AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE WEEK 5- DAVID MALOUF EXTRAVAGANZA!

Here are a selection of topics for the David Malouf Menu: Please chose one and eat carefully:

1/ Write a letter to David Malouf telling him how his book Remembering Babylon has made you more aware of the issues surrounding Australia’s fear of outsiders to our community.

2/ Imagine you are Janet McIvor. In no more than a paragraph tell a close friend what you have found special about Gemmy and how his presence in your family seems to have improved relationships between you, your mum, your dad and even your cousin Lachlan

3/ Imagine you are one of the characters in the novel -like Ned Corcoran- who find it really difficult to relate to Gemmy Fairley and in a paragraph express your views on why you think Gemmy should get out of the township.

4/ Write a poem that begins with the line
Whether this is Jerusalem or Babylon we know not.

5/ Chose any one of David Malouf’s poems in our big, fat Australian literature anthology and answer the question: what light does this poem shed on David Malouf’s interests?

6/ Make up your own creative topic and see if you can bind together many of the things we have been studying in the last few weeks. Chose whatever form is most comfortable: poem, short story, essay, slice-of-life drama……

DON’T FORGET TO LODGE YOUR DAVID MALOUF QUESTIONS IN THE SPECIAL DISCUSSION THREAD SET UP IN BLACKBOARD!

MG