Occasionally, we bring you thematic issues. The April issue is a good example, the first half being devoted to art and art history. This seemed timely, because of the abundance of major publishing in this area and the energy and controversy generated by current debates about the genre.

Janine Burke’s study of Albert Tucker, Australian Gothic, has been the subject of much discussion since its publication was postponed last year. Jaynie Anderson, writing for ABR for the first time, reviews Australian Gothic and T.G. Rosenthal’s Sidney Nolan. Elsewhere, Michael Shmith admires Brenda Niall’s Edelian biography of the Boyd family. Books such as these raise all sorts of questions about the responsibilities and vicissitudes of biographers when they write about artists. Long before Janine Burke tackled Tucker, writers were aware of the dangers and delicacy of the business. Indeed, the pitfalls are so stark they almost make poets look like easy biographical subjects. Numerous issues come into play: ethical, artistic, legal, ideological and familial ones.