Alice Whitmore Alice Whitmore i(10469148 works by)
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 In the Dark Place Alice Whitmore , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 239 2020; (p. 21-32)

'December 22. Nothing but ravens in the sky. The winter solstice, my second of the year, is drawing us into the heart of a great mist. Two winters, like two long swimming pools. Not quite interminable, but there is a moment midway when the flags are lost, and there is a panicked intake of breath as the feet try for the bottom but the lungs know they won’t reach. Summer in Melbourne is at its fullest, ripest swell.' (Introduction)

1 Contemporary Chinese Poetry in Translation : The Homings and Departures Project Lucy Dougan , Paul Hetherington , Alice Whitmore , 2020 single work prose
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , October no. 97 and 98 2020;

'Homings & Departures is a poetry translation project of the China Australia Writing Centre (CAWC) at Curtin and Fudan Universities, and the International Poetry Studies Institute (IPSI) at the University of Canberra. As worldwide borders close and movements are restricted, the project’s title has gained a pressing new relevance. If bodies cannot travel then words, at least, can. In a spirit of nuanced exchange, CAWC at Curtin and Fudan, along with IPSI, continue their creative collaboration at a time when it is increasingly vital.' (Introduction)

1 Close to the Trembling Root. Alice Whitmore , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: The Monthly , June no. 156 2019; (p. 50-51)

'A personal narrative is presented in which the author shares her experience and perspective for languages including Spanish and English, with reference of some translations.' (Publication abstract)

1 Sliding Vistas Alice Whitmore , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June - July no. 412 2019; (p. 55)

— Review of Requiem with Yellow Butterflies James Halford , 2019 single work novel

'Requiem with Yellow Butterflies begins, aptly, with a death. Sitting at his office in Brisbane, the author receives news that Gabriel García Márquez has died at his home in Mexico. Across the world, there is a mushrooming of obituaries. Garlands of yellow butterflies are draped from trees and buildings; outside Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes, paper butterflies rain down like confetti. From Madrid, Elena Poniatowska eulogises: Gabo ‘gave wings to Latin America. And it is this great flight that surrounds us today and makes flowers grow in our heads.’'  (Publication summary)

1 Australia’s Taste for Translated Literature Is Getting Broader, and That’s a Good Thing Alice Whitmore , 2018 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 22 May 2018;

'With today’s announcement of the winner of the Man Booker International Prize shortlist, translation again finds itself in the foreground of the literary landscape. This year’s shortlist includes novels translated from a diverse array of languages including Arabic (Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi), Hungarian (László Krasznahorkai’s The World Goes On) and Korean (The White Book by Han Kang).' (Introduction)

1 Ghost Flowers in the Word Machine : Poetry, Pessimism and Translation in the Age of Technology Alice Whitmore , 2018 single work criticism
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , 1 February no. 84 2018;

'I once read that the word ikebana (生け花), denoting the Japanese art of flower arrangement, can be roughly translated into English as ‘living flower,’ or ‘bringing life to the flowers.’ This summary sounds too easy, too graceful; there is an air of internet mythology to it, the truth of it smoothed and polished like a well-handled stone until it becomes convenient, small enough to tweet or swallow. I don’t know Japanese, and even if I did, I doubt whether my clumsy English renderings would do any more justice to the words’ original elegance: to the 生 rooted in life, meaning raw, growing, being born – to the bloom of the 花 recalling cherry blossoms, paper petals, grass. But somehow, despite my ignorance or because of it, I find joy in the deconstruction of the word, in the Googling of its kanji, the deciphering, the re-making. The word ikebana is a little poem, and I am its fumbling, ill-equipped translator.' (Introduction)

1 Eulogy for a Leather Jacket Alice Whitmore , 2016 single work short story
— Appears in: Going Down Swinging , no. 37 2016; (p. 14-21)
1 Love Has Nothing to Do with It Alice Whitmore , 2016 single work short story
— Appears in: Tincture Journal , Summer no. 16 2016; (p. 32-34)
1 Hanal Pixan Alice Whitmore , 2013 single work short story
— Appears in: Voiceworks , Winter no. 93 2013; (p. 27-29)
'That morning is pure Caravaggio in my mind, all chiaroscuro faces and the air thick with grim revelation. Mother was dead...'

 (Publication abstract)

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