'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)
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.