Johanna Leggatt Johanna Leggatt i(A112082 works by)
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 Tales of Hustling : Memoirs of an Indefatigable Editor Johanna Leggatt , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January - February no. 450 2023; (p. 48-49)

— Review of Cannon Fire : A Life in Print Michael Cannon , 2022 single work autobiography

'Journalist, editor, and publisher, Michael Cannon rose to prominence in print during its golden age of boundless advertising dollars, when those ‘rivers of gold’ paid for high salaries, fully staffed beats, and morning and evening newspaper editions. This was not a world of shrinking pages and newsroom cuts, of ‘digital-first’ mantras, click bait and Murdoch domination – not yet. But newspapers were not necessarily more sophisticated places either, which makes Cannon’s memoir as much a rejoinder to the lionising of lost newspaper culture – a challenge to the notion that things were always better back then – as the story of a remarkable career.'(Introduction)

1 y separately published work icon Johanna Leggatt on Twitter's Threat to Writers and Journalists Johanna Leggatt , 2020 23439571 2020 single work podcast

'In today's episode, Johanna Leggatt speaks to ABR Editor Peter Rose about growing disquiet about ‘cancel culture’, censorious voices on social media, and Twitter's threat to writers and journalists. Beginning with the recent case of Rachel Baxendale, a journalist at The Australian, who was subjected to much invective because of her persistent questions about the quarantine fiasco in Victoria, Leggatt laments the ‘routine trashing of reputations on Twitter’ and wonders why Twitter has ‘devolved into a channel for our most juvenile emotions’. This interview is based on her recent article, 'The Problem of Belonging'.'

1 y separately published work icon 'News Deserts : A Worrying Portent for Our Democracy' Johanna Leggatt (presenter), 2020 23439440 2020 single work podcast

'The imminent closure of Australian Associated Press, or AAP, has sounded alarm bells for many citizens and journalists already worried about the lack of media diversity in Australia. AAP has long played a fundamental role in investigative journalism, which we need more than ever in an age of government intrusion, evasion, and over-reach. Johanna Leggatt, a journalist who has worked for Fairfax, News Corp, and AAP, writes about this troubling threat to journalism.' (Production summary)

1 The Problem of Belonging : The Twitter Mob Is a Threat to Writers and Journalists Johanna Leggatt , 2020 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 425 2020; (p. 18-20)

'In early August, deep in the winter of Melbourne’s stage-four discontent, journalist Rachel Baxendale became the story. The Victorian political reporter for The Australian newspaper was attacked online for questioning Premier Daniel Andrews on his government’s hotel quarantine program, as an explosion of new coronavirus infections caused unprecedented economic shutdown and the curtailment of civil liberties. As thousands of people watched the premier’s live press briefings from their living rooms, Baxendale assiduously probed Andrews about the use of security guards instead of Australian Defence Force personnel to guard returned travellers.' (Introduction)

1 'The Sound of Nothing at All' : Feeling Essays about the Tribulation of Trees Johanna Leggatt , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 411 2019; (p. 9-10)

'When Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird wrote The Secret Life of Plants (1975), many critics labelled their attempt to prove a spiritual link between people and plants as mystical gibberish, with a New York Times review chiding the authors for pandering to charlatans and amateur psychics. The review noted that although Tompkins and Bird made a fascinating case for plant sentience ‘suspended in the aspic of their blarney, it all looks equally improbable’. In the ensuing decades, more books have been published on the life of trees and their relationship to humans, some of which have sold well and been enthusiastically received by critics. Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees: What they feel, how they communicate – discoveries from a secret world (2016) topped bestseller lists and earned him a flattering interview in the profile pages of The New York Times.'  (Introduction)

1 Wonderment Johanna Leggatt , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , March no. 409 2019; (p. 48)

'Novelist and academic Julienne van Loon does not doubt that the thinking woman is ‘alive and well’, but when she scans the (mostly) male names in bookstore philosophy sections and the (mostly) male staff lists of university philosophy departments, she wonders where they are hiding. Some, van Loon contends, were cast out from ‘capital-p Philosophy’ or were never admitted in the first place. Many, she notes wryly, are simply having a better time elsewhere. The Thinking Woman is van Loon’s attempt to draw attention to the careers and contributions of leading female philosophers, while using their ideas to flesh out what constitutes a good life for women. What are the necessary material and emotional requirements for women to live fulfilling lives? And how are these lives circumscribed by misogyny and gender inequality?' (Introduction)

1 Knotted Johanna Leggatt , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 404 2018; (p. 35)

 'Stephanie Bishop’s third novel, Man Out of Time, her most mature work to date, echoes Virginia Woolf’s psychological realism and the claustrophobic intensity of Elizabeth Harrower’s The Watch Tower (1966). Indeed, an unkind reviewer might compare Bishop’s latest novel to a subtle iteration of domestic noir, where the great threat is the family unit and its overbearing figurehead, although the protagonist in Bishop’s world oscillates between wanting to escape her oppressor and feeling deeply wedded to him.'  (Introduction)

1 [Review Essay] ; Australia Day Johanna Leggatt , 2017 single work review essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 394 2017; (p. 40)

'The characters in Melanie Cheng’s collection of short stories are all outsiders or misfits in some way. Some feel conspicuously out of place, such as the Lebanese immigrant Maha, in ‘Toy Town’, who is struggling with suburban Australian life, or the Chinese medical student Stanley, who is visiting the family farm of a friend in the titular story. Stanley freezes when he is asked at dinner to nominate his AFL team: he has never watched a game of football in his life. Other characters feel isolated owing to their beliefs or temperament.' (Introduction)

1 Short and Sweet and Also Rather Sad Johanna Leggatt , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 13-14 August 2016; (p. 26) The Sunday Age , 14 August 2016; (p. 20)

— Review of Fine Michelle Wright , 2016 selected work short story
1 A Daughter Brings Her Mother Out of the Shadows Johanna Leggatt , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 27-28 February 2016; (p. 33) The Saturday Age , 27-28 February 2016; (p. 25)

— Review of This Is Gail : Life with and After Chris O'Brien Juliette O'Brien , 2016 single work autobiography
1 Why the Fight Still Goes on for Women Johanna Leggatt , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 22 March 2015; (p. 17)

— Review of Fury : Women Write About Sex, Power and Violence 2015 anthology single work essay autobiography
1 Love Stories Feature Leading Lights, Including Bruce Pascoe, Lisa Jacobson, Tony Birch and Carmel Bird Johanna Leggatt , 2014 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8 November 2014; The Age , 8 November 2014; The Canberra Times , 8 November 2014;

— Review of Australian Love Stories 2014 anthology short story
1 Childhood Demons Kill Objectivity Johanna Leggatt , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 1 January 2012; (p. 7)

— Review of After Romulus Raimond Gaita , 2011 single work autobiography
1 Darker Side of Patriarch's Rule Johanna Leggatt , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 16 October 2011; (p. 7)

— Review of Two Greeks John Charalambous , 2011 single work novel
1 Trapped in the Bland Hell of Australian Suburbia Johanna Leggatt , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 26 June 2011; (p. 7)

— Review of Blue Skies Helen Hodgman , 1976 single work novel
1 Ideals Mugged by Domestic Reality Johanna Leggatt , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 5 June 2011; (p. 7)

— Review of Too Close to Home Georgia Blain , 2011 single work novel
1 Paean to Aussie Past Not Limited to the Lingo Johanna Leggatt , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 6 March 2011; (p. 7)

— Review of Words Fail Me : A Journey through Australia's Lost Language Hugh Lunn , 2010 single work prose
1 Immersed in the Glory of a Wild Sea Johanna Leggatt , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 16 January 2011; (p. 7)

— Review of The Penguin Book of the Ocean 2010 anthology extract non-fiction poetry short story
1 Poetic Composition Creates Vivid Portrait of Lost Life Johanna Leggatt , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 28 November 2010; (p. 9)

— Review of Night Street Kristel Thornell , 2009 single work novel
1 Eccentric Adventures of a Romantic Capitalist Johanna Leggatt , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 14 November 2010; (p. 9)

— Review of Utopian Man Lisa Lang , 2009 single work novel
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