Hilary McPhee Hilary McPhee i(A11397 works by) (a.k.a. Hilary Jane McPhee)
Born: Established: 1941 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Female
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Works By

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1 4 y separately published work icon Other People's Houses Hilary McPhee , Carlton : Melbourne University Press , 2019 16796465 2019 single work autobiography

'In Other People's Houses publishing legend Hilary McPhee exchanges one hemisphere for another. Fleeing the aftermath of a failed marriage, she embarks on a writing project in the Middle East, for a member of the Hashemite royal family, a man she greatly respects. Here she finds herself faced with different kinds of exile, new kinds of banishment.

'From apartments in Cortona and Amman and an attic in London, McPhee watches other women managing magnificently alone as she flounders through the mire of Extreme Loneliness.

'Other People's Houses is a brutally honest memoir, funny, sad, full of insights into worlds to which she was given privileged access, and of the friendships which sustained her.

'And ultimately, of course, this is the story of returning home, of picking up the pieces, and facing the music as her house and her life takes on new shapes.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 Introduction Hilary McPhee , 2017 single work criticism
— Appears in: A Web of Friendship : Selected Letters (1928-1973) 2017;
1 Brian Johns : The Force Of Ideas Hilary McPhee , 2016 single work obituary (for Brian Johns )
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2016;
1 Patchwork Hilary McPhee , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 376 2015; (p. 10)

— Review of Eat First, Talk Later : A Memoir of Food, Family and Home Beth Yahp , 2015 single work biography
1 Childhood Sex! Hilary McPhee , 2015 single work correspondence
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 375 2015; (p. 5)
1 Sending Papers Up the Hume Hilary McPhee , 2014 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 72 no. 4 2014; (p. 168-176)
1 About the Burstall Diaries Hilary McPhee , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Memoirs of a Young Bastard : The Diaries of Tim Burstall, November 1953 to December 1954 2012; (p. vi-xix)
1 8 y separately published work icon The Memoirs of a Young Bastard : The Diaries of Tim Burstall, November 1953 to December 1954 Tim Burstall , Carlton : Miegunyah Press , 2012 Z1841787 2012 single work diary

'Tim Burstall, the celebrated director of Stork, Alvin Purple and numerous other definitive "ocker" comedies, is credited with shaking the moribund Australian film industry out of its torpor. But long before that, in the early 1950s, he began keeping a diary to record the world of the group of "arties" and "intellectuals" he was living among in Eltham, then a rural area outside Melbourne, where cheap land was available for mudbrick houses and studios, and where suburban rigidities could be mercilessly flouted.

'Burstall was in his mid-twenties, with two young sons and an open marriage with his wife, Betty. Eager to become a writer, to go against the grain, he kept a record almost daily—of the parties and the talk in pubs and studios, about art and politics and sex, of Communist Party branch meetings and film societies, of political rallies and the first Herald Outdoor Art Show. Somehow, while holding down a public relations job in the Antarctic Division and juggling his love affairs and obsession with the beautiful, brainy Fay, he wrote 500 words almost every day. Betty, according to the diaries, kept the show on the road, feeding friends after the pub, milking goats and working in her pottery making bowls and mugs, which Tim sometimes decorated at weekends.

'These Memoirs of a Young Bastard, as Burstall dubbed himself and them, are among the most evocative Australian diaries of modern times. Burstall can write. He has an eye for the telling detail, an unerring ear for cant and pomposity and, most endearingly, an ability to mock himself—always from the perspective of a bloke of his generation.' (From the publisher's website.)

1 Timid Minds Hilary McPhee , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , Summer vol. 69 no. 4 2010; (p. 56-62) Meanjin Anthology 2012; (p. 350-361)
1 3 y separately published work icon Wordlines : Contemporary Australian Writing Hilary McPhee , Melbourne : Five Mile Press , 2010 Z1705411 2010 anthology short story 'Influential Australian publisher and writer, Hilary McPhee returned from three years overseas to find the landscape of Australian writing had changed in a new and exciting way. In this inaugural edition of a new series, Hilary presents her favourite selection of recent Australian writing - writing that challenges, provokes, enthrals and entertains. Featuring work from thrilling new stars such as Amra Pajalic, Abigail Ulman and Nam Le, as well as the brilliant new work of established writers such as Gerald Murnane, Drusilla Modjeska, Cate Kennedy and Rod Jones.' (From the publisher's website.)
1 Seeds of Hope Hilary McPhee , 2009 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Griffith Review , Winter no. 24 2009; (p. 165-172)
1 Deep Listening Hilary McPhee , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , July vol. 4 no. 6 2009; (p. 23)

— Review of This Is How M. J. Hyland , 2009 single work novel ; How the Light Gets In M. J. Hyland , 2003 single work novel ; Carry Me Down M. J. Hyland , 2006 single work novel
1 The Library of Small Wonders Hilary McPhee , 2009 single work prose
— Appears in: The Age , 21 March 2009; (p. 13, 18)
Hilary McPhee establishes links with the library in a Jordanian village and seeks to learn some Arabic before returning to the village with some Australian books.
1 Spotting the Real Thing Hilary McPhee , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , November vol. 3 no. 10 2008; (p. 5)

— Review of Stella Miles Franklin Jill Roe , 2008 single work biography
1 2 Shadows That Cross Our Souls Hilary McPhee , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , November vol. 2 no. 10 2007; (p. 5, 7)

— Review of Landscape of Farewell Alex Miller , 2007 single work novel
1 The Hunger for Good Talk Hilary McPhee , 2006 single work prose
— Appears in: Making Waves : 10 Years of the Byron Bay Writers' Festival 2006; (p. 10-15)
1 On Byron Hilary McPhee , Mungo MacCallum , Di Morrissey , Robin Williams , 2006 extract prose (Making Waves : 10 Years of the Byron Bay Writers' Festival)
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 15 - 16 July 2006; (p. 23)
A brief comment from each author on the merits of the Byron Bay Writers' Festival. The comments are extracted from the authors' longer contributions to Making Waves : 10 Years of the Byron Bay Writers' Festival.
1 Case-study : Editors and Authors Hilary McPhee , 2006 extract criticism (Other People's Words)
— Appears in: Paper Empires : A History of the Book in Australia 1946-2005 2006; (p. 182-184)
‘Writing books must be the most isolated of the arts. The act of writing is a private one with nothing between the writer and the page or screen. Words which were working well one day can unravel the next. The imagined critics are rarely benign. Even after a decision has been taken to publish, the editor is often the first person to read the work in depth and respond on behalf of future readers. Much can depend on that first response. A relationship of trust — that their words are in good hands — is the best starting point, and the way through when things go wrong, as they almost always will at some point in the months before publication. Most publishers have not submitted themselves to their own processes or written even ten thousand words of sustained prose. Most authors are not good at knowing the kind of help they need — or at asking for it.’ (Introduction 183)
1 Why We Need Courageous Theatre Hilary McPhee , 2005 single work correspondence
— Appears in: The Age , 19 April 2005; (p. 20)
1 Writers in the Global Australian Village Hilary McPhee , 2004 single work criticism

McPhee states that her lecture offers 'a few observations drawn from my past lives and my present struggles about the conditions all new and many established writers need in which to write, whatever their chosen medium and market. I want to look at some of the areas where our written culture seems to me to be vulnerable, then offer a few suggestions about how we might start to make ourselves stronger.'

She argues that 'Writing has rarely been so important as it is right now in this country. Words are needed more than ever before - words that identify what is going on here, words that pose difficult questions and dismantle what can sometimes sound like a sense of entitlement or a reluctance to face the future. Words are all we have if there is to be any hope of persuading those who have stopped listening.

'A culture like Australia's has always been an adaptive one - able to sustain itself even without the protection that language and deeply-rooted tradition gives. I don't know what the future is going to look like - but I do know that the increasing globalisation of cultures makes providing the conditions for creativity and artistic practice to flourish more essential than ever before.'

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