'Pascal talks about F. B. Vickers's The Mirage and "Half-Caste" Aboriginals. F. B. Vickers's The Mirage is a novel that has not been well remembered. Reviewers of the mid 1950s who noticed it were admiring, especially those who had themselves written works focusing upon Aboriginal Australians. Roland Robinson wrote that it was "important both as a work of art and as a plea for understanding and reform" (24); Gavin Casey's Sunday Telegraph review declared "its appearance would be a major literary event in any month in any country" (26 June 1955). In private letters to Vickers, prominent writers were equally effusive.' (Editor's abstract)
'Dray talks about Gwen Hardwood's poetry. To say that the poet Gwen Hardwood was a prolific writer early in her career would be a vast understatement; in truth she was several. Employing a number of artfully crafted personas, all with his or her own distinct style and agenda, Harwood became so deft at employing these masks that each existed long enough to be established as a new voice in Australian poetry before the revelation of their true identity dissolved them–occasionally with some ironic complication–back into her greater canon.' (Editor's abstract)