Cirrus@Austlit

'In India, Australian poetry is read as part of courses in 'Commonwealth literature' or 'new writing in English', though some universities are now beginning to offer full courses in Australian literature. As Australian literature is read in comparison with literatures from India and Africa, a comparative and cross-cultural focus is quite evident. In some ways, we see Australian literature as being located in a similar situation to that which exists in other 'post-colonial' cultures that is, attempting to define its own identity and attempting to reshape a given language to new experiences in a new land. But it is also seen as different. In it, the sense of racial and cultural difference in relation to Europe is not foregrounded as it is in the case of many other post-colonial literatures. However, there is a sense of being different from Europe, not least because of the geographical apartness, in addition to the experience of being in the position of both the coloniser and the colonised. While other post-colonial literatures draw from indigenous cultures and traditions to counter the European influence, Australian writing tends to be closer to the English literary tradition, drawing from it while forging its own traditions from contact with the land. As other new literatures in English also face the 'anxiety of influence' vis a vis the English tradition to various degrees, and attempt to exploit the possibilities of cross-fertilisation, the ways in which that tradition is being reworked becomes an important focus of inquiry.' (Introduction)