Cirrus@Austlit

‘My first encounter with the work of Sidney Nolan was when I was a boy and was working on an Exmoor farm. An Australian gave me a book on the outback. It was illustrated with black-and-white photographs of a vast silent land that was mysterious to me and which compelled my imagination. Although I didn't know it at the time, the haunting photographs in the book were the work of the Australian artist Sidney Nolan. I came to Australia on my own at the age of sixteen in search of Sidney Nolan's outback. It was the most important decision I have ever made. I still revisit central and north Queensland and have many friends there. That strange and beautiful country photographed with the imagination of Nolan has been a deep and lasting influence on my life as a writer.’ (Publication abstract)