Cirrus@Austlit

'In this episode, a conversation with Melbourne's favourite historian, Robyn Annear. In Corners of Melbourne, Annear takes us on an unorthodox tour of the city's streets and corners, telling stories about the events and people that have made these the most interesting places to be.

'In this (appropriately corner-shaped) book she will introduce you to - street-corner 'galvanisers' who offered the thrill of electric shock at threepence a time, the rude boys of the Fitzroy back streets who became the original 'larrikins' infants named for the corners on which they'd been abandoned, a rogues' gallery of unruly women, incorrigible men and runaway horses ... and, of course, the civic reprobates who discarded orange peel in the streets, to the risk of life and limb.' (Production summary)

'Over the decades that Ord has been producing comic strip stories, we have witnessed her develop a personal iconic picture language, and in Bulk Nuts she has honed the images to a high level of finish. To a long-time observer of Ord’s work, the drawings here are clearer, finer, more precisely observed and produced. She has always been attentive to the ways that black ink falls from her brush to the page, but the brushwork in this book is particularly acute, teetering between representation and a purely graphic emotionality. Ord’s visual metaphors are also a major contributor to her narrative voice: the heavy vocal knottiness of parents fighting, the snaky fingery acquisitive ogling at a trash and treasure market, the vibratingly smarmy responses from the guy in the television show Knight Rider to KITT, his talking car. Ord’s visual correlatives for sound and physical action lead us further along the garden path of her cartooning dialect, which develops readerly intimacy with the emotional tone and sense of humour in these comics, which has to do with vulnerability and an appreciation of the natural world.' (Introduction)          

'In this episode of The Comics Question, Bernard Caleo interviews Sarah Firth on the topic of Eventually Everything Connects.

'Eventually Everything Connects is Firth's debut graphic novel, a collection of interconnected visual essays created over eight years. Firth invites you into her wild mind as she explores ways to see with fresh eyes, to face the inevitability of change, and to find freedom in sensuality.' (Production summary)

'This episode is the fourth instalment of The Comics Question series. In these podcasts, Bernard Caleo and Nico Callaghan discuss comics, graphic novels, and the place they inhabit within the broader books and publishing world.

'For this episode, Bernard and Nico sat down with Michael Fikaris, a central figure in both the comic book and street art movements of the early 2000s in his hometown of Melbourne. Fikaris has exhibited in professional and guerrilla contexts locally and abroad. His artwork is held in numerous private collections along with the National Gallery of Victoria, State Library of Victoria, and National Gallery of Australia.' (Production summary)

'Today’s episode is the second instalment of The Comics Question series. In these podcasts we discuss comics, graphic novels, and the place they inhabit within the broader books and publishing world.

'In this episode, we sit down with Charlie Hill-Smith, who, among many talents and pursuits like filmmaking, has produced a new comic, Crime Scene Australia.' (Publication summary)

'The first episode in a new series on the Readings Podcast, which focuses on all things comics!

'In this episode, our own Bernard Caleo speaks to fellow comic artist Mirranda Burton about her graphic novel, Underground. Underground was the recent winner of the 2022 Readings Young Adult Prize.' 

 (Introduction)

'We are three writers and researchers learning to teach the image. We approach comics from different backgrounds and engage the medium in different ways, but our point of convergence is Graphic Narratives, a fourth-year subject developed by Dr Elizabeth MacFarlane at the University of Melbourne. Liz founded Graphic Narratives in 2011, when it was Australia’s first tertiary-level subject devoted to the study of the comics medium. Each year students create a minicomic which they then have the opportunity to swap or sell at an annual showcase event open to the public. With graphic novelist and academic Dr Pat Grant, Liz co-directs the Comic Art Workshop, Australia’s first artists’ residency dedicated to supporting major comics projects in progress. Bernard Caleo has taught comics making skills as part of Graphic Narratives, and also at primary and secondary schools. He edited and published the giant romance comics anthology Tango from 1997 to 2009, and made the feature documentary Graphic Novels! Melbourne! in 2012 with filmmaker Daniel Hayward. His ongoing project is to investigate possibilities for performing comics. Dr Ronnie Scott guest lectured, then tutored, then coordinated Graphic Narratives in various years and has since integrated comics into his Media & Communication Honours Lab and his undergraduate Nonfiction studios in the Creative Writing program at RMIT University. He has also published comics criticism in national venues and edited comics for international literary magazines, as well as publishing scholarly research on comics.'  (Introduction)

'A time-travel adventure for young budding scientists

'Ten-year-old Mary has always wanted to win a Nobel Prize. She loves running her own science experiments at home. But how can she become a real scientist and win the greatest prize of all?

'One day Mary stumbles on a secret meeting of Nobel Prize winners. Swearing her to secrecy, Dr Barry Marshall agrees to be her guide as she travels around the world and through time to learn the secrets behind some of the most fascinating and important scientific discoveries. They talk space and time with Albert Einstein, radiation with Marie Curie, DNA with Crick, Watson and Wilkins – and much more.

'How to Win a Nobel Prize is a funny, fascinating adventure story for ages 9 to 12, and includes experiments that young scientists can do themselves at school or at home.' (Introduction)

'"There is no better, there is no more open door by which you can enter into the study of natural philosophy than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle." Michael Faraday

More than 150 years ago, Michael Faraday saw beauty and wonder in the chemistry of a candle. His observations remain true today and the lessons are both simple and profound. Join Faraday at St Paul's Cathedral for a truly illuminating theatre performance. Society has changed, technology has advanced, language has evolved, but the phenomena underpinning a candle remain constant. Today, candles are rarely seen outside birthday cakes, churches, romantic dinners and power failures, but are no less fascinating. In fact, these contexts provide an insight to the enduring value of the candle; celebration, worship, emotion and the ever-present need for light.' Source: http://re-science.org.au (Sighted 28/09/2011).