Cirrus@Austlit

'It takes as its focus one of the most recent textualisations of the brumby: In Search of a Wild Brumby by Michael Keenan. This non-fiction/autobiographical work was marketed in 2002 as a 'Recommended Read' for the 'Year of the Outback'. Although widely publicised on ABC Radio National, the book staked no claim for serious literary status. On the contrary, the text was firmly aimed at the general public, linked to various websites about brumbies and enthusiastically received in the regional press. It has prompted no critical articles to date in the cultural studies journals. Far from discouraging rigorous scrutiny, I would argue that this is exactly why the present analysis is warranted. Of all the stories that could get told about horses in Australia, Keenan's is the kind of story that does get told: and this is the forum it gets told in. The significance of the text lies as much in its pre-eminence and uncritical acceptance in an empty field as in its own conclusions.' (From author's introduction)