Cirrus@Austlit

'Poems, stories, letters and extracts from novels, plays and journals present a great variety of responses to Australia and to the art of writing. Items have been arranged into 12 groupings that reflect different ways of seeing the material of Australian writing. Each section has its own introduction. Problems are explained, theories and contexts for a wider understanding are offered. The book includes biographical guides to all authors and a full chronological table of events in the literary history of Australia.'   (Publication summary)

'David Malouf is one of the finest writers in contemporary literature. This volume offers a well-balanced, compact selection of his intricately connected work. Short stories, poems, essays, interviews and the classic novel "Johnno", reproduced in full, show the range of his remarkable achievement. "Johnno", his first and most popular work of fiction, has entered the public imagination with its moving evocation of the 1940s and 50s. The novel is here counterbalanced by the wider contexts of David Malouf's poems and short stories. The uncollected essays highlight his brilliance as a literary commentator, and his deep interest in a variety of contemporary issues. James Tulip's introduction provides an indispensable overview of the work of this outstanding author.'  (Publication summary)

'This collection contains 61 essays, including Helen Garners "The Fate of the First Stone", Robert Dessaix's "Nice Work If You Can Get it" and pieces by Charmian Clift, Germaine Greer, Clive James, David Malouf, Les Murray and Patrick White.'(Publication summary)

'Some of the best, most significant writing produced in Australia over more than two centuries is gathered in this landmark anthology. Covering all genres - from fiction, poetry and drama to diaries, letters, essays and speeches - the anthology maps the development of one of the great literatures in English in all its energy and variety.

'The writing reflects the diverse experiences of Australians in their encounter with their extraordinary environment and with themselves. This is literature of struggle, conflict and creative survival. It is literature of lives lived at the extremes, of frontiers between cultures, of new dimensions of experience, where imagination expands.

'This rich, informative and entertaining collection charts the formation of an Australian voice that draws inventively on Indigenous words, migrant speech and slang, with a cheeky, subversive humour always to the fore. For the first time, Aboriginal writings are interleaved with other English-language writings throughout - from Bennelong's 1796 letter to the contemporary flowering of Indigenous fiction and poetry - setting up an exchange that reveals Australian history in stark new ways.

'From vivid settler accounts to haunting gothic tales, from raw protest to feisty urban satire and playful literary experiment, from passionate love poetry to moving memoir, the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature reflects the creative eloquence of a society.

'Chosen by a team of expert editors, who have provided illuminating essays about their selections, and with more than 500 works from over 300 authors, it is an authoritative survey and a rich world of reading to be enjoyed.' (Publisher's blurb)

Allen and Unwin have a YouTube channel with a number of useful videos on the Anthology.

'A collection of personal essays and writing from David Malouf to celebrate his 80th birthday.

'Topography, geography, history. Multiculturalism, referendums, the constitution and national occasions. Parental and grandparental romances, the sensual and bountiful beauty of Brisbane, the mysterious offerings of Queenslander houses, and leaving home. The idea of a nation and the heart of its people. Being Australian and Australia's relationship to the world. Putting ourselves on the map.

'All these subjects, and more, are explored from the generous, questioning and original perspective of David Malouf.

'At the heart of these pieces is the idea of home, where and what it is. What they illustrate is the formation of a man, an Australian and one of the best writers this country has produced.' (Publisher's blurb)