Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 ‘Ordinary Readers’ and Political Uses : Re-Examining Helen Garner’s Non-Fiction Writings about Filicide
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'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)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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    y separately published work icon Australian Literary Studies vol. 35 no. 2 29 October 2020 20738432 2020 periodical issue 'For our second issue of 2020 we bring you a wide range of approaches to thinking about literature in Australia: these are essays that test the relationship between writing, politics, and history, undertake detailed consideration of language and imagery, and work at the intersection between literary and media history, and literary studies and pedagogy.' (Introduction)
     
    2020
Last amended 11 Nov 2020 07:28:28
https://www.australianliterarystudies.com.au/articles/ordinary-readers-and-political-uses-re-examining-helen-garners-non-fiction-writings-about-filicide ‘Ordinary Readers’ and Political Uses : Re-Examining Helen Garner’s Non-Fiction Writings about Filicidesmall AustLit logo Australian Literary Studies
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