Literary Studies

Toil and Spin: Two directions in modern poetry by Chris Wallace-Crabbe

April 1980, no. 19

John McLaren reviews 'Toil and Spin' by Chris Wallace-Crabbe

In a world which has lost its faith and its standards, the situation of the creative artist is both central and precarious. As Wallace-Crabbe sees it, he must stand inside and outside society at once, be both totally involved with himself and totally responsive to his society. While doing this, he must create not only his own audience but even his own language.

In this series of essays, Wallace-Crabbe explores this dilemma in the work of contemporary English-language poets ranging from Thomas Hardy to Elizabeth Bishop, and from W. H. Auden – ‘the good Christian practices light verse’ – to Robert Lowell and Ezra Pound. The essays both illuminate the work of the writers he discusses and contribute to our understanding of the crucial problem of contemporary culture.

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The New Australian Poetry edited by John Tranter

by Thomas Shapcott •

February–March 1980, no. 18

Thomas Shapcott reviews 'The New Australian Poetry' edited by John Tranter

The intention of this anthology is to sharpen our understanding of what was distinctive in the poetry of ‘the generation of ‘68’ (Tranter’s label).

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The diplomacy of literature

by Michele Field •

February–March 1980, no. 18

‘Go, little book,’ or the book as emissary, is not the simple matter that it once was.

Australian books and their authors now go to most European and Asian countries on diplomatic duties.

The purpose is neither to broaden the writers’ lives nor to sell books abroad, but to supplement the Government’s other diplomatic initiatives.

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Australian Writers: An illustrated guide to their lives and work by Graeme Kinross-Smith

by Geoffrey Radcliffe •

February–March 1980, no. 18

Australian Writers: An illustrated guide to their lives and work

Normally, Australia’s Writers could be expected to attract the special attention of critics. However, by sensible use of his preface and the quality of his book’s contents, Graeme Kinross Smith has minimised the possibility of adverse comment. Carefully, he sets out the guidelines adopted for the fiftyfour essays that range from two to ten pages each, starting with Captain Arthur Phillip and closing with Rosemary Dobson. Stressing ‘the distinctive and fascinating’ tradition of Australian literature and the book’s purpose in giving an insight into that tradition, Graeme Kinross Smith writes:

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Problems of individuals and society

by John McLaren •

February–March 1980, no. 18

While the reading of a book has become a solitary matter, its interpretation remains a convivial task which must be performed anew for each new reader, new age, and new country. The business of criticism is to help us in this task, and from a multitude of judgements to further our understanding of an author’s words for our time. The critic is therefore involved not only with books, but through them with the cultural problems of his society. Critical debates thus become debates about major social issues.

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