Cirrus@Austlit

(Publication abstract)

'The argument has been made that memoir reflects and augments the narcissistic tendencies of our neo-liberal age. The Literature of Remembering: Tracing the Limits of Memoir [sic] challenges and dismantles that assumption. Focusing on the history, theory and practice of memoir writing, editors Bunty Avieson, Fiona Giles and Sue Joseph provide a thorough and cutting-edge examination of memoir through the lenses of ethics, practice and innovation. By investigating memoir across cultural boundaries, in its various guises, and tracing its limits, the editors convincingly demonstrate the plurality of ways in which memoir is helping us make sense of who we are, who we were and the influences that shape us along the way.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'This essay considers how feature writing, with its attractive layout and graphics, and its attention to the stylistic and narrative pleasures of the text, has made the transition from print magazines to online magazine websites, thriving in both written and multimedia forms. Adopting Steensen’s definition of features as a ‘a family of genres that address a similar exigence but differ in rhetorical form’ (2010: 133), I consider the transformations and resilience of features online, together with the different sites that

have developed for their publication, including print news and magazine websites, specific online magazines exclusively commissioning features, feature aggregator sites,

and the more recently produced feature disaggregator sites. Looking at some examples of features online, the essay considers whether the accessibility and adaptability of the form may enhance its status as both journalism and writing. The article ends by asking if the integration of the core, factual narrative text, with documentary audio, video,

slide shows and linking material, might constitute a kind of ‘aesthetic journalism’ (Cramerotti 2009). ' (Publication abstract)

Giles provides a provocative exposition of the practice of breastfeeding in this compendium of stories, memories, personal accounts and commentary. Giles takes an intimate and literary approach to a subject that is more generally the province of educational and parenting literature and examines a range of myths and truths about breastfeeding as well as its social and psychological implications.

'While countless breastfeeding guides crowd bookshelves, not one of them speaks to women with anything approaching bestselling author Fiona Giles's level of intimacy and vitality. In Fresh Milk, through a collection of stories, memories, and personal accounts, Giles uncovers the myths and truths of the lactating breast ... From the young mother grappling with the bewildering trappings of maternity wear to the woman who finds herself surprisingly aroused by new sensations, and the modern dad who learns the ins and outs of breastfeeding, the portraits in Giles's eye-opening book offer a funny, wise, and comforting resource for women - and even their friends and partners who have had, or expect, intimate experiences with the pleasures and pain of lactation' (Dust Jacket).

'Not since Kafka's Gregor Samsa awoke to discover that he'd turned into a cockroach has literature addressed such a traumatic transformation. In order to compile Dick for a Day, scholar and feminist Fiona Giles approached hundreds of well-known writers, poets, artists, actresses, and academics and asked them to express what they might feel if they abruptly found themselves genitally altered.

'From Terry McMillan to Jennifer Blowdryer, from Patricia Cornwell to Linda Sexton Gray, we find unexpected answers: hygienic, erotic, metaphysical, and even spiritual. By turns playful and sociologically profound, Dick for a Day is a milestone in sophisticated humor and feminist literature.'  (Publication summary)