Swimming : A Novel single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2004... 2004 Swimming : A Novel
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Kate Wilks is a swimmer, a teacher and a writer, but she has never been a mother. She believes she has a good and satisfying life until a chance encounter with her ex-husband and his daughter. Suddenly submerged by a past overflowing with grief, secrets and betrayals, Kate is forced to reassess her life.

Swimming is a lyrical story of one woman's journey. A novel about loss and survival, friendship and love, creativity and fulfilment, it will resonate with anyone whose life hasn't turned out as planned.' (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Bruno

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Ascot Vale, Essendon area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Vanark Press , 2009 .
      Extent: 330p.
      ISBN: 9780980350029 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Take a Walk in Their Shoes : Empathy and Emotion in the Writing Process Enza Gandolfo , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , April vol. 18 no. 1 2014;
'Christos Tsiolkas said Dead Europe ‘was a very difficult novel to write. It ... took me, in the writing of it, into dark and fearful places. As a writer you take on aspects of your characters and if you are not careful the world you are creating begins to blend with the world you actually inhabit’ (Tsiolkas 2008). There is substantial research demonstrating the therapeutic benefits of writing about one’s own traumas. But what are the challenges of writing fiction that requires imagining and creating traumatic events; evil, monstrous or tragic characters? If, as many argue, fiction makes readers more empathetic, it is because writers have created believable worlds that readers can inhabit. In order to create believable worlds that readers can inhabit these worlds and the characters that people them, writers have to inhabit their characters’ lives. This can mean spending years in very dark places. In this article I explore the emotional and physical impact this has on writers and look at ways writers might manage what Marguerite MacRobert calls the ‘emotional roller coaster’ (MacRobert 2012). This is an autoethnographic article and my aim is to contribute to our understanding of the processes of creative writing by exploring and interrogating my experience of writing fiction about traumatic experiences.' (Publication summary)
Swimming for Her Life Sue Bond , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: TEXT : The Journal of the Australian Association of Writing Programs , October vol. 14 no. 2 2010;

— Review of Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel
The Year's Work in Fiction: 2009-2010 Elizabeth Webby , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Westerly , July vol. 55 no. 1 2010; (p. 119-139)

— Review of Fear Factor : Terror Incognito 2009 anthology short story extract ; A True History of the Hula Hoop Judith Lanigan , 2009 single work novel ; The World Beneath Cate Kennedy , 2009 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe Goldie Goldbloom , 2009 single work novel ; Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel ; The Bath Fugues Brian Castro , 2009 selected work novella ; The Lost Life Steven Carroll , 2009 single work novel ; Rainforest Narratives : The Work of Janette Turner Hospital David Callahan , 2009 single work criticism ; Brian Castro's Fiction : The Seductive Play of Language Bernadette Brennan , 2008 multi chapter work criticism ; Legacy Larissa Behrendt , 2009 single work novel ; The Nature of Ice Robyn Mundy , 2009 single work novel ; Lovesong Alex Miller , 2009 single work novel ; Wonders of a Godless World Andrew McGahan , 2009 single work novel ; Smoke in the Room Emily Maguire , 2009 single work novel ; The Australian Long Story 2009 anthology short story prose novella autobiography ; Every Secret Thing Marie Munkara , 2008 selected work short story ; Arrhythmia : Stories of Desire Richard Rossiter , 2009 selected work short story ; The China Garden Kristina Olsson , 2009 single work novel ; Barley Patch Gerald Murnane , 2009 single work novel ; Tom Hurstbourne, or, A Squatter's Life John Clavering Wood , 2010 single work novel ; Truth Peter Temple , 2009 single work novel ; The Window Seat and Other Stories Archie Weller , 2009 selected work short story ; Headlong : A Novel Susan Varga , 2009 single work novel ; The Legacy Kirsten Tranter , 2010 single work novel
A Healthy Diversity James Ley , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 198 2010; (p. 34-38)

— Review of Figurehead Patrick Allington , 2009 single work novel ; Spiel : A Novel David Sornig , 2003 single work novel ; Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel ; The Danger Game Kalinda Ashton , 2008 single work novel
Launch : 'Swimming' by Enza Gandolfo Helen Garner , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Famous Reporter , no. 40 2010; (p. 23-26)

— Review of Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel
Review of the Week Bernadette Clohesy , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 20 September 2009; (p. 20)

— Review of Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel
Short and Bittersweet Rebecca Starford , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 24 October 2009; (p. 21)

— Review of Little White Slips Karen Hitchcock , 2009 selected work short story ; Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel
Looking for Love in Plain Sight Tim Kennedy Hanna , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , November vol. 4 no. 10 2009; (p. 24-25)

— Review of Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe Goldie Goldbloom , 2009 single work novel ; 88 Lines About 44 Women Steven Lang , 2009 single work novel ; Smoke in the Room Emily Maguire , 2009 single work novel
Launch : 'Swimming' by Enza Gandolfo Helen Garner , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Famous Reporter , no. 40 2010; (p. 23-26)

— Review of Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel
A Healthy Diversity James Ley , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 198 2010; (p. 34-38)

— Review of Figurehead Patrick Allington , 2009 single work novel ; Spiel : A Novel David Sornig , 2003 single work novel ; Swimming : A Novel Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work novel ; The Danger Game Kalinda Ashton , 2008 single work novel
Life Between the Covers Owen Richardson , 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 16 August 2009; (p. 21)
The Exegesis : Really Talking : Writing Illuminating Theory as Theory Illuminates Writing Enza Gandolfo , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Swimming : Writing Childlessness : A Novel and Exegesis 2004;
'... a theoretical exploration and interrogation of the process of [the author's] feminist fiction writing as manifest in the writing of Swimming.' (Victoria University Institutional Repository (VUIR) record)
Take a Walk in Their Shoes : Empathy and Emotion in the Writing Process Enza Gandolfo , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , April vol. 18 no. 1 2014;
'Christos Tsiolkas said Dead Europe ‘was a very difficult novel to write. It ... took me, in the writing of it, into dark and fearful places. As a writer you take on aspects of your characters and if you are not careful the world you are creating begins to blend with the world you actually inhabit’ (Tsiolkas 2008). There is substantial research demonstrating the therapeutic benefits of writing about one’s own traumas. But what are the challenges of writing fiction that requires imagining and creating traumatic events; evil, monstrous or tragic characters? If, as many argue, fiction makes readers more empathetic, it is because writers have created believable worlds that readers can inhabit. In order to create believable worlds that readers can inhabit these worlds and the characters that people them, writers have to inhabit their characters’ lives. This can mean spending years in very dark places. In this article I explore the emotional and physical impact this has on writers and look at ways writers might manage what Marguerite MacRobert calls the ‘emotional roller coaster’ (MacRobert 2012). This is an autoethnographic article and my aim is to contribute to our understanding of the processes of creative writing by exploring and interrogating my experience of writing fiction about traumatic experiences.' (Publication summary)
Last amended 9 Sep 2010 11:24:21
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