A blog about literature, authors and place
I was lucky enough to attend a session with the same name as this post at the BSANZ conference in Ōtepoti Dunedin last month. Five people with intimate knowledge of writers’ houses and residencies came together to share their thoughts during the closing session. The moderator Karin Warnaar began by quoting W.H. Auden on Yeats’ death:… Continue reading The afterlives of writers’ houses
Photo taken from the Material Thinking website I have encountered the Breath Pattern installation in Mildura near the Murray/Millewa river a number of times but had never fully understood what it represented. I knew that it was in honour of the poet John Shaw Neilson but some elements remained mysterious to me. Breath Pattern is… Continue reading Breath Pattern
Front room with Frame portrait and other memorabilia I recently had the privilege of visiting Janet Frame's house at 56 Eden St, Oamaru in the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand (Te Wai Pounamu). The house is not open from November to April but the curator kindly opened it up and gave us a tour.… Continue reading The Kingdom by the Sea
On a recent visit to Hamilton, I was shown a pile of bluestones that used to be part of Adam Lindsay Gordon's Brighton home which was demolished (as I have mentioned in a previous post). The bricks and the bluestones were housed at Gumbuya World amusement park for years - due to a connection with… Continue reading Bluestone relics in Hamilton
My book Locating Australian Literary Memory looks at places and sites associated with eleven Australian writers (including Lawson) but while writing, I wasn’t able to dedicate much time/space to objects. Many of the artefacts connected with authors tend to be displayed in literary houses. Due to his lifelong poverty, Lawson doesn’t have a house –… Continue reading Henry Lawson’s relics
Walking down Albert St in Brunswick yesterday, I noticed some text painted neatly on a wall on the edge of Little Randazzo park. 'The Secretary, Education Dept. Melbourne, School 1213 Brunswick Oct. 28 1889. Sir, I beg to report that the school bell is out of order. The contractor who has just finished the new… Continue reading Eve Langley’s old school
Historians have reflected on the deep satisfaction of finding things and that this is perhaps strongest during encounters with objects, with some even revealing a strong desire to steal objects as keepsakes. (Steedman 2001, Burton 2005, Rose 2000) On the one hand, I am horrified by the idea of scholars pillaging items they discover as… Continue reading Stolen keepsakes
This wreath made of wildflowers which was displayed at the grave of the 19th century Anglo-Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon was made for him by a 'lost love' Jane Bridges from England and transported to Melbourne by a devoted admirer. It was originally framed and then displayed under a glass dome and finally broken up… Continue reading Jane Bridges’ wreath
Jerekellimi, the Dark's 'private' cave Some writers are fascinated by caves. Two Australian authors Eleanor Dark and Nan Chauncy spent time in caves near where they lived. Chauncy wrote about the caves at the Chauncy Vale wildlife reserve in her first children's book They Found a Cave (1946) which was later made into a film.… Continue reading Writers’ Caves
Siting Writers 