A Fortunate Life
1980
(Manuscript version)14731177
14731171
1980
single work
autobiography
(taught in 4 units)
'Born in 1894, Albert Facey lived the rough frontier life of a sheep farmer, survived the gore of Gallipoli, raised a family through the Depression and spent sixty years with his beloved wife, Evelyn. Despite enduring hardships we can barely imagine today, Facey always saw his life as a "fortunate" one. A true classic of Australian literature, his simply written autobiography is an inspiration. It is the story of a life lived to the full – the extraordinary journey of an ordinary man.' (Penguin Australia abstract)
The Tall Man : Death and Life on Palm Island
Camberwell
:
Hamish Hamilton
,
2008
Z1483259
2008
single work
prose
(taught in 11 units)
In November 2004, in the small township of Palm Island in the far north of Queensland, Detective Hurley arrested Cameron Doomadgee for swearing at him. Doomadgee was drunk. A few hours later he died in a watch-house cell. According to the inquest, his liver was so badly damaged it was almost severed. (Source: Trove)This unit introduces the practice of non-fiction in traditional print and emerging online environments, with life-writing and biography as central pathways. Throughout, students will study examples of non-fiction from a variety of genres and examine ways in which the craft, techniques and issues analysed in these works can be incorporated in their own written work.
