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Hidden Author
James Curran replies to Stuart Macintyre
Dear Editor,
Stuart Macintyre’s response to my letter (May 2011) acknowledges that in terms of ‘composition, character and loyalty’ – that is, the basic needs of nationalism – Australia defined itself for much of last century in British race terms. But he continues to define John Curtin’s Empire Council proposal as ‘pragmatic’, thu ... (read more)
Internship opportunity
Australian Book Review – supported by the Sidney Myer Fund – seeks applications for an editorial intern. This is a unique opportunity for recent graduates seeking an entrée into publishing: no such paid editorial internship is currently available in Australia. The ABR Sidney Myer Fund Editorial Internship reflects ABR’s strong commitment to fostering new editorial ta ... (read more)
Calibre of the year
Dean Biron and Moira McKinnon are the dual winners of the 2011 Calibre Prize for an Outstanding Essay, the fifth to be presented by ABR in association with Copyright Agency Limited’s Cultural Fund. The judges – Jane Goodall, winner of the 2008 Calibre Prize, and Peter Rose, Editor of ABR – considered almost 300 essays, by far our biggest field to date. The other ... (read more)
Starched collars
Dear Editor,
Stuart Macintyre’s review of my book, Curtin’s Empire (April 2011), shows that on many of the substantive issues relating to the wartime leader’s world view we are on common ground. Macintyre notes that Curtin’s 1941 ‘Look to America’ statement was not in fact the first time that an Australian leader had appealed to the Americans to come to Australia’s ... (read more)
Why do you write?
To find cogency, peace, quiet, and joy; to practise radical attention to the world, to be an activist through words, and to forge solidarity through imagination.
Are you a vivid dreamer?
Copiously, hyperbolically.
Where are you happiest?
On the road; with a view of the Sea of Mamara; on Yallingup beach in winter; walking almost anywhere.
... (read more)
Chong’s covers
Last month’s cover subject, Paul Kelly, proved immensely popular when we began advertising a new series of portrait prints based on W.H. Chong’s cover images. Each portrait is available exclusively from ABR. The unframed prints – presented in limited editions – are signed, numbered, and (in some cases) hand-coloured by Chong, who, with typical generosity, has waived any i ... (read more)
Why do you write?
I feel deeply alive when I am being creative, despite the frustrations. I love the challenge of trying to find the right words and turning language into song.
Are you a vivid dreamer?
Some of my dream landscapes have been both the most exquisitely beautiful and the most terrifying places I have ever seen. But mostly my dreams are common anxiety ones about snakes and being nake ... (read more)
Behind the screen
Dear Editor,
Questions of objectivity and subjectivity are a burden borne equally by anthologist and reviewer, so it was with some surprise that I read Chris Flynn’s oddly unsympathetic and bathetic review of two recent collections in ABR (February 2011). Flynn seems under the common misapprehension that two books reviewed in the one piece need to be presented in opposit ... (read more)
ABR is now online
This month we launch our online edition. ABR OE, which complements but in no way replaces the print version, is probably the most important innovation at ABR since its revival in 1978. With this additional resource, ABR is well placed to maximise its potential and reach those readers and institutions that prefer electronic forms.
Much work has gone into ensuring that th ... (read more)