Patrick White : Crossing the Boundaries single work   criticism  
Issue Details: First known date: 2014... 2014 Patrick White : Crossing the Boundaries
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‘Australian history is a history of division. Lacking territorial borders to be defended against hostile peoples, we have made our own inner borders of class, gender and ethnicity. Without barriers of place, we have constructed divisions between city and country, Sydney and the bush, male and female, foreigners and native born, workers and masters. We have ruthlessly dispossessed the first peoples of this land and then attempted to confine them within the walls of reservations consigning them also to cultural and material deprivation. Besides these divisions there has been a further perceived division between the land and its European settlers. A constant theme in Australian fiction has been the attempt to find national narratives that will resolve these divisions. Henry Handel Richardson's The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (1930) is a tragedy of border-crossings that leaves its central protagonist alienated both from old country and new. ’ (Introduction)

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    y separately published work icon Patrick White Centenary : The Legacy of a Prodigal Son Cynthia Van Den Driesen (editor), Bill Ashcroft (editor), Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Press , 2014 7902410 2014 anthology criticism

    'This volume marks the birth centenary of a giant amongst contemporary writers: the Australian Nobel prize-winning novelist, Patrick White (1912–1990). It proffers an invaluable insight into the current state of White studies through commentaries drawn from an international galaxy of eminent critics, as well as from newer talents. The book proves that interest in White’s work continues to grow and diversify.

    'Every essay offers a new insight: some are re-evaluations by seasoned critics who revise earlier positions significantly; others admit new light onto what has seemed like well-trodden terrain or focus on works perhaps undervalued in the past—his poetry, an early short story or novel—which are now subjected to fresh attention. His posthumous work has also won attention from prominent critics. New comparisons with other international writers have been drawn in terms of subject matter, themes and philosophy.

    'The expansion of critical attention into fields like photography and film opens new possibilities for enhancing further appreciation of his work. White’s interest in public issues such as the treatment of Australia’s Indigenous peoples, human rights and Australian nationalism is refracted through the inclusion of relevant commentaries from notable contributors.

    'For the first time in Australian literary history, Indigenous scholars have participated in a celebration of the work of a white Australian writer. All of this highlights a new direction in White studies – the appreciation of his stature as a public intellectual. The book demonstrates that White’s legacy has limitless possibilities for further growth.' (Publisher's abstract)

    Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Press , 2014
    pg. 82-97
Last amended 7 Jun 2017 12:05:43
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