Texts

y separately published work icon His Natural Life For the Term of His Natural Life Marcus Clarke , 1870-1872 Z1032375 1870-1872 single work novel (taught in 15 units)

'Scarcely out of print since the early 1870s, For the Term of His Natural Life has provided successive generations with a vivid account of a brutal phase of colonial life. The main focus of this great convict novel is the complex interaction between those in power and those who suffer, made meaningful because of its hero's struggle against his wrongful imprisonment. Elements of romance, incidents of family life and passages of scenic description both relieve and give emphasis to the tragedy that forms its heart.' (Publication summary : Penguin Books 2009)

y separately published work icon Seven Poor Men of Sydney Christina Stead , London : Peter Davies , 1934 Z461354 1934 single work novel (taught in 18 units)

'Seven Poor Men of Sydney is a brilliant portrayal of a group of men and women living in Sydney in the 1920s amid conditions of poverty and social turmoil.

Set against the vividly drawn backgrounds of Fisherman's (Watson's) Bay and the innercity slums, the various characters seek to resolve their individual spiritual dilemmas; through politics, religion and philosophy.

Their struggles, their pain and their frustrations are portrayed with consummate skill in this memorable evocation of a city and an era.' (Publication summary)

y separately published work icon Collected Poems 1942-1985 Judith Wright , Pymble : Angus and Robertson , 1994 Z501989 1994 selected work poetry war literature satire (taught in 8 units)
y separately published work icon Poems Kenneth Slessor , Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1957 Z531943 1957 selected work poetry (taught in 5 units)
y separately published work icon The Sparrow Garden Peter Skrzynecki , Marianna Lacek (translator), St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2004 Z1111071 2004 single work autobiography (taught in 5 units)
y separately published work icon Brumby Innes, and Bid Me to Love Katharine Susannah Prichard , Katharine Brisbane (editor), Sydney : Currency Methuen Drama , 1974 Z169610 1974 selected work drama (taught in 8 units)

'Written in the 1920s, Brumby Innes confronts the turbulent relations between the sexes and the races in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is published with another Prichard play from the 1920s, Bid Me To Love which, by contrast, is set among the fashionable rich in the lush hills outside Perth.'

'The two plays are compelling for their dramatic styles and for their insight into the novels which followed: Coonardoo and Intimate Strangers. And both had to wait more than forty years for their first production.' (Source: Reading Australia website)

y separately published work icon Prelude to Christopher Eleanor Dark , Sydney : P. R. Stephensen , 1934 Z824226 1934 single work novel (taught in 22 units)

'Should a woman bear a child knowing that there are traces of insanity in her family? Linda Hainlin, niece of a famous biologist, was aware of the danger when she married Dr. Nigel Hendon, a practical idealist, whose creed was normality and the rational ordering of the world. This book tells how, years later, while temporarily deprived of her husband's sane companionship, Linda feels the oncoming of those homicidal impulses which presage madness. On this tragic theme, 'Prelude to Christopher' is written with strong literary art as a narrative of four days of crisis. The story goes back in memory to the happiness of Linda's love for Nigel, and forward in her frightened imagination to a future from which the strongest must flinch. Christopher, the unborn child, dominates terrific events in which he has no living part to play. The prelude to his birth is told with emotional power.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Description

This subject provides a survey of the development of Australian literature up to the 1970s through a study of significant novels, short stories and poetry. From the entries of the diaries of Captain Cook to contemporary multicultural writing students will be introduced to the diversity of Australian literature, focussing on key authors such as Henry Lawson, Judith Wright, Patrick White as well as a range of lesser-known writers and movements.

Other Details

Syllabus:

The subject will cover the following topics:

The major developments in poetry and prose in Australia since 1788 with particular reference to: Aboriginal experience the colonial writers, convictism the 1890s, nationalism the dominance of the bush in Australian literature the appearance of modernism in Australia tradition within Australian poetry and prose migrant writing cultural politics


Offered in: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Current Campus: Bathurst, Wagga Wagga
Levels: Undergraduate
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