Why She Broke single work   essay  
Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 Why She Broke
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'It happened in broad daylight, one April afternoon in 2015, while the citizens of an outer-western Melbourne suburb called Wyndham Vale were peaceably going about their business.' 

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. 257-270

Works about this Work

‘Ordinary Readers’ and Political Uses : Re-Examining Helen Garner’s Non-Fiction Writings about Filicide Naish Gawen , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , 29 October vol. 35 no. 2 2020;

'Helen Garner’s literary non-fiction book This House of Grief (2014), as well as her two essays ‘Why She Broke’ (2017) and ‘Killing Daniel’ (1993), all deal with instances of filicide. This article begins by offering a reading of these writings in which I argue that they perpetuate a mythologisation of family violence which prevents us from viewing that violence as an ameliorable social injustice. I look at Rita Felski’s injunction to engage more deeply with what she calls ‘ordinary readers'’ uses of literature as a way to question the relevance of the kind of critique put forth in the first section; ultimately, I find that the context of Garner’s popular reception actually vindicates a critical focus on the political import of the writing.' (Publication abstract)

‘Ordinary Readers’ and Political Uses : Re-Examining Helen Garner’s Non-Fiction Writings about Filicide Naish Gawen , 2020 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , 29 October vol. 35 no. 2 2020;

'Helen Garner’s literary non-fiction book This House of Grief (2014), as well as her two essays ‘Why She Broke’ (2017) and ‘Killing Daniel’ (1993), all deal with instances of filicide. This article begins by offering a reading of these writings in which I argue that they perpetuate a mythologisation of family violence which prevents us from viewing that violence as an ameliorable social injustice. I look at Rita Felski’s injunction to engage more deeply with what she calls ‘ordinary readers'’ uses of literature as a way to question the relevance of the kind of critique put forth in the first section; ultimately, I find that the context of Garner’s popular reception actually vindicates a critical focus on the political import of the writing.' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 12 Apr 2018 10:56:44
257-270 Why She Brokesmall AustLit logo
Subjects:
  • Wyndham Vale, Werribee area, Altona - Werribee area, Melbourne - West, Melbourne, Victoria,
Settings:
  • 2015
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