Susan K. Martin

Susan K. Martin Susan K. Martin is Professor in English and Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) for the College of Arts, Social Science and Commerce at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. Her books include Reading the Garden: the Settlement of Australia with Katie Holmes and Kylie Mirmohamadi (MUP, 2008), Colonial Dickens (ASP, 2012), and Sensational Melbourne (ASP, 2011), both with Kylie Mirmohamadi.

Susan K. Martin reviews 'The Penguin Book of Australian Bush Writing' edited by John Ross

March 2012, no. 339 • 01 March 2012

Twinings has recently introduced a new tea flavour called ‘Australian Afternoon Tea’. On the box is an image of kangaroos silhouetted against a red rocky background, which is a sort of amalgam, or perhaps amalgum, of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. This book is like that tea – more Australian than Australia, in a packaged, labelled form that relies heavily on recognition, stereotype, and sentiment. I ... (read more)