In Defence of the Bad White Working Class single work   autobiography   extract  
Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 In Defence of the Bad White Working Class
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The middle class shields itself from the realities of life when you’re poor

'I spent much of my childhood in a northwestern suburb of Adelaide that was, for decades, predominantly white and working class. Waves of eastern European migrants formed the foundation of its settlement throughout the 1950s and 60s, before it underwent a significant transformation in the 80s when the new waves of ­migrants and refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and China settled there in large numbers. Mansfield Park also boasted an extensive collection of public housing that ensured underemployed Anglo-Australians, such as my parents, were well represented' (Introduction)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Best Australian Essays 2017 Anna Goldsworthy (editor), Carlton : Black Inc. , 2017 11466492 2017 anthology essay

    'The Best Australian Essays showcase the nation’s most eloquent, insightful and urgent non-fiction writing. In her first time as editor, award-winning author Anna Goldsworthy chooses brilliant pieces that provoke, unveil, engage and enlighten, and get to the heart of what’s really happening in Australia and the world.' (Publication summary)

    Carlton : Black Inc. , 2017
    pg. 126-134
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Weekend Australian 5 August 2017 11860649 2017 newspaper issue 2017 pg. 21
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Meanjin vol. 76 no. 2 Winter 2017 11860667 2017 periodical issue

    'In a phone call followed by several conversations and a string of other phone calls, John Clarke slowly explained to me the concept of the Commonplace Book. Not a diary. Not a journal. Jottings and observations; little notes on the subtle specialness of life. Several emails followed with various jotted musings attached.' (Editorial introduction)

    2017
    pg. 36-41

Works about this Work

Children of the Tall Ships Kelly Cheung , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 77 no. 2 2018; (p. 178-182)

'No rays of light sneaking long fingers across the pale skin of morning. Not at this time. Beyond the window glass the stars shone precision silver, dew casting a silvery skeen across thirsty grass. I’d lie awake in the darkness waiting to hear the cough of the Toyota bring the catch home and him with it. I’d learnt to wait for the fluorescent light to cast diamante warmth through the white double doors windowed by an earlier deco-age of artistic privacy. When opened, conversations drifted like song, bounced by high ceilings and slick laminate floors. But closed, sound muffled and could just be waves brought on the breeze from the beach to the east. Shoulders alert, chin lifted, I’d listen for the soft clang of tin pots and the fwooosh of running water, the throw of the salt, the patient silence of the boil, the frenzied clicking of the first batch thrown to fat bubbles.' (Introduction)

‘A Down Under Hillbilly Elegy’ Jonathan Green , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017;
Children of the Tall Ships Kelly Cheung , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 77 no. 2 2018; (p. 178-182)

'No rays of light sneaking long fingers across the pale skin of morning. Not at this time. Beyond the window glass the stars shone precision silver, dew casting a silvery skeen across thirsty grass. I’d lie awake in the darkness waiting to hear the cough of the Toyota bring the catch home and him with it. I’d learnt to wait for the fluorescent light to cast diamante warmth through the white double doors windowed by an earlier deco-age of artistic privacy. When opened, conversations drifted like song, bounced by high ceilings and slick laminate floors. But closed, sound muffled and could just be waves brought on the breeze from the beach to the east. Shoulders alert, chin lifted, I’d listen for the soft clang of tin pots and the fwooosh of running water, the throw of the salt, the patient silence of the boil, the frenzied clicking of the first batch thrown to fat bubbles.' (Introduction)

‘A Down Under Hillbilly Elegy’ Jonathan Green , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017;
Last amended 25 Feb 2021 07:24:35
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Subjects:
  • Mansfield Park, Port Adelaide - Enfield area, Adelaide - Northwest, Adelaide, South Australia,
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