANGE PRINT ORDER FORM (POST/FAX)
PATRICK WHITE PRINT ORDER FORM (POST/FAX)
DOROTHY HEWETT PRINT ORDER FORM (POST/FAX)
KATE GRENVILLE PRINT ORDER FORM (POST/FAX)
DAVID MALOUF PRINT ORDER FORM (POST/FAX)
W.H. Chong and ABR
ABR readers are very familiar with Chong’s work. He has designed more than 600 book covers (many featuring his own artwork) over the last twenty years. He was the designer of ABR’s covers from 2001 to 2008. He also writes a highly popular culture blog for Crikey: Culture Mulcher.
Chong – a Patron and long-time supporter of the magazine – has generously waived any income from the series. Any profits will go to ABR to assist it in its publishing and programs.
In recent years Chong has turned to portrait drawing. In 2010 he chronicled the first year of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Ideas and Writing. You can see the drawings at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wheelercentresketchbook.
Online archive
November 2011, No. 336
Rodney Hall: Silence – James Ley
October 2011, No. 335
Alex Miller: Autumn Laing – Morag Fraser
September 2011, No. 334
Robert Hughes's flawed history of Rome – Peter Stothard
July–August 2011, No. 333
Coping with a resurgent China – Hugh White
June 2011, No. 332
'What is Australia, anyway?' – Patrick Allington
May 2011, No. 331
Copyright and the Internet – Colin Golvan
April 2011, No. 330
The cant about free speech – Terry Lane
Jane Sullivan: Little People – Carmel Bird
March 2011, No. 329
Tony Judt’s nimble mind – Bruce Grant
February 2011, No. 328
James Bradley (ed.): The Penguin Book of the Ocean – Gregory Kratzmann
December 2010–January 2011, No. 327
Guthrie vs Murdoch – Jan McGuinness
A new biography of Barry Humphries – Ian Britain
Strangers in the know – Geordie Williamson
Graham Oppy et al. (eds): A Companion to Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand – Adrian Walsh
November 2010, No. 326
Changes at the National Gallery of Australia – Christopher Menz
Millennial slippage: Honouring the paradox and majesty of art – Bill Henson
Lloyd Jones: Hand Me Down World – Jo Case
Roger McDonald: When Colts Ran – Peter Pierce
Anna Krien: Into the Woods – Peter Mares
October 2010, No.325
Kim Scott’s new novel That Deadman Dance – Patrick Allington
The woman behind Mary Poppins – Lisa Gorton
Having it both ways – James Ley
September 2010, No. 324
The assassination of Kevin Rudd – Neal Blewett
Mythologising Hawke – Bruce Grant
Remembering Jessica Anderson – Susan Sheridan
Devil in the detail – Kate Holden
Chris Womersley: Bereft – Carmel Bird
July–August 2010, No. 323
The travails of Bill Clinton – Morag Fraser
The Balibo Five – Jill Jolliffe
Furore in Israel – Jonathan Pearlman
June 2010, No. 322
Littoral Truth: Peter Porter (1929–2010) – Peter Steele
Man of paper, mind of steel – Michael Shmith
Letters to an Unknown Friend – Robert Dessaix
May 2010, No. 321
Vindicating Malcolm Fraser – Neal Blewett
Fighting on the beaches – Robin Prior
Joel Deane: The Norseman's Song – Chris Flynn
April 2010, No. 320
Once and Australian – Brigitta Olubas
ABR Poetry Prize Shortlist – Ynes Sanz et al.
Some kind of ghost – Kate Holden
The last king of Poland, the glass king of France – David McCooey
The young Robert Hughes – Daniel Vuillermin
March 2010, No. 319
Prickles of disquiet – Murray Waldren
The trials of Helpmann – Lee Christofis
Everyman Cosgrove – Patrick Allington
The hypnotic J.D. Salinger – Jane Goodall
February 2010, No. 318
Announcing the ABR Favourite Australian Novels
Tongues of fire - Gregory Kratzmann
Chancing our arm - Anthony Elliott
The latest laureate - Ian Gibbins
Cornucopia of death - Dianne Dempsey
Andrew Markus, James Jupp and Peter McDonald: Australia's Immigration Revolution – Peter Mares
December 2009–January 2010, No. 317
Clive James and limelight - Peter Craven
Thomas Keneally: Australians - Ann Standish
Peter Carey: Parrot and Olivier in America - Murray Waldren
Judith Beveridge: Storm and Honey - Lisa Gorton
November 2009, No. 316
Climatic quarrels - Rosaleen Love
David Foster's new novel - James Ley
Alex Miller's Lovesong - Judith Armstrong
Les Murray: Killing the Black Dog - Chris Wallace-Crabbe
October 2009, No. 315
Gerald Murnane's Barley Patch - David Musgrave
Brenda Niall on a spirited Jesuit - Morag Fraser
Dorothy Porter's posthumous collection - Gig Ryan
Denis Dutton: The Art Instinct - Helen McDonald
September 2009, No. 314
'Vanishing Wunderkind': The great oeuvre of the enigmatic Stow – Tony Hassall
'Obscuring the Heritage': The Macquarie Anthology – Peter Craven
'Guerrilla Raid on Sincerity': J.M. Coetzee's new 'novel' – James Ley
'Crashing Through': Seismic times for Gough Whitlam – Jenny Hocking
Tom Keneally's new novel – Patrick Allington
Cate Kennedy's debut novel The World Beneath – Jo Case
July–August 2009, No. 313
Bitter Fruit: Ruth Park's Trilogy of Want and Human Spirit – Shirley Walker
May 2009, No. 311
'The very edge of things': David Malouf's Ransom – Peter Rose
November 2008, No. 306
'None but the Brave': The Costello Memoirs – Neal Blewett
David Marr: The Henson Case – Peter Rose
October 2008, No. 305
'Missing From My Own Life' – Elisabeth Holdsworth
July–August 2007, No. 329
ABR/La Trobe University Annual Lecture: 'The Ups, the Downs: My Life as a Biographer' – Hazel Rowley
April 2007, No. 290
December 2004–January 2005, No. 267
The Sound and the Fury: Uneasy Times for Hacks and Critics - Peter Rose
April 2003
The Inaugural National Biography Award Annual Lecture – Peter Rose
June–July 2002, No. 242
'Keating the Fascinator': Don Watson's Recollections of a Bleeding Heart – Neal Blewett
August 2001, No. 233
'Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath: A Bystander's Recollections' – Peter Porter