Cirrus@Austlit

Pender's article reveals information from newly discovered Christina Stead manuscripts, and proposes a new reading, in the light of these materials, of Stead's posthumously published novel I'm Dying Laughing (ed. by Ron Geering).

Devanny's novel Sugar Heaven was re-released in 2002 some 65 years after its first publication. The momentous historical and political changes since the time of writing prompts the author of this article to ask : 'what will new readers make of its concerns as socialist realism, its strict genre observances and heuristic political aims, and its portrait of a cosmopolitan yet strongly localised Australian working class as the class of history?' (252). In analysing these issues, the article also considers trends in contemporary criticism and recent Australian fiction.

The article presents a critical overview of Carmel Bird's writing, particularly her four major novels. Suggesting that there is a continuity of pattern, theme and sometimes character, Walker examines Bird's major concerns, and the narrative means by which these are expressed (such as fantasy and the Gothic; images and references). She argues that the novels under survey 'raise profound questions: of the presence of evil in the world and the rise of charasmatic leaders who appear to be evil incarnate' (275).

The article compares Webb's poem 'Lament' with sculptures by the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. Although the two do not share any religious, philosphic or intellectual tradition, the author argues that they do share an artistic vision. She has chosen the point of comparison for two reasons : 'to emphasise that the ways in which absence and silence operate in literature and language should not be divorced from the ways in which they operate in other art forms' and 'because an aesthetics of vision that focuses on absence may help readers to see more clearly how Webb's language operates to make absence present' (291).

The article presents an overview of Alex Miller's literary career and development as a writer and examines his six novels published to date.

Duwell surveys the writing life of Andrew Taylor which, in his view, has so far only received fairly superficial and fragmented critical comment and 'awaits a detailed examination'. In considering the different stages of Taylor's development as a poet, Duwell's aim is 'to lay out the elements of that life and to suggest the parameters within which a more detailed discussion might take place'. He sees the overall image of Taylor's poetry as 'continuities inside radical changes of mode' and argues that Taylor's poetry is 'generated out of ... the dichotomy of absence and plenitude' (312).

Hamilton-Grey, who published three books on Henry Kendall in the 1920s, has remained a little-known figure in Australian literary history, although her biographies of Kendall have provided source material for many Kendall scholars in the past. The article examines Hamilton-Grey's career as a lecturer and as an author. Drawing on the Hamilton-Grey Papers in the Mitchell Library as a primary source for information on her life, Dimond 'examines the ways in which her career as a lecturer, her intimacy with Kendall's family, and the circumstances of her life informed the writing of her first book, Facts and Fancies about Our 'Son of the Woods' Henry Clarence Kendall and His Poetry, and its reception by critics and Kendall scholars past and present' (337).

Sarah Campion, an ardent traveller, spent several months in Sydney and in North Queensland in 1939. Many of her experiences and observations in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand are reflected in her novels. Aiming 'to set a shaky biographical record as straight as possible', Lawson presents an overview of Campion's life, travels and forming influences. Her findings are based on her own research as well as on personal interviews with the author in New Zealand and on 'life chronologies' Campion sent her before her death. Discussing Campion's fiction, Lawson focuses on the writer's 'Australian' novels : the Burdekin trilogy. She argues that the trilogy makes up a 'significant Australian classic', and that Dr. Golightly is 'a masterpiece of crime fiction'. 'As soon as the present long drought in scholarly and heritage publishing breaks, all those who care for literature should move to bring Campion's exhilarating fiction - all lost works of excellence - back to the lives of Australian readers' (360).

The article studies the first decade of the Society of Women Writers (est. 1925), thus providing an insight into the cultural and social milieu of its founding members. It also 'charts the change in the working life of women writers from casual contributors of articles, stories and poetry to the formative years of full-time paid employment in journalism and, for some, publication in book form' (362). In attempting to reconstruct the cultural history of women between the world wars, the author has accessed archival material such as committee minutes, annual reports and other non-traditional sources. Her findings illuminate not only the social environment and class base of the society, but also the growing significance and contribution of women in promoting Australian literature. A checklist at the end of the article gives biographical details of the foundation members of the Society, among them many authors of note.

This article outlines Clem Christesen's contributions as a writer and as the editor of Meanjin Magazine.