Cirrus@Austlit

'The fiction of Australian author Tim Winton is read widely in Australia and China, as well as the U.K. and the U.S.A. However, critics seem to differ as to whether his work should be considered as literary, or whether it is popular. Although Winton’s work has received many prizes, including the prestigious Australian Literary prize, the Miles Franklin award, four times, some critics ‘worry’ about Winton’s popular appeal: his use of vernacular, his being read by a wide audience of all ages, his deployment of archetypal (stereotypical?) Australian beach settings, his often nostalgic tone. The argument of this essay is that the categories of literary and popular need vast revision. They are not static categories, and in the twenty-first century need to be reassessed in the light of global reading and entertainment trends and readerships. Winton’s work is an excellent test case, as his works constantly play with and flout any rigid definition of ‘literary’ and ‘popular’.'

Source: Abstract.