Includes a brief section, 'Without "Atmosphere"' (by M. R. McG.), which discusses Australian literary content in relation to the question of what constitutes 'Australian atmosphere'. Making a comparison between Sydney and cities such as London, Paris and Rome, the writer asserts: 'There is the atmosphere of the bush, which is definite but dull. It has been presented after a set formula by generations of prose writers from
Marcus Clarke to
Henry Lawson [qq.v.], and it is questionable if readers want any more of it. In any event, it is to cities that one looks for a national atmosphere.' Having identified European centres which epitomise their national culture, the writer asks: 'Well what can you point to in Sydney and say "That is forever and inevitably Sydney"?' (content appears in the topical monthly column, 'With These Few Words')
