y separately published work icon The Drums Go Bang! single work   autobiography   humour  
Issue Details: First known date: 1956... 1956 The Drums Go Bang!
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Notes

  • Dedication: This book is for Gus.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Other Formats

Works about this Work

When the Drums Went Bang : Ruth Park’s ‘Truth in There Somewhere’ Paul Genoni , 2024 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , 3 October vol. 39 no. 2 2024;

'The paper considers Ruth Park’s memoirs by reflecting on three autobiographical texts: a lengthy article in the Sydney Morning Herald (1946); her first memoir The Drums Go Bang (1956, co-authored with husband D’Arcy Niland); and her third and final volume of memoir, Fishing in the Styx (1993). Each offers a reflection on the same critical turning-point in Park’s career – her controversial winning of the Sydney Morning Herald Prize in 1946 for an unpublished novel, with The Harp in the South. This was, Park declared, the moment ‘The drums went bang with a terrific sound’ (Drums 188).

'Park’s accounts of this incident are examined in the context of her observation – made while questioning her capacity to accurately frame a narrative moment in her memoir Fishing in the Styx – that ‘there is a truth in there somewhere, but like all truth, no statement of it can be final’ (210). It is argued that whenever Park recalled her life and career she modified how she expressed the ‘truth in there’ regarding the extraordinary episode of the Herald Prize, an incident that resonated throughout the span of her life.' (Publication abstract)

Ruth Park Brings Sydney’s Past to Life More Than Any Other Writer Tegan Bennett Daylight , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 March 2019;

P'ark’s bold, glittering descriptions and her vigorously alive characters are forever lodged in my consciousness.'

'Hearts of Gold and a Happy Ending' : The Appeal of The Harp in the South F. C. Molloy , 1990 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 14 no. 3 1990; (p. 316-324)
Mr. and Mrs. Niland 1957 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 2 January vol. 78 no. 4012 1957; (p. 2)

— Review of The Drums Go Bang! Ruth Park , D'Arcy Niland , 1956 single work autobiography
Mr. and Mrs. Niland 1957 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 2 January vol. 78 no. 4012 1957; (p. 2)

— Review of The Drums Go Bang! Ruth Park , D'Arcy Niland , 1956 single work autobiography
'Hearts of Gold and a Happy Ending' : The Appeal of The Harp in the South F. C. Molloy , 1990 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 14 no. 3 1990; (p. 316-324)
Ruth Park Brings Sydney’s Past to Life More Than Any Other Writer Tegan Bennett Daylight , 2019 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 March 2019;

P'ark’s bold, glittering descriptions and her vigorously alive characters are forever lodged in my consciousness.'

When the Drums Went Bang : Ruth Park’s ‘Truth in There Somewhere’ Paul Genoni , 2024 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , 3 October vol. 39 no. 2 2024;

'The paper considers Ruth Park’s memoirs by reflecting on three autobiographical texts: a lengthy article in the Sydney Morning Herald (1946); her first memoir The Drums Go Bang (1956, co-authored with husband D’Arcy Niland); and her third and final volume of memoir, Fishing in the Styx (1993). Each offers a reflection on the same critical turning-point in Park’s career – her controversial winning of the Sydney Morning Herald Prize in 1946 for an unpublished novel, with The Harp in the South. This was, Park declared, the moment ‘The drums went bang with a terrific sound’ (Drums 188).

'Park’s accounts of this incident are examined in the context of her observation – made while questioning her capacity to accurately frame a narrative moment in her memoir Fishing in the Styx – that ‘there is a truth in there somewhere, but like all truth, no statement of it can be final’ (210). It is argued that whenever Park recalled her life and career she modified how she expressed the ‘truth in there’ regarding the extraordinary episode of the Herald Prize, an incident that resonated throughout the span of her life.' (Publication abstract)

Last amended 14 Feb 2007 15:07:17
Subjects:
  • Urban,
  • Sydney, New South Wales,
  • Australian Outback, Central Australia,
  • 1940s
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