We began today with a glance at Henry Lawson’s “Drifted Back”, a short story which encapsulated aspects of his own life story, but which also reflected back on Lawson’s impressions of what was being lost as Australia moved into the new century: Community, Mateship, The Old Bush School, the destruction of the environment with the…
Tag: Miles Franklin
Early 20th Century Australian Poetry and Prose
Today we explored the worlds of John Shaw Neilson, Miles Franklin, Frederic Manning and M.Barnard Eldershaw. This clutch or writers embrace a huge range of literary and intellectual interests. Neilson is the poet who shows how the language of poetry is closest to music and art through his use of colour and sound to paint…
Australian Poetry and Prose in the Early 20th Century
We had fun today exploring a range of authors: John Shaw Neilson, Miles Franklin, Frederic Manning, M.Barnard Eldershaw, Judith Wright, Rosemary Dobson, Francis Webb and Gwen Harwood. What an amazing cross-section of talent! The one strongest idea that came to me during the lecture was a question that arose after we pondered the meaning of A.D.Hope’s…
Oz Lit in the Twentieth Century
Patrick White was the focus of much of today’s lecture. His essay “The Prodigal Son” (1958) gives a wonderful account of why White came back to Australia after nearly 20 years in Europe. He describes his response to a materialistic, spiritually dead culture and yet sets out his determination to make a difference to this…
Michael Griffith: Home Page- Literature and Life Summer 2023 
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