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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
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Dedication: For Bruno
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Take a Walk in Their Shoes : Empathy and Emotion in the Writing Process
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
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 2004 single work novel -
The Year's Work in Fiction: 2009-2010
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 2009 single work novel ; The World Beneath 2009 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe 2009 single work novel ; Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel ; The Bath Fugues 2009 selected work novella ; The Lost Life 2009 single work novel ; Rainforest Narratives : The Work of Janette Turner Hospital 2009 single work criticism ; Brian Castro's Fiction : The Seductive Play of Language 2008 multi chapter work criticism ; Legacy 2009 single work novel ; The Nature of Ice 2009 single work novel ; Lovesong 2009 single work novel ; Wonders of a Godless World 2009 single work novel ; Smoke in the Room 2009 single work novel ; The Australian Long Story 2009 anthology short story prose novella autobiography ; Every Secret Thing 2008 selected work short story ; Arrhythmia : Stories of Desire 2009 selected work short story ; The China Garden 2009 single work novel ; Barley Patch 2009 single work novel ; Tom Hurstbourne, or, A Squatter's Life 2010 single work novel ; Truth 2009 single work novel ; The Window Seat and Other Stories 2009 selected work short story ; Headlong : A Novel 2009 single work novel ; The Legacy 2010 single work novel -
A Healthy Diversity
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 198 2010; (p. 34-38)
— Review of Figurehead 2009 single work novel ; Spiel : A Novel 2003 single work novel ; Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel ; The Danger Game 2008 single work novel -
Launch : 'Swimming' by Enza Gandolfo
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Famous Reporter , no. 40 2010; (p. 23-26)
— Review of Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel
-
Review of the Week
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 20 September 2009; (p. 20)
— Review of Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel -
Short and Bittersweet
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 24 October 2009; (p. 21)
— Review of Little White Slips 2009 selected work short story ; Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel -
Looking for Love in Plain Sight
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , November vol. 4 no. 10 2009; (p. 24-25)
— Review of Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel ; The Paperbark Shoe 2009 single work novel ; 88 Lines About 44 Women 2009 single work novel ; Smoke in the Room 2009 single work novel -
Launch : 'Swimming' by Enza Gandolfo
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Famous Reporter , no. 40 2010; (p. 23-26)
— Review of Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel -
A Healthy Diversity
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 198 2010; (p. 34-38)
— Review of Figurehead 2009 single work novel ; Spiel : A Novel 2003 single work novel ; Swimming : A Novel 2004 single work novel ; The Danger Game 2008 single work novel -
Life Between the Covers
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
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
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)
Awards
- 2010 shortlisted Barbara Jefferis Award
- 2008 shortlisted ABC Fiction Award
Last amended 9 Sep 2010 11:24:21
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