Evan Jones

Evan Jones reviews 'The Atlas of Australian Birds' by M. Blakers, S.J.J.F. Davies, and P.N. Reilly

May 1985, no. 70 • 04 October 2021

When I first heard of an impending Atlas of Australian Birds, my expectations were, it now seems to me, naive, showing certainly no acquaintance with the ‘birds atlas projects [which] have been developed in many other countries’ (actually, the bibliography numbers attached to this direct us to just three such projects: a use of ‘many’ learned, perhaps, from such usages as ‘this wine will ... (read more)

Evan Jones reviews 'Ideas of The Restoration In English Literature, 1660–71' by Nicholas Jose

September 1986, no. 84 • 01 September 1986

With Dryden out of favour and Rochester still only a cult enthusiasm, ‘Restoration literature’ is likely to evoke for most readers only stage comedy, yet likely to seem to a casual reader to promise only scholarly drudgery in justly neglected corners, crowned by an inadequate, hurried examination of a major work, Samson Agonistes, looking sadly astray in this company. It is true, I think, tha ... (read more)

Evan Jones reviews 'The Concise Macquarie Dictionary' edited by Arthur Delbridge

October 1982, no. 45 • 01 October 1982

Unlike its parent, the Concise Macquarie has a regular commercial publisher, and we might suppose that it is a sensible commercial proposition. We might wonder if the reduction from the 77,000 headwords of the bigger dictionary to the over 41000 of this is worth saving the $12 difference in price: but nobody who read my review of the parent Macquarie is likely long to ponder this when he or she re ... (read more)

Evan Jones reviews 'The Typewriter Considered As Bee-trap' by Martin Johnston and 'Fast Forward' by Peter Porter

December 1985–January 1986, no. 77 • 01 December 1985

I have sat on these books longer than is reasonable for a review, yet have to confess that I am not satisfied with the readiness of what follows. I got the Porter first, but receiving the Johnston thought that they in some ways offered similar difficulties, perhaps similar rewards, to the reader, and that it might be neat to review them together. It was probably not a rewarding notion, and not su ... (read more)

Evan Jones reviews 'Antechinus' by A.D. Hope

August 1983, no. 53 • 01 August 1983

The acknowledgements included in the Preface to this collection name some of the most common places for poetry to be published in Australia, but by chance few of these poems seem to me familiar. That of course makes it more interesting to see them individually; and also makes the whole thing easier to see at large. ... (read more)