Literature
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The week’s best TV, film, books and music
Classic TV – Parks and Recreation BBC This brilliant sitcom has back in the news in recent weeks, after its…
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Morbid Symptoms (a crime novel)
“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum…
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A beginner’s guide to reading and enjoying poetry
For most people, these occasions – as well as their schooldays – are the only times they encounter poetry. Andrew…
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Luka finds modern meaning in ‘The Odyssey’
That at least is the view of Australian poet Luka Lesson, who’s about to embark on an online workshop as…
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Guide to the Classics: Albert Camus’ The Plague
Unable to return to Australia, they were in lockdown. Matthew Sharpe The Conversation The hospitals were filling up fast, as…
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Colum McCann and the grief of two fathers for their slain daughters
Rami Elhunan’s 13-year-old daughter Smadar died when three Palestinian bombers blew themselves up in a Tel Aviv shopping street. Bassam’s…
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In times of crisis, we turn to the arts.
Staying indoors and washing our hands may keep us alive, but the Australian government needs to protect the arts in…
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Stella Prize 2020: a readers’ guide to the contenders
Even as we retreat into our homes in this time of crisis, words can help us reach out to each…
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A man with an eye for a story
He is 10 years old, wears a patched grey suit, speaks fluent English and carries himself like an adult. Jane…
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What my students taught me about reading: old books hold new insights for the digital generation
The course includes works by Shakespeare, Austen, Woolf and Dickens. Kate Flaherty The Conversation I know what these books did…
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Literature for a lockdown
If you’re in angst-ridden quarantine, you’ll probably be finding it hard to take your mind off things. Paola Tamma and…
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An Epic Novel Haunted by the Ghosts of Colonialism
To whom does one life belong? As the man born Abel Paisley prepares to greet death, the question takes on…
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The First Novelist Accused of Cultural Appropriation
A couple of news cycles ago, I came upon a Facebook post about the Jeanine Cummins novel American Dirt that hit close…
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In defence of Homer
Oxford University is on the brink of a scandalous act of cultural vandalism: it is considering removing the obligatory study…
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Small Istanbul publisher sustains Armenian literature
Now Aras Publishing has launched a children’s division and opened a new editorial office, built with donations from readers, that…
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Tsiolkas novel ‘Damascus’ wins Victorian Premier’s Literary Award
Mr Chiolkas’s first novel was 1995’s Loaded. In 2005 the Melbourne writer won the Age Book of the Year prize…
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