Cirrus@Austlit

'A handsome full-colour book pairing unique items from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery with selections of original writing about the southern island.

'INDIGENOUS dispossession, a cruel penal history, gay-rights battles; exceptional landscapes, unusual wildlife, environmental activism; colonial architecture, arts and crafts, a thriving creative scene—all are part of the story of Tasmania. And they find their expression in the unparalleled collection of Hobart’s TMAG.

'In Island Story, Ralph Crane and Danielle Wood select almost sixty representative TMAG objects: from shell necklaces to a convict cowl, colonial scrimshaw to a thylacine pincushion, contemporary photography to a film star’s travelling case. Each is matched to texts old and new, by writers as diverse as Anthony Trollope, Marie Bjelke-Petersen, Helene Chung, Jim Everett, Heather Rose and Ben Walter.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Joan Wise made her fiction debut in the pages of Australia's Bulletin magazine in 1950. A poem of hers had earlier appeared in the same publication, but her arrival as a writer of prose was announced by a series of linked tales, "The Conquest of Emmie" (January), "Poison in the Furrow" (May), and "A Fence for Emma" (August). The stories are a subtly comic triptych about gender politics and hardscrabble bush-farming life in the remote Central Highlands district of Tasmania.' (Introduction)

'A wonderful collection of twenty-four short stories that celebrate the history, culture and creativity of Tasmania.

'Tasmania is another country—a lush, sometimes foreboding island with a people fiercely protective of its history, culture and creativity.

'This handsome collection, the first to bring together the finest stories about Tasmania, includes works by notable early Australian writers, such as Marcus Clarke and Tasma; internationally renowned practitioners, like Hal Porter, Carmel Bird and Nicholas Shakespeare; and a range of newer voices, from Danielle Wood and Rohan Wilson to Rachael Treasure. These twenty-four superb stories showcase the island's colonial past, its darkness and humour, the unique beauty and savagery of its landscape.

'Both a must-read for enthusiasts of Australian literature and a perfect gift for lovers of Tasmania, Deep South comes with a critical introduction from the editors and biographical sketches of the contributors.' (Source: Text Publishing website)